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The 2016 NFL season opener was one of the best examples of real, physical football in a long time.
One of the all time great defensive minds of football, Ray Lewis said on Undisputed that the Broncos “absolutely did not (play dirty), I call it football at its finest.”
The Broncos did what Ray Lewis and the Ravens did for so long. Tough, physical, hit the quarterback defence.
Lewis hit out at the crackdown on defensive players asking if they were meant to “hit him soft or just lay on him (Cam Newton).”
Cam Newton is a special talent. At 6 foot 5, 111kg of muscle, he’s built like a defensive lineman and runs like a halfback.
Cam has a cheeky grin, has a new dance for every touchdown and personality you just have to love, unless you’re on the other side of the ball.
Cam constantly jaws with opponents, dances in their face and the biggest mistake he made last night was getting in big hitting safety, T.J Ward’s face.
It is argued that Newton is refereed differently than any other quarterback in the league, this may be true, but Newton plays unlike any other quarterback in the league.
Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said after the game “We’ve got to treat Cam like a quarterback, I know he’s the biggest guy on the field, but he’s still a quarterback.”
Which would be a fair argument if Newton hadn’t just run in his 44th career rushing touchdown, the new NFL record for a quarterback, thrown a touchdown pass and even laid a bone crushing block on defensive lineman Shane Ray.
In one game, Newton essentially played quarter back, running back and even blocked like a lineman.
How can a defence treat Newton like a Tom Brady or an Aaron Rodgers when he runs an average of six times a game for 5.4 yards per carry?
You can’t, many have tried and all have failed.
If Newton wants to play outside the pocket and run like a running back then he should be treated the same.
When Darian Stewart stood up Panthers fullback Mike Tolbert, fans were ecstatic, praising Stewart for an excellent tackle but when Cam is hit while running, the story changes.
If Cam is going to intentionally try and get in defence’s heads by talking trash, running outside the pocket and putting his body on the line to break tackles then he needs to be able to take the hits.
Ray Lewis, one of the greatest linebackers of all time, stood by the Broncos method of defence.
“If you’re the Denver Broncos, that’s how you’re supposed to play defence. If this quarterback is a physical as (Newton) you hit him, hit him until he gets tired of being hit.”
“If we keep going this direction the game is no fun. What are you supposed to tell defenders?”
The Broncos completely altered their defensive strategy to get after Newton in the second half.
Riled up by all the talk and dancing from Newton and teammate Kelvin Benjamin, the Broncos came out to make a statement.
They realised that they had to go back to what won them the superbowl.
They recognised that Newton was breaking out of the pocket and lowering his head to gain yards and they had to stop him. The Broncos played their role and made Newton think twice before he stepped out of the pocket.
The NFL has released a statement citing Brandon Marshall’s hit on Newton as a flaggable offence, which is agreeable.
But the notion that the Broncos played dirty and “headhunted” Cam Newton is ludicrous.
What has happened to football when we’re questioning if players are tackling too hard?
The season opener was as physical as we’ve seen for a while and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.
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