Cam Newton's father 'grossly disturbed' by officiating crew Thursday night
Count Cecil Newton among those who had questions about Thursday night’s officiating crew and some Denver Broncos defenders.
Newton, the father of reigning league MVP Cam Newton, told ESPN’s Jim Trotter on Friday that he was “grossly disturbed” watching the game.
“It starts with the guys who control the behavior on the field,” Cecil Newton said. “I think the culprit is the mere fact that they allowed the game to get out of control. They allowed players to push the envelope to the very edge. That’s my ultimate concern. Whether [league officials] want to go after them or not, fine. But I’m thinking about Cam Newton being healthy today, tomorrow and 25 or 35 years from now.”
Cam Newton took at least four helmet-to-helmet hits, but only one, the last one of the night, drew a penalty, and that penalty wasn’t for helmet-to-helmet but roughing the passer.
“I’m beginning to question the consistency of how games are being called – and who they would call this particular play against versus this particular player,” Cecil said. “Was Cam treated differently from other quarterbacks? In this case, yes he was – clearly. Anybody who has followed the game for any length of time and has a working knowledge of how the game is to be played would agree with that statement.
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“People throw all these jingles out there about he’s mobile, he’s bigger, he’s more physical. There’s a lot of this and that. At the end of the day, Cam deserves to be protected just like Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Ryan Tannehill, Kirk Cousins, Andy Dalton and the list goes on and on. I know a good hit when I see a good hit. I was a defensive player, and I played the game at the highest level as well. But when you deliberately target and when you’re constantly being hit after the ball is out, I question the intent of the defensive player, and I question the official who, basically, if he does not warn them, lets the flow of the game continue.”
Panthers coach Ron Rivera told reporters on Friday that he believes some of the hits on Cam Newton should have been flagged, and some Carolina players, including tight end Greg Olsen and linebacker Thomas Davis, also spoke out about the lack of penalties.
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