Ron Rivera says Cam Newton should feel safer under new rules

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera saidCam Newton should feel safer under the NFL's new rules than he did two years ago when the quarterback criticized the league for not penalizing what he considered illegal hits.

Atlanta safety Damontae Kazee was ejected in the second quarter on Sunday for unnecessary roughness after he hit a sliding Newton in the helmet at the end of a scramble.

A week earlier, Dallas defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence was penalized and later fined for hitting Newton below the knees.

"I would like to think he feels that things are in place to protect him and protect the rest of the quarterbacks,'' Carolina coach Ron Rivera said Monday as he discussed Sunday's 31-24 loss. "The awareness has most certainly been heightened.

"Again, it's about player safety.''

The league changed the rules during the offseason to put an emphasis on penalizing players that lead with the helmet as Kazee did.

Newton said after the game that Kazee's late hit was self-explanatory. When asked if he felt safer today than he did two years ago, he said, "I'm not worried about that. I'm just focused on trying to find ways to win football games."

The 2015 NFL MVP was more vocal during the 2016 season. After a win against Arizona in which he took a hard shot to the knees that wasn't penalized, and already frustrated that several shots to the head weren't called in the opener against Denver, he called for and got a conversation with league commissioner Roger Goodell on the matter.

"It's really taking the fun out of the game for me -- honestly, it really is," Newton said at the time. "At times, I don't even feel safe. Enough is enough. I plan on talking to commissioner Goodell about this. It's not fun, and I don't know what I have to do."

Newton used the words "bullcrap" and "horsecrap" in reference to his conviction that officials weren't making calls when he was hit. He said other quarterbacks in the league get those calls more often, arguing that he's penalized because he runs more than any other quarterback in the league.

Rivera will be all right if the league doesn't suspended Kazee for his hit on Newton, noting it's hard to accurately prove a player's intent.

He appreciated the way the officials handled the hit, adding such plays are an indication the new rules are working and that it's setting "the right tone.''

"It's sending a message to the players that shots to the head of other players will not be tolerated,'' Rivera said. "There was an emphasis on sliding quarterbacks, protecting quarterbacks, that was made this offseason and players were told if something like this happens, you could be ejected.

"The referees judged it was an egregious hit and they made their decision. It's all a part of the game and it's got to be taken out of the game. It can't be accepted.''