No Place in Football: The Ndamukong Suh Story

Ever since he entered the league last season, people have always questioned whether or not the play of Ndamukong Suh was physical, or actually dirty? Suh has shown flashes of brilliance, but those same flashes have been covered up by mind-boggling signs of immaturity. Most of the time, those signs had to do with late hits on the QB or something of the sort. However, today, Suh took that immaturity to a whole new level with a play that got him kicked out of the game. In the 3rd quarter of today's tilt with the undefeated Packers, following a play, Suh slammed the head of Packers lineman, Evan Dietrich-Smith into the ground a few times along with kicking him in the arm.

The latest example of Suh's immaturity will earn him a hefty fine and likely a suspension from "the man upstairs" as Suh referred to it in his press conference. As much of a fan as I was of the guy when he played at Nebraska, I am losing more and more respect for him with each passing day. Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz needs to get control of his most well-known defensive player and condemn this type of play at all costs, especially with the Lions in search of their first playoff berth in 12 years. While a 15 yard penalty may seem minuscule over the course of a game, 1 ill-advised play can lead to a 2 or 3 game suspension. Not to mention the fact that the Lions can ill afford the loss of their most imposing defensive presence with some of the biggest games of the season coming up.

The question that many people are asking now is what type of of suspension Suh has earned himself with the afore mentioned actions. Well, the only other recent comparsion of something like this occurred in 2006 when Albert Haynesworth stomped on the head of Cowboys center, Andre Gurode. Without any previous disciplinary history, Haynesworth received a 5 game suspension. Given Suh's history with dirty plays, my guess would be a 5 game suspension to match the one that Haynesworth received. That is not the main issue at stake though, the latest incident has confirmed our suspicions that Ndamukong Suh is a dirty player, not just one that tends to play physical. The point is, there is no place for this type of play in the NFL. The league needs to send Suh a message with the suspension that should be handed down within the next few days. It is time to let him know that these type of plays have no place in the NFL, but can only hurt his image in the mind of the fans and his team. There was no intention on the play today other than to hurt Dietrich-Smith.