Cam Newton: NFL Looking Into Denver Broncos Hits?
Cam Newton may be playing Sunday, but what is the NFL going to do about the way he was hit Thursday Night?
The Carolina Panthers were not happy with the punishment that Cam Newton took in the Thursday night game versus Denver. It seemed as if Newton took four helmet-to-helmet hits during the game with only one of them called a penalty on the field and even that one did not result in any yards for the Panthers as it was nullified by an intentional grounding penalty on the play.
The NFL announced on Sunday that they were looking into ONE of the hits. That would be the hit on Newton by Denver linebacker Brandon Marshall. Commissioner Roger Goodell made some mention that disciplinary action would be forthcoming. That will most likely be a fine of some sort with a possible suspension. It is unlikely that the NFL will take action against all four of the hits.
The NFLPA is investigating the other end of the matter. They want to make sure concussion protocols were responsibly carried out since it appeared that Newton was quite affected by the last hit he took. He also came back to finish the game after that.
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These items were missing the point. All the NFLPA could determine that would be new is that Newton should have been pulled out of the game. That would essentially justify the head-hunting of the Broncos defense as a legitimate tactic since there were no repercussions for them during the game. All the NFL can do at this point is say that yes, the Broncos were dirty on four occasions.
It doesn’t solve the bigger problem of why referees did not throw the flags to begin with. There are a number of opinions on this. Cam Newton’s father Cecil believes there is a bias within football against his son. Newton has had tiffs with referees before including with Ed Hochuli last year. I don’t think that is what is going on here.
Instead I believe this is a product of the Michael Jordan effect with a little of bit of home field effect. The Denver defense gained a reputation last year as being the best in the league. So they are being given the equivalent of Jordan’s third step when it comes to officiating. They aren’t head hunters but just playing good hard defense or so the rationale goes.
Similar things happened to the Baltimore Ravens when they were recognized as the defensive standard years ago. More recently it happened with the Seattle Seahawks. Somehow the Seahawks were able to get away with physical play in the defensive backfield during an era where the NFL had put more restraints and focus on defensive pass penalties. The excuse? That they were just that good.
I am not saying Richard Sherman or other individuals in the Seattle secondary are not good players, but they received the benefit of the doubt on these things where there is supposed to be little to no benefit of the doubt.
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The same with the Broncos and their hits on Newton as a result of pass rushing. The NFL says QB safety is important, which tells me that is no benefit of the doubt on the issue. In fact we have seen ticky-tack penalties in other games where quarterbacks were barely hit result in roughness penalties. So why not this one? Because the Broncos are just that good?
Newton has been cleared this weekend against the San Francisco 49ers. The game is in Charlotte and the 49ers defense does not have a reputation for anything at the moment. We will see how this game is officiated. My guess is that the 49ers won’t be able to pressure Newton enough to hit him, but if they do- watch for the flags.
Next: QB issues rule First Quarter
If they come then we have just witnessed that the Broncos are indeed special children in the league. If they do not, then we need to start asking why Newton is handled differently than other quarterbacks but not before.