Why did Cam Newton *certainly* get benched through Ron Rivera?

In an NFL season filled with bizarre moments, plays and testimonies, the opening to the Panthers-Seahawks Sunday night time football sport would possibly take the cake. Carolina took the hole kickoff after which, with none fanfare or observe, backup quarterback Derek Anderson walked onto the sector for the outlet collection while a healthful Cam Newton stood on the sideline looking.

teach Ron Rivera later discovered that he benched the reigning NFL MVP for the start of the sport because of a dress-code violation, specially for a failure to put on a tie. whether or not Newton became benched for a single play or a single collection turned into first of all unknown -- Anderson threw an interception on that first play and after a quick Seattle discipline goal, Carolina were given the ball lower back once more and Newton became lower back in his traditional spot. (Rivera later revealed the suspension was for the first offensive series of the sport.)

Ignoring the hilarity and irony of Cam Newton getting a get dressed-code violation -- no, strike that, we cannot forget about it. Newton is, consistent with my word Of The Day calendar, a Beau Brummell. (He was a nineteenth century "arbiter of British fashion" who have become famous for his flashy duds.) For information meetings, Newton has dressed like Mr. Peanut wearing a T-blouse offered from the MOMA gift keep. He owns a camouflage tuxedo, ideal for mixing into the harmful environment of events on the Plaza thrown through Anna Wintour. Newton has actually stuck a feather in his cap. typical, he dresses like a Nineteen Fifties journeying salesman who is part of a barbershop quartet that completely performs songs from Fred Astaire films. So the concept that he ought to get a dress-code violation from some thing but the lower back web page of us Weekly is surprising.

however fedoras apart, the selection to bench Newton in a critical, need to-win recreation in opposition to one of the excellent groups in the NFC is extraordinary. Token suspensions are for Steve Spurrier gamers in a bowl recreation (although while he benched Rex Grossman in the 2002 Orange Bowl for lacking curfew, Spurrier sat his star for six series). they're what colleges impose on their basketball players to appease the NCAA. within the pros it is nearly extraordinary.

we're by no means going to genuinely understand what caused the suspension. I buy that the tie become the catalyst but can't trust it become anything however the proverbial straw that broke the riverboat's back. inside the subsequent 48 hours we're going to get special explanations each on and off the file and from an entire bunch of resources from the front office, near the gamers or with understanding of the scenario. it's going to all be damage control and impossible to split truth from fiction, like scrolling your fb news feed or identifying why these equal Panthers permit All-seasoned Josh Norman leave for no precise reason within the offseason. (That choice appears extra germane to this verbal exchange than anything you could purchase at Macy's.) in the postgame pressers, no one stated much of anything though. "i'm no longer going to get into our get dressed code," Rivera stated after the sport. "absolutely my decision." Newton just stated the loss wasn't approximately the tie. Cue furrowed brow and exaggerated eye roll.

Rivera can be called an off-the-cuff gambler however one does not decide to make a circulate with such viable some distance-accomplishing implications without weighing the pros and cons. An NFL teach has little inside the manner of disciplinary options however sufficient juice to make any such measures stick (it's not just like the NBA where you bench a celeb and the crew turns on you and all at once you are out of labor and two years away from education the Pistons). for the duration of education camp, sure, you could get away with mild discipline of big players. inside the regular season even though? when every play topics and seasons hinge on a unmarried interception like, say, one which opens a sport between the closing two NFC champions? it is just now not done.

With a 15-1 season and exquisite Bowl appearance beneath his belt in addition to a reputation as a player's coach, Rivera may feel like he could take the hit if there have been a backlash, although you get the sensation he is now not sitting Newton if he idea it'd motive a mutiny. maybe Newton has had it coming for weeks -- understanding he became above the law and flirting with that line -- and Rivera determined that sending a message this big (it could have been simplest a chain however this changed into a huge sport in opposition to a primary opponent in front of a countrywide target market) become the wake-up call his quarterback wanted.

but, except the opposite 52 guys in the locker room are on board (and you can not get 52 human beings to agree that ice cream is right so it's doubtful the entire group is on crew Ron for this one), there's usually going to be a risk like, say, going out after the benching and getting waxed 40-7 in a primetime recreation in a listless, embarrassing performance in which the group had the hobby and attempt as a 12-win NBA crew playing the closing night of a lower back-to-back-to-again. If the point turned into to fireplace up the group, to expose them that no person's above the regulation and that their train is so confident in them that he can have the funds for to take a seat his star for a sequence to make his point, it failed miserably.

If I had to bet even though, this was a brief-time period pass supposed to have lengthy-time period impact. there are many motives teams that lose within the incredible Bowl have, extra often than now not, disappointing observe-up seasons: the time table, the truth which you're now the hunted, the attrition of gamers who can get bigger offers. however there is also the complacency that sets in. that would be a long way from the handiest motive for Carolina's four-8 report however it's certainly a element. for this reason, sending a message to your team leader could be a veiled try to ship one to the whole crew.

perhaps Cam had it coming, maybe he did not. maybe Rivera had ulterior reasons for his move or maybe he made a snap decision that'll dominate a news cycle. maybe it was a move so as to help the crew down the street or perhaps it's going to blow up within the team's face. possibly it is none of these things though. in the end, sometime a tie is only a tie.