NFL admits Marshall’s hit on Newton was legal

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 15, 2011, 10:46 AM EDT
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Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt was looking for clarification earlier this week.   Why exactly was cornerback Richard Marshall’s hit on Cam Newton a roughing the passer penalty?

It turns out it wasn’t illegal.  The league admitted that the game official made an error, according to Marshall.

“NFL looked at my hit on cam newton from Sundays game and said it was legal. Happy to say I’m not getting fined, thanks,” Marshall tweeted.

Newton’s day wouldn’t have looked quite as spectacular if not for the error.  The penalty wiped out an interception. A few plays later, Newton found Steve Smith for an 89-yard touchdown.

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49 responses to “NFL admits Marshall’s hit on Newton was legal”

  4. Clearly this is all Newtons fault because he has a deceptive smile and a con-artist attitude….oh yeah his work ethic is terrible and he clearly doesn’t want to get better as a quarterback.

  8. Did the NFL look into some of those calls against the Panthers? And how do u know what sort of outcome would have happened? I sure if Cam was ur son u would have felt different.

    U folks at PFT just can’t help hiding ur hate for Cam right?

  10. Maybe if the NFL didnt setup completly unenforcable rules then call out the officials everytime they make the incorrect call the officials wouldnt be threated into making, or not making, the call every single time.

    These blown calls arent on the refs. Theyre on the NFL for the way they have handled the rules over the past couple years.

  12. If this is true (let’s wait for more official word) then full marks to the NFL. Usually in these situations they try to fudge an explanation to make it look like the official was correct, which is not only dishonest but also sets a bad precident for future infractions.

  13. This has got to stop. The league admitted to their mistake, but it would have been an even bigger mistake had the Cardinals lost the game. It took away a turnover and led to a touchdown where Steve Smith was so open that he could have walked into the end zone. I know that the league is concerned about the safety of the players, but its gotten to the point where defenders will have to be concerned about getting fined or penalized on nearly every sack or hit on the quarterback.

  16. Um, I don’t know what game you watched Rosenthal, but Newton did not throw an 89 yard touchdown to Steve Smith on that drive. Try 26. After the INT was nullified, Newton threw for 41 more yards.

    Just to be clear, then, his stat sheet should have looked like this:

    22/36, 381 yards, 1 TD, 2 Int, QB Rating of 83.2.

    Pedestrian all of a sudden. Should be fun watching him get pounded this week against the Packers.

  17. I guess Wishenhunt was calling out the league without being disrespectful with his wanting clarification on what constituted an illegal hit.

  18. Does this mean that Cam Newton’s record setting day get’s an asterisk as it’s clear that overprotective official had a large part in it?

    The guy had a grood day regardless as the Cardinals corners are garbage but there’s a huge difference between having a good day and a record setting day and the ref was the difference.

  22. Until they start fining the officials this stuff will go on. Someone lost an INT, Someone lost a SACK and someone else got the opportunity to throw a TOUCHDOWN PASS and as in the past a call like this gets a chance to change the outcome of a game.

  24. There have always been bad calls in football, but the problem has been the last few years the league has made some of the rules open to interpretation…like what is a catch, or an illegal hit on a QB or defenseless player.

    It seems like officials are now throwing flags when they think a hit was too violent, not necessarily against the rules, like the Newton hit. Not against the rules, just a little to violent for the official.

    It’s getting to be a little bit of a joke and the league needs to do something about it before it affects the outcome of a huge game…sorry just doesn’t cut it if a bad call causes a team to lose a playoff game or the super bowl.

  25. Yeah, props to the NFL for admitting this one was wrong. Hopefully this means that they’ve decided to start being more honest in the future. On the other hand, look at how long they’ve outrageously lied, and continue to lie, about Calvin Johnson’s obvious touchdown against the Bears last year. When they finally admit they were wrong on the Calvin Johnson play is when I will really believe they’re serious about telling the truth.

  26. Now what about that Daniel Manning penalty for hitting a defenseless receiver, when he pulled up and the receiver ran into his thigh? I understand how the official made the wrong call there, as it happened very fast, but would be nice to see them admit it was wrong.

  27. Unfortunately we have humans officiating the games, which means it’s not going to always be perfect. Officials also don’t have the vantage point the we do with all the camera angles & slow motion. Every team in the NFL is going to be screwed by the officials at some point so expect it, accept it, and get over it because its the same for everybody. Just don’t use it as an excuse.

  28. eagleswin says:
    Sep 15, 2011 11:11 AM
    Does this mean that Cam Newton’s record setting day get’s an asterisk as it’s clear that overprotective official had a large part in it?

