Suh playing rough with NFL

The Detroit Lions have been at the bottom of the NFL for the past 10 years. Losing was the norm for Detroit fans because every year the Lions ended up with a horrible record.

After the 2010 season, the Lions have been crushing opponents with a newly found defense. The master key to the defense is defensive tackle, Ndamukong Suh. Suh was chosen in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft from Nebraska.

He showed his dominance with brute force and strength. Teams had to rearrange their offense in order to account for Suh. The one downfall of Suh is his anger and passion.

Suh has been known to channel his anger and passion in inappropriate ways on the field. He has been called for many penalties and ejections from roughing the passer, head to head tackles, and unsportsmanlike conduct. “He’s a blind dog let loose in a meat house,” said Fox Sports analyst Jason Whitlock about young Suh.

So far, one of the most controversial has been the “Thanksgiving Stomp.” On November 24th, 2011, the Detroit Lions played the undefeated Green Bay Packers. After tackling Packers’ guard Evan Dietrich-Smith, Suh separated himself from Dietrich-Smith by using his helmet. Suh pushed Dietrich-Smith’s head into the ground and after he got up, raised his right knee and stomped on Dietrich-Smith’s right hand. Suh was quickly penalized and ejected. The Lions went on to lose 27-15.

Suh has been suspended for two games and is trying to appeal the suspension. He missed the penalty filled New Orleans Saints game and will miss the December 11th home game against Minnesota.

In the Saints game, three defensive tackles added 107 yards onto the Saints’ drives. They had 11 penalties which came from pushing the referee, punching opponents, and offensive pass interference. The game showed that Suh isn’t helping the team by committing silly penalties. If the team is committing penalties alone, why would they need Suh stomping on people?

Suh has been compared to all- time defensive great “Mean” Joe Greene. The Steelers defensive tackle was known for hard hits and head to head tackles during the 1970’s. They are very similar in their rough and tumble play, but times have changed. The NFL has created more rules against wild play. These rules are hindering Suh from using sheer anger to have success on the field, which may leave a sour taste in the mouth of other teams when his free agency comes around.