Cam Newton has held his tongue about debatably late or dirty hits he’s received over the course of his career. On Sunday (Oct. 30), the North Carolina Panthers’ quarterback finally voiced his frustrations with the NFL officials after a 30-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. It’s hits like the one shown below that have the 27-year-old MVP not “feeling safe” on the field.
Cam Newton hit low by Calais Campbell and bent his leg awkwardly, Campbell apologized. No flag. pic.twitter.com/tmeCxa4oki
— The Cauldron (ICYMI) (@CauldronICYMI) October 30, 2016
This low-blow could’ve taken out Newton’s ACL or done severe damage to his knee. The hit delivered by Calais Campbell was not flagged as a personal foul for going low on the passer, when it’s the definition of why the rule was implemented in the first place. Carson Palmer knows a thing or two about knee injuries from low hits.
“It’s not fun. It’s really taking the fun out of the game for me. Honestly, it really is. At times, I don’t even feel safe,” Newton said. “Enough is enough. I plan on talking to Commissioner Goodell about this. But it’s not fun. And I don’t know what I have to do. I showed a lot of frustration today and I apologized to the referee who I was talking to, but I don’t think there’s a person who can go through what I go through and still keep their head. Hits to the head, that’s one thing, but when you’re not protected in the pocket, that’s another thing.
The story of my life ever since I came in is just, ‘Oh well, we messed that one up. Sorry.’ That’s bull crap. As players in this league, if we do something stupid, we get fined. If we do something derogatory to somebody else, we get fined. I just can’t keep accepting, ‘Oh we missed that one’ or ‘I apologize for doing that’ or ‘I didn’t see it.’ That’s horse crap. That’s horse crap.
Coming from a person who has been fined before, coming from a person that everybody is expecting a lot from, and I’m still growing, yet when you constantly see the hits, when you constantly see flags being picked up, when you’re constantly seeing flags not being thrown, and to see other quarterbacks getting lesser physical hits … it’s taking the fun out for me. I’m just being honest with you.”
Wow. Cam Newton said he plans on talking to Commissioner Goodell about late hits. Says he doesn’t “feel safe” anymore. Says its “bullcrap”
— Conor Orr (@ConorOrr) October 30, 2016
Cam Newton’s podium outfit. pic.twitter.com/kELczpVZjf
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 30, 2016
Per a ProFootballTalk report, the NFL actually keeps track of “missed” roughing the passer penalties. Newton has only been the victim of three missed calls in the league’s eyes, which is less than 11 other quarterbacks since 2013.
Imagine if Tom Brady was getting hit how Cam Newton is getting hit sometimes, somebody would get suspended
— Interim Vikings Fan (@BasedChasen) October 31, 2016
As a running quarterback, Newton is obviously more prone to hits than other QBs because of his size, but that does not mean he shouldn’t be protected.