The first offense by Newton came after he was gang sacked by the Raiders and as he laid on the turf tried to put a cleat in the face of Tommy Kelly. Not only wasn't he penalized for the classless move, but Tommy Kelly was penalized for unnecessary roughness despite there being no cause for the penalty against Kelly.
The kick was on the level of Ndamukong Suh's stomp on Packers Evan Dietrich-Smith last season - Suh was ejected for that move. And yet Newton's high kick went without notice.
The penalty called on Kelly happened on third down and gave the Panthers an automatic first down to keep the drive alive. The Panthers were able to drive into field goal range and miss the field goal.
That wasn't Newton's only moment of immaturity.
In the second half, Newton was angry at a no-call on Mike Mitchell on what Newton thought should have been a roughing the passer penalty. He hopped up and put his chest into the official and began barking in the officials face. Yes, he MADE CONTACT WITH THE OFFICIAL which, as we all know, is a an offense that is supposed to result in an ejection. And yet somehow, Newton remained in the game. At this point, it is a shock he was even flagged for it.
The Panthers would not be able to pick up the yards necessary to convert the first down after that and Cam Newton left the field looking like he was about to cry.
His actions and attitude further prove the majority opinions of his immaturity. I was asked by Panthers blogger James Daton for an outsiders opinion on the Panthers and my response garnered a great deal of anger from Panthers fans. This is what I said.
"They are a team in flux. I wasn't a fan of Cam Newton coming out of college and he is proving me right this season with his lackluster play on the field and his attitude off of it. I don't think they will ever win with him. At least until he grows up. If that ever happens. There are some good players on the team otherwise. Two great running backs in DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart for starters."
That little part about Cam Newton needing to grow up is what got their fans all worked up into a lather. They like to pretend it is the media making Newton look bad as opposed to his own words and actions. Their fans' responses were rather entertaining before. They are downright delicious now.
To read them (and comment), click here.
Part of my opinion of Newton was validated/strengthened by this press conference in which he throws his coaches under the bus. Start around the :45 second mark where he claims zero responsibility and then follows it up by blaming the playcalling.
I would expect Newton will be quite a bit lighter in the wallet after this week thanks to his twinkle toes and his little tantrum that had him contacting the official. But that won't be of any solace for the Raiders in this game and anything short of a one game suspension wouldn't be punishment enough for Cam Newton.
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