Lions second-year defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has been fined $20,000 dollars by the NFL for his hit on Bengals rookie QB Andy Dalton.
The news first got on the fine after a tweet by Suh himself…
Suh has been fined before for hits on quarterbacks. During a preseason game last year Suh looked as though he wanted to decapatate then Browns QB Jake Delhome. And in a regular season game against division rival Chicago, Suh was fined for a hit he placed on Jay Cutler.
But is Suh a “dirty” player?
This is a question that is starting to make the rounds among NFL fans and analysts from across the league. It will also probably be a lingering question as we move through the preseason and into the regular season.
David Steele of the SportingNews has a different twist on the situation, a more positive twist than the perceived notion of having a dirty player is a bad thing.
Perhaps Suh’s actions are making a strong case that this isn’t the same Lions team that went 0-16 a few seasons ago. This isn’t a team you can overlook week in and week out. And this IS a team that’s going to be around for a long, long time.
For the first time since Barry Sanders walked away, the Lions are on folks’ minds, for something positive.
Suh put them there by getting himself into people’s heads. Opposing quarterbacks most of all, but, as his legend grows, also the heads of opposing coaches and game officials. He’s also becoming the talk of the league’s fans and of the people who cover the sport.
“He’s dirty.” “He’s a cheap-shot artist.” “He’s out of control.”
He’s really good. He scares people. His team can no longer be overlooked or taken lightly.
Steele goes on to make some very relevant comparisons to some of the most feared and respected men to ever play the game.
Again, this is nothing new. The aforementioned Mean Joe Greene didn’t get that nickname just because it rhymed. There were also guys like Deacon Jones and Dick Butkus and Jack Tatum and Rodney Harrison and the late Andre Waters, with whom the league office might as well have had a hotline set up.
Now of course Suh cannot go out game in and game out taking flags, getting fined and eventually getting suspended. It’s then and there that Suh will begin to truly develop that reputation and the Lions simply need him too much.
However what fans from around the league will never truly understand is the reputation the Lions have as a whole. I’m sure many Lions fans have gone to other NFL cities and have gotten sympathy from others simply because they are a Lions fan.
What Suh is doing is conveying a message and venting the frustrations of Lions fans everywhere.
Source: CBS Sports, SportingNews