    _____________________________

    Refs make bad calls all the time, they’ve done it for years in the past and they will do it for years in the future, you would have to put an asterisk next to every single player in the NFL if you where to do that

  29. The referees looked like they were as poorly performed as the Chiefs for week 1. The Bucs deserved to lose so I’m certainly not making excuses, but the refs in that game were absolutely atrocious. Mike Williams was getting dry humped for several seconds in the endzone while a referee just stood there and watched. And of course, in another Madieu Williams makes his first actual hit in about 3 years and they flag him for a vicious shoulder to shoulder hit.

    Meanwhile, the only people getting fined by Goodell will be any coaches or players who speak out. The referees get off free as usual, and even with the rare apology from the NFL you’ll still see no changes or improvements the next week.

  30. wonder if marshall will be fined for saying that the NFL admitted the mistake.

    sound silly? they have doone it before.

  31. Yes, humans make mistakes. But how can the commissioner keep pontificating about the Integrity of the Game when the officials don’t seem to know what is and isn’t legal? This happens every week. And Goodell compounds it by fining players after the fact–sometimes for legal hits–in varying amounts he just pulls out of his backside.

    If Roger cares about integrity …

    1. Officials should be properly trained.
    2. The NFL needs the NCAA’s booth review system to better ensure correct calls are made on the field.
    3. Goodell he needs get over his God complex and reserve fines for serious infractions like deliberately trying to gouge an opponent’s eyes.

  32. 1 week in and we are already seeing how one bad call like this can change the course of a game. It’s for reasons like this that I think the new rules are just way overboard. Let’s play football!
    Refs have a quick trigger finger on their flags these days, and it’s all thanks to Mr. Goodell and the new rules.

  33. Yes, Goodell will fine someone but it won’t be an official. It could be Marshall or the Cardinals. The NFL does not like when a team or player comes out & says the league admitted they were wrong. I seem to remember teams/coaches/players being repremanded/fined in the past over this sort of thing.

  34. Why don’t they automatically review personal fouls? It’s one of the most influential calls in a game. Maybe they could occasionally catch the insigator as well as the guy who retaliates. am i the only one who thinks this is a no-brainer?

  35. Too many rule changes and Goodell has been a major problem for NFL football. The inconsistancy of the play calling and fines are ridiculous.

  36. This case sounds just like D’Qwell Jackson’s textbook hit on Mike Vick in the pre-season, for which Jackson was hit with a 15 yard penalty. These refs are too freakin’ flag-happy and it seems like they’re all too willing to just throw flags now for what they THOUGHT they saw instead of what they SAW. Ridiculous.

  37. At least it didn’t change the outcome of the game. Ask Calvin Johnson and the Lions about bad calls with the TD overturn by the officials in week 1 of 2010. Then the NFL had the stones to tell the teams that they weren’t going to look at the rule for better clarification. Goodell is a freaking joke and he’s ruining the game.

  39. I love how everyone commenting acts like if that call wasn’t made the rest of Cams stats would have been identical. They say he would have had 2 Ints and 1 TD. The entire game would have been different who knows what would have happened.

    That being said don’t read me the numbers watch the damn game. He made huge throws all game, you take away a potential TD and it doesn’t change everything else that he did in that game. Get a clue, stop hating on a player cause he’s not on your team.

  40. Remove the helmets and pads, and let’s see how many players will lead with their heads, launch themselves etc. You’ll see more bloody noses, but you’ll probably see fewer concussions from helmet to helmet hits. The equipment has allowed players to use them as weapons, not just protection.

  41. I heard that one of the refs actually started screaming ” Leave Britney alone” and was so hysterical that they brought him a sheet to hide under and a video camera to tell YouTube how he felt.

  43. if nfl can fine players for a mistake shouldn’t they fine the officials for making a mistake as well?

  45. Greg, $Cam threw a int right before halftime when that penalty was called and ball was at 50. He then threw a 33 yd TD. You r an excellent reorter however please get facts straight!

  46. “if nfl can fine players for a mistake shouldn’t they fine the officials for making a mistake as well?”

    The NFL don’t fine players for making mistakes, otherwise we would be hearing about Roethisberger’s seven digit fine from the weekend.

  48. The fact that Marshall will not be fined does not mean that the ref got it wrong. It just means that it was not a flagrant foul. There is a BIG difference between simply being called for a penalty and being fined for an action.

    Marshall must feel some sense of guilt. Why else would he make such a bid deal about it?

  49. Pingback: Using replacement officials would be a roll of the dice for NFL – Audibles

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