He Won't Say It, but NFL Must Do Better to Protect Superman Cam Newton

DENVER — The look on the face of the Carolina staff member told the story of the night.

In the aftermath of Denver’s 21-20 victory over Carolina on Thursday night, the staff member was asked a simple question: How is it that Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was not taken out of the game for examination of a possible concussion?

The staff member looked back and said, “That’s the question I’m asking.”

During Carolina’s final drive, Newton took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Denver safety Darian Stewart. Newton’s head snapped from side to side. It was clearly a hit worthy of review, and the NFL said on Friday it did just that:

"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 league said. "During stoppage in play while on-field officials were in the process of administrating penalties, the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant and team physician requested video from the spotters and reviewed the play. They concluded there were no indications of a concussion that would require further evaluation and the removal of the player from the game."

The league also said Carolina medical staff ran out on the field to check on Newton immediately after the hit.

The problem with those statements is twofold. First, Newton said in his postgame press conference that he was not checked for a concussion until after the game. When asked directly about when he was checked, Newton gave a one-word response.

“Postgame,” he said. And that examination seemed rudimentary to Newton.

“They asked me a couple of questions, but nothing too serious,” he said.

As the game was going, there was clearly time for someone to check him during the game. Referee Gene Steratore and his crew had to take a moment to sort through the penalty against Denver for roughing the passer and an intentional grounding call against Newton.

And while the Panthers medical staff went out to check on him, this is the kind of situation that leads to the second part of the problem.

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Do you really think the Panthers were going to push for Newton to be pulled from the game at that moment? This is not some accusation of nefarious behavior, it’s just reality. The Panthers were down by a point at the time, and the reigning Most Valuable Player was banged up.

This is the classic moment where you need independent people to say, “OK, that was ugly, we need to check on that.”

But Thursday’s game was a further example of how the NFL continues to have a high tolerance for other people’s pain. The end-of-game hit on Newton was one of at least three hits to the head against him. Of those, only one was penalized.

To the Panthers, this is part of a continuing trend of how Newton has been treated.

“You guys have watched him for six years,” tight end Greg Olsen said. “You know the deal.”

The "deal" is the perception that Newton should take more punishment than most quarterbacks. There are a couple of reasons. First, he’s a big man at 6'5" and 245 pounds. There is a sense that he should be able to handle more hitting.

The problem is that Thursday night quickly got out of hand. Aside from the hit by Stewart, Denver linebackers Brandon Marshall and Shaq Barrett both hit Newton in the head during the game. Both plays easily could have—and probably should have—been flagged.

The second issue that complicates matters for Newton is that he puts himself in harm’s way more than most quarterbacks. He does his best to extend plays, often holding the ball too long before throwing.

Likewise, he runs a lot, by design. He had 11 carries for 54 yards on Thursday night, and all but one of them was a called run.

But at this rate, if Newton is allowed to be roughed up like this on a consistent basis, his career is going to be over a lot sooner than later.

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For his part, Newton didn’t whine or complain during or after the game. If this had been Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, there would have been a hissy fit. He said he tries to talk to the refs after shots to the head, but Newton’s tone was polite.

Newton also didn’t want to entertain questions about whether he was targeted or whether he should have been examined.

Unlike the last time we saw Newton in a postgame press conference, he handled this one splendidly. Time and again, he was asked about the officiating and the failure of the league to protect him. He didn’t take the bait once, always talking about how he and the team just have to play better.

That was smart, because Newton can let the media do the work for him. Thursday's game was at the very least questionable. At the very most, it was a failure of the league to protect a player—in this case, an extremely important player.

Because for all of the opinions about Newton and his brash style of play, the league is better with him on the field. He deserves the same protection as any other player.

If not, then here’s one thing fans should do: Store all the video you can of Newton so you can show future generations just how stunningly talented he was.

Because, at this rate, he’s not going to be around long.