Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was relieved to get a win.
But he’s also tired of not getting the calls other quarterbacks get.
Newton was angry about a low hit by Cardinals defensive tackle Calais Campbell, and when asked about the hit initially, replied: “I’m speechless, . . . Next question.”
But when pressed, it was clear he feels like he’s not getting calls others might.
“It’s really taking the fun out of the game for me,” Newton said , via Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer. “At times I don’t even feel safe. And enough is enough. I plan on talking to commissioner [Roger] Goodell about this. And I don’t know what I have to do.”
While Newton takes a number of shots when he was on the run, the one that drew his ire Sunday was inside the pocket, and he went down awkwardly after Campbell hit him between the knee and ankle. He was angry on the field, especially after watching it on replay.
“I don’t think there’s a person that can go through what I go through and still keep their heads,” he said. “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, ‘Oh, oh, well, we missed that one. I’m sorry. I’ll try to get it.’ That’s bullcrap. As player in this league if we do something stupid we get fined. If you 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 horsecrap.’ . . .
“When I see other guys get calls, they don’t have to be no MVP. They don’t have to be this, that and the third of being this type of tier of a player. I look at how they get hit and for every hit that they get that’s called, I can match a hit in my career that I didn’t get called.
“I know people will probably take what I’m saying, some people will take it out of context, but you just have to look back and look at it from my vantage point. I play this game one way. I’m no different than anybody else. I’m trying to win football games.”
Newton has been looking for more help from officials for some time, and said last year that referee Ed Hochuli told him he was “not old enough” to get certain calls. His beef about certain hits is mitigated by the fact that when he’s running, he’s usually bigger than the guy chasing him. But he admitted a moment of fear that Campbell had injured him, and he’s clearly tired of taking that abuse.