Steve Smith had a rough game on Sunday, but the Panthers’ wide receiver isn’t willing to shoulder all of the blame.
Smith recorded 60 yards on four catches, and was targeted a team-high 10 times during Carolina’s 22-6 loss to the Cardinals, but he thinks a certain referee had more to do with their defeat than his numbers.
Smith dropped a couple of key passes throughout the contest, and he admitted after the game that he was unhappy with his play, but he was also unhappy with the man wearing No. 64, umpire Dan Ferrell, according to the The Charlotte Observer.
“No. 64, he was garbage,” Smith said. “There is a lot of things I would let him hold, but nothing valuable.”
Smith wasn’t pleased with certain calls that he didn’t get, but he also wasn’t happy with a couple of the ones that were whistled. The wide receiver said that the Cardinals’ coverage moved past physical to “molesting.”
“I got a [pass interference] penalty, which is very interesting,” Smith said Monday. “I got leg-humped and hugged a few times. Being a pretty good flag football player, I think I got my flag pulled on my jersey a few times. I would say pretty much, I take that one on the chin and just say it was me. I’ve got to play better.”
Covered by Patrick Peterson for the majority of the game, the bulk of Smith’s complaints to Ferrell revolved around the cornerback. On one specific play, Smith told the umpire that Peterson had grabbed his jersey, and he reported that Ferrell replied that he saw it but it wasn’t significant enough to warrant a flag. Smith wholeheartedly disagreed.
“It was pass interference in Mexico, Europe, rugby — in pretty much every other sport but in Arizona yesterday,” Smith said. “But then when I pushed off, it was pass interference.”
Smith was upset on Sunday, and he likely won’t be jumping for joy when he receives what seems to be a likely fine from the commissioner for his comments about the officiating, but the wide receiver knows what’s coming to him and he doesn’t seem too fazed by his reality.
“To be honest, I make enough money where if Roger [Goodell] wants to fine me, he can,” Smith said. “But I really think that referee probably was the sorriest referee that I have ever met.”
