Report: NFL says Newton has fewer missed roughing-the-passer calls than 11 QBs

Panthers QB, and reigning MVP, says he does not feel safe on the field at times

After his team's win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton exasperatedly told the assembled media he sometimes does not feel safe on the field, given the volume of missed roughing-the-passer calls he has been subjected to over the years. He said that he plans on talking to the commissioner about it as well.

"It's not fun. It's really taking the fun out of the game for me. Honestly, it really is. At times, I don't even feel safe. Enough is enough. I plan on talking to Commissioner Goodell about this. It's not fun. And I don't know what I have to do. I showed a lot of frustration today and I apologized to the referee who I was talking to, but I don't think there's a person who can go through what I go through and still keep their head. 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 just, 'Oh well, we messed that one up. Sorry.' That's bull crap. That's bull crap. As players in this league, if we do something stupid, we get fined. If we 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 horse crap. That's horse crap.

"Coming from a person who has been fined before, coming from a person that everybody is expecting a lot from -- and I'm still growing -- yet when you constantly see the hits, when you constantly see flags being picked up, when you're constantly seeing flags not being thrown, and to see other quarterbacks getting it on lesser hits ... it's taking the fun out for me. I'm just being honest with you."

If he brings his concerns to the league office, we know what its response likely will be, thanks to a report from Pro Football Talk: "You're wrong."

Per PFT's report, the NFL actually tracks missed roughing the passer calls, and Newton has somehow only been the victim of three of them since 2013. (Note: That seems incredibly low. Anyone who watched the opener vs. the Broncos probably can pick out three from that game.) That figure is also less than 11 other quarterbacks, per PFT: Jay Cutler, Alex Smith, Geno Smith (?), Josh McCown, Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan, Kirk Cousins, Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger, Case Keenum and Ryan Tannehill.

Dropping this stat on the league's reigning MVP wouldn't be the greatest PR move in the world, but this league is no stranger to bad PR moves. There's also no real way to prove the validity of the league's stat without watching every play alongside NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino, and listening to his roughing-the-passer definition, and even then you're liable to come away more confused, if his explanations of the catch rule are an indication.