Felger: Cam Newton Is A Big Baby For Complaining About Ed Hochuli
BOSTON (CBS) -- Does an NFL quarterback have to be "old enough" to draw a roughing the passer penalty? According to Cam Newton, that's exactly what veteran referee Ed Hochuli told the quarterback on Sunday.
Newton asked Hochuli for a flag on Sunday, but according to Newton, Hochuli said, "You're not old enough to get that call."
The comment from Newton sparked a response from the league's VP of officiating, who said that Hochuli denied making the comment and that the league could tap into some of the field mics to try to hear what the referee might have said to Newton.
While this story has many folks up in arms about the state of officiating in the NFL, Michael Felger remains much more concerned with the state of Cam Newton.
"I'm going to do something today that I don't know if I've ever done before -- come to the defense of Ed Hochuli," Felger said. "Cam Newton, you big baby. You big. Baby. Really? Aww. Ed cracked a joke. We're going to get all bent out of shape about this now? And the league might look at it?"
The play in question, as Felger noted, involved Newton rolling to his right and throwing the ball away just before getting shoved out of bounds.
"Newton cried about it after the game. 6-foot-5, 260 pounds. Looking for a 15-yard flag on a little push out of bounds where he's scrambling. He's no longer a passer. It's not like he's in the pocket and the guy's coming in way late. This is a guy who's 6-5, 260, can somersault over people and can run like any running back in the league. Yet he wants a flag for a little shove out of bounds."
Felger contends that no matter what Hochuli said, it was uttered in jest.
"My issue is ... it's a joke," Felger said. "You can't josh around like that on the field? So now we're going to go to the postgame and cry about it? And now we're going to have a league investigation? Any microphone that was open on the field, the league is now going to go listen to and see if Ed pontificated. Scary thought, to open up the mic on Hochuli and listen to everything coming out of that guy's mouth.
"Good lord. Really? It's obviously a joke. It's a joke, Cam."
Felger got some pushback from Jim Murray, who said it's an important issue and a "bad look" for the NFL if Hochuli did indeed say what Newton claims.
"It's completely unprofessional," Murray said.
"Goofing around," Felger said. "Just a quick little crack. Stuff like that must go on all the time in every sport."
According to Dean Blandino, Hochuli denied making the comment, which could come back to bite the ref.
"The only thing that Hochuli did wrong, if he did anything wrong, is lie about it," Felger said. "If it turns out Hochuli said it and lied about it, then I would say that's bad form. Just admit it. ... And something tells me, he did actually say it. That'd be quite a thing for Cam Newton to come up with out of nowhere."
Ultimately, Felger points the finger at Cam Newton for making it a big story.
"I believe Newton that Hochuli did say it, and I think it is such a non-issue," Felger said. "For Newton to make it an issue, I look at it and go -- you are soft. You are soft, pal. Not only did you whine for that flag, but when you didn't get it, he said something just to bust your balls and then you tattle on him to the media?
