While Rivera questioned the non-calls, he didn’t question the officials or doctors for not placing Newton in the concussion protocol after the final helmet-to-helmet hit that left the quarterback face down on the turf and obviously shaken.
Advertisement
Newton was repeatedly hit in the head in Denver’s 21-20 win over Carolina in Thursday night’s beguiling but brutal NFL kickoff that left fans cringing along with the league’s reigning MVP. “But it’s not fun getting hit in the head”. Out of the pocket a quarterback is considered a runner and helmet to helmet hits are legal, however penalties can still be called for violent unnecessary hits in which launching directly at the helmet would be considered unnecessary, which Marshall without being called on it. “I got a lot of guys to lean on”, he said.
The four helmet-to-helmet hits the Broncos made on NFL MVP Cam Newton and whether the league followed proper procedures when evaluating whether he should be in the concussion protocol has dominated headlines. Only one of them was flagged, and even that by Darian Stewart ended up being offset and essentially unpunished.
“All of them he’s passed, ” Rivera said.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera echoed some of Cecil Newton’s sentiments Friday afternoon, saying that some of the hits on his star quarterback should have been called as penalties.
Cam Newton smiles to the crowd after the Panthers scored in the first quarter against the Broncos on September 8, 2016.
Stewart said after the game he felt like he led with his shoulder, not his head. I know you guys are anticipating so much, and I am trying my best to keep it together. The insane thing is that the Broncos were only penalized for one of the hits, which has caused many to question the referees who were working the game. “I will not let up on them”. Newton stayed in and led the Panthers into field goal range, although Graham Gano missed a 50-yard attempt that would have given Carolina the lead with 4 seconds remaining.
“I think it was a very physical game”, Newton said.
“There was communication between medical personnel on the Carolina sideline, including the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant, and the two independent certified athletic trainer spotters in the booth”, the statement said. “Coach [Ron] Rivera always says when you play just good enough, you play just good enough to get beat, too”.
Team officials said Newton was asked questions four times following the game – locker room, bus ride to the airport, on the plane and back in Charlotte – to make sure there were no side effects from the hits to the head. Maybe they simply didn’t see the hits.
This should have been a no-brainer for the National Football League to step in and give a concussion test to Newton, but they did not do so, and one has to wonder if it was because Newton was the star player of the game, the marquee name. “What are we supposed to do?” said Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, who doled out a couple of egregious hits on Newton.
“We’ve talked about it ad nauseam”.
Advertisement
“Late Night with Seth Meyers” (1.5 rating in households from 1:45-2:45 a.m. ET, 0.7 in 18-49 in the local people meters): Scores the show’s best 18-49 rating in the local people meters since Friday, Dec. 11, 2015 (also a 0.7 in 18-49).
