By Jonathan Sawyer
Sports Editor
Concussions have been the biggest issue in the NFL in the past three to four years. But there are other problems in the NFL that could be considered worse. Consider the rule change of not leading with your head or defenders hitting up high on players. Defenders have no other choice than to go low on players and that could, and has, caused worse injury.
ACL injuries have been one of the most common injuries in the NFL. They not only end a player’s season, but potentially their career. Now with that being said, there is one player in particular who gets hit after he throws the ball, targeted at his knees and takes vicious head shots game after game. Cam Newton is 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, which is big for a quarterback. He runs like he’s a receiver and can give a hit like he’s a linebacker. His position is the quarterback. Not linebacker, not receiver, the quarterback. Which means half the time he is defenseless.
In his most recent game, Newton was scrambling out of the pocket and threw the ball to a receiver. Two strides after the ball was released, he took a shot from an Arizona Cardinal defensive player while an official was standing right near Newton. No call was made. Later in the game, Newton was in the pocket and when he threw the ball, another Cardinals’ defensive player dove at his knees, taking him out. The hit made viewers cringe. In the NFL if a defensive player lunges at a quarterback’s knees, it’s an automatic 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. There was no call on that with, again, an official right near Newton.
It’s coming to the point where Newton said, “I don’t even feel safe out there.” Yes, he is a big scrambling quarterback, but when he takes a shot to the knee or gets targeted to the head and there isn’t a call, there must be a change.
Yes, concussions are a big deal, but a lot of players have come out and said that they would rather sit out a week than a season. Meaning, they would take a concussion over a knee injury. That is something the NFL needs to get right, especially for the quarterback position. It doesn’t matter if your last name is Brady, Manning, Brees or Rodgers, the call needs to be made. Just because Newton can take a hit doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get calls that those same players are getting.
Newton has a lot of football left in him, and if the refs don’t start looking out for guys like him — Russell Wilson, Tyrod Taylor and any other quarterback in the league — it could possibly end their careers.
There are on average eight to 10 officials on the field at a game. To tell me that not one of them saw the MVP take a late hit or a shot to the knee is mind boggling. This league is turning into a dual-threat quarterback league. Most of the quarterbacks in the NFL can sit in the pocket and scramble to use their legs. Going forward, this needs to be addressed more and more to protect these guys so they aren’t taking major or career ending injuries.
Newton is only one of many players not getting these calls. There are running backs, wide receivers and other quarterbacks in the same boat. The NFL preaches safety. Now they need to get this right and protect the players.
sawyerjp15@bonaventure.edu
