The Carolina Panthers would probably rather have had the penalty yards for the uncalled illegal hits on their quarterback Cam Newton, but some fines for the Denver Broncos at least confirmed the Panthers’ complaints.
Safety Darian Stewart was fined $18,231 for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Newton late in the fourth quarter that was penalized, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan. Linebacker Brandon Marshall, who lauched himself into Newton’s head at the end of a throw, was fined more than $24,000 according to Troy Renck of Denver7. Marshall was not given a penalty on that play, and other questionable hits weren’t called either.
The multiple illegal hits on Newton in last Thursday’s regular-season opener drew many complaints from the Panthers and even from Newton’s father. On NFL Network, NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said if Newton has tucked the ball and appears to be a runner he doesn’t get the normal quarterback protection, but if he is looking to pass he should still be treated as a quarterback.
“It’s the posture that dictates the protection,” Blandino said.
The Panthers have argued that Newton should be protected like all quarterbacks are, and officials might not be calling penalties the same for Newton because of his size and running ability.
The fines indicate the NFL agrees and Newton wasn’t protected like he should have been. The fines won’t change the outcome of the Panthers’ Week 1 loss, but you can imagine that officials will be keeping a closer eye on the way Newton is hit going forward, starting on Sunday when the Panthers host the San Francisco 49ers.
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