Derek Wolfe Q&A: 'Where Is the Player Safety There?'

DENVER — Broncos defensive lineman Derek Wolfe got through Thursday night's season opener versus the Carolina Panthers—a 21-20 win—despite suffering a stinger and a series of hits to the face that made this the dirtiest game he has ever played in.

As he starts his fifth season in the NFL after earning a four-year, $36.7 million contract extension, Wolfe talked about what happened in the game and the need for the officials and the NFL to do a better job of protecting players.

Bleacher Report: You were pretty upset with how the game was officiated Thursday night, particularly the lack of calls against the Carolina offensive linemen.

Derek Wolfe: Cutting out legs, grabbing the facemask, grabbing our pads, tackling our legs...they just let these offensive linemen get away with murder. Von [Miller] was in a full nelson one play, being blocked with a full nelson on one play. It was just on a random pass-rush play, the guy has him in a full nelson. That's not holding? That's not anything? There's no call there whatsoever?

They talk about player safety; they have to start calling holding calls. If an offensive lineman has you inside, he won, OK, great. But whenever he is outside of my [stuff] or grabbing the back of my shoulder pads and getting thrown down and dragged down, that's when people get hurt. You're not protecting us at that point. You're not looking out for our best interests, and that's not just me.

It's around the whole league. If you watch film, you will see it all around the league. There are offensive linemen who get to do whatever they want.

B/R: I haven't reviewed the game, and most of that stuff is difficult to see from the press box, but I understand your point. But how much worse was this game than any other?

DW: There was one facemask penalty against me. If there was one, trust me, there were plenty of others.

B/R: That's the one where Ryan Kalil got you?

DW: Yeah, grabbed me by the face, damn near ripped my helmet off, cost me a sack.

B/R: Because you're right there next to Cam Newton.

DW: Oh yeah, I'm right there, it's a sack.

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

B/R: So how many times did you get hit in the eyes Thursday night?

DW: At least five or six times. Guys were coming up with both hands right to my face. But it's obvious they're going to do it until somebody tells them to stop. Why wouldn't you? If you can keep getting away with it, why wouldn't you do it? So that's why I'm saying there has to be someone protecting us as players.

B/R: The game Thursday night was as physical as I've seen in a long time.

DW: And I love physical games. That's a fun game. It's not fun when a guy is grabbing you by the back of the jersey when you're trying to run to the ball and the play is over, and he finishes you over the pile because he's yanking you by the shoulder and you're running on one leg, basically. Then he's throwing you over the pile so you get your legs tangled up. That's not necessary—that's not part of the game.

Part of the game is playing hard and playing smart, you know what I'm saying? You get punched in the [freaking] face every play, you're getting dragged over the pile, you're getting held; that creates more injuries than anything else.

Where is the player safety there? When are they going to start making it so that offensive linemen can't get away with that? That's all I want to know. That's frustrating as a player because whenever that happens, you stop worrying about making plays and start worrying about protecting yourself.

B/R: Because you're not playing against the quarterback anymore, you're playing not to get hurt?

DW: Exactly. I'm going against that guy who is grabbing you by the facemask.

B/R: So how did you get the stinger?

DW: So after I got the facemask, then he came down and hit me on the side of the head, helmet to helmet.

B/R: But he's a really good player.

DW: Me getting a stinger, that was a clean play. He wasn't doing anything dirty. But like in basketball where you have a flagrant foul, that was a flagrant foul when he grabbed me by my facemask.

B/R: I get it, he's trying to protect his guy.

DW: But he's trying to protect his guy and I get a flagrant foul? He should have been in better position, that's what I'm saying. They don't hold them to the same standard that they hold us. If we put our hands on the helmet, they call us right away.

If you put your hands in someone's face as a defensive lineman or you touch a quarterback's helmet, it's a [freaking] flag. But I've got a 300-pound guy punching me in the face every [freaking] play. That's not how you're taught to play football.

B/R: You're taught to play body to body.

DW: Exactly, you're taught to play body to body, to play his chest, but now he's punching me in the face. I can barely look up right now because my neck is so [freaking] sore. I've never gone through a game where I have gotten hit in the face so many times and it hasn't been called.

B/R: Was it multiple guys or the same guy?

DW: You had [Mike] Remmers, [Trai] Turner and [Kalil]. They were targeting me the whole game.

B/R: Just trying to make you pay?

DW: Oh yeah, just trying to hurt me. Not trying to stop me from making a play, trying to hurt me.

B/R: So how did you keep your cool?

DW: What am I going to do, flip out and fight them? If I do, that hurts the team.

B/R: I understand, but I've also covered the league for 25 years and seen my fair share of guys flip out.

DW: Trust me, I wanted to do that. I wanted to retaliate, but every time they were doing something to me and I was trying to get them off me, the refs are jumping on my case as if I'm doing something wrong. So it's like, who are you trying to protect here? It was just very biased by the refs.

B/R: Was it the same official the whole time?

DW: Yeah, he was in my face the whole time telling me to calm down. I wasn't out there losing my temper. I was really trying to protect myself from injury, from serious injury, because the things they were doing were dirty, dirty football.

B/R: I just want to be clear that you're cool with this because you could get fined by the NFL for what you're saying.

DW: Yeah, I'm fine. I just want it to be fair for everybody. I want everybody to be held to the same standard, you know what I mean?

B/R: Yes, so what did you think about the situation with Newton at the end of the game when he wasn't taken to be examined after the helmet-to-helmet hit? I don't think Darian Stewart was going after him. That play happens, but that still looked rough.

DW: He's just laying on the ground. It's amazing they didn't come out to look at him. If you're a quarterback and you leave the pocket, you're risking the danger of getting hit hard like that.

But let's go check on him. Let's forget about the penalty for a second and make sure the player is OK. That's my main point in this whole conversation is player safety, protecting the players from serious injury.

Nicks and cuts, that happens.

B/R: Is this an early-season thing, that the refs aren't ready for the full speed of the game, either?

DW: I don't think it's completely the referees' fault. I think they're told to call certain things, like a defender's hit on the quarterback, that's it. That's what they're concerned about. Look at the play against [cornerback] Chris [Harris].

It's 4th-and-21 and the receiver has his hand completely up in Chris' face, and they call it against Chris because they're not looking out for the defense. That's what I'm saying as a defensive player.

They gave them five yards on the kickoff [this offseason]. It's clear in my opinion that they are giving offenses the benefit of the doubt. They are giving offenses every chance they can.