The NFL and the NFLPA will "investigate whether Panthers and independent medical team members responded properly to the fourth-quarter hit" on Panthers QB Cam Newton in Thursday’s season opener, according to Joseph Person of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. They will be the "first investigations conducted by the league and players union since the two entities announced a new policy in July to enforce the NFL's game day concussion protocol and discipline teams that violate it." The hit in question was the "final one absorbed by Newton" -- a collision with Broncos S Darian Stewart that left Newton "on his hands and knees while teammates checked on him." The NFL on Friday said that "protocol had been followed" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 9/12). Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported the NFL wanted the union "to join in the investigation," but the NFLPA "will conduct its own investigation." The union "believed that the speed with which the league said everything is fine raised red flags, so each side will do an investigation." Florio: "If they disagree, an arbitrator will decide whether there was a violation or not” (“Football Night in America,” NBC, 9/11). USA TODAY's Tom Pelissero noted as part of a new policy announced in July, the Panthers "could face discipline" from the NFL if the club's medical team "didn't follow the protocol" (USATODAY.com, 9/11).
LETTING IT SLIDE? NFL Senior VP/Officiating Dean Blandino said that officials on the field had "erred in not penalizing" Broncos LB Brandon Marshall for "roughing the passer in the third quarter." In N.Y., Ken Belson noted the acknowledgment "came as the league continued to combat the perception that it was not doing enough to protect players from hits that could lead to head trauma." The NFL will "continue to struggle to find a balance between keeping players safe and not destroying the flow of the games" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/10). In DC, Adam Kilgore wrote concussion protocol "allows the NFL to claim it is trying to prevent brain injuries, but the league's lack of action after the hit on Newton demonstrates, once again, that it is an empty policy that only works when it doesn't interfere with the game." Last Thursday the system "failed the NFL's best player" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/10). THE MMQB's Peter King writes the coming investigation "has to be thorough and honest." King: "I don't care what time of game it is; this guy's got to be taken out, or a medical timeout has to be taken, to check him out" (MMQB.SI.com, 9/12).
