A member of the opposing team in my co-ed flag football rec league suffered a bloody nose last night, and my whole team looked at me when the incident occurred. “I had nothing to do with it,” I said.
One of my teammates responded: “you’re like the Ndamukong Suh of this league. Your reputation is dirty.”
And that’s why I open with that somewhat asinine anecdote- to show how far reaching the reputation surrounding Suh and the Detroit Lions truly is. I also feel your pain Mr. Suh.
Rightfully or wrongly, the second year stud tackle who did his college football with the Nebraska Cornhuskers has garnered a cheap shot artist rep.
And after his “meeting at the Principal’s office” this week, Suh won’t change his style.
Suh met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday in New York at NFL headquarters. The young defensive tackle said both he and Goodell believed the visit was productive.
Here are some of the more interesting soundbites from Suh’s media session yesterday:
“I’m not going to change the way I play. I feel that the way I’m playing and the way I have played in the past is continuing to play within the rules.”
The 6-foot-4, 307-pound Suh has earned $42,500 in fines off 14 penalties in just a season and a half.
“I’m just a different breed. I hate to say that, but it’s kind of like, no athlete in the NFL is like any other person. You can’t treat everybody the same exact way. That would be unfair, but there’s guidelines that everybody needs to follow behind, so that’s more or less the understanding that I needed to see.”
“You look at Tom Brady. When he gets hit, you always wonder if there’s going to be a flag. There’s certain things that may be called for him that may not be called for other quarterbacks just because of his stature or whatever, how he is in the league.”
“That’s the same thing with defensive players. I think my hits may look a little bit different because of the type of strength and athleticism that I have, compared to some other defensive linemen. It’s just the way the world works.”
So Suh came to the boss hat in hand, trying to learn from his mistakes, was he educated?
“Nobody in this world agrees on everything. What did I learn that I didn’t already know? Kind of the ins and outs of the way officiating, the kind of look at things and perceive things – and honestly, how the fines are assessed.”
Suh really is a good guy off-the-field. He’s a character guy and that dumb “good vs. evil” Tebow vs. Suh headline was just a really moronic and pathetic attempt at promotion. The fact that the 2010 #2 overall pick and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the year went out of his way to see what he was doing wrong and made the adjustments says a lot. He knows he has done wrong and admitted this to the media.
Also, Goodell said that Suh is not making the same mistakes over and over again to yield these fines. So hopefully, he learns from these mistakes and becomes a better person. He’s certainly trying.
And his Omaha Steaks, and Chrysler commercials are pretty awesome too by the way.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, a Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports.
A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; he’s also a member of the FWAA, USBWA and SPJ. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.
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Then maybe Suh should be thrown out of football for a year without his money and lets see how he reacts then. If he continues his dirty play then ban him completely. His kind of professional play is not needed nor wanted.
Maybe those that bruise easy need to take up golf. I agree with SUH,. I am a Husker fan. No flags in college FB. The wimps are in the NFL. Has he raised a 1/4 back over his head and slammed to the ground. Wise up wimps, the bumps and bruises are paid for.
GO SUH!
I believe football is a collision sport. Don’t these NFL players expect too get hit hard? How is Suh a dirty player? It’s not his fault he his a physical 6’4 307lb monster who comes from the hard hitting Cornhuskesr. Thanks to Tom Brady and Goodell the NFL is becoming “wussified.”
I am also a Husker fan. He didn’t have issues when he played at Nebraska. I guess the refs have different ideas about play in the NFL. He wasn’t recruited to be a ballerina. He would never intentionally hurt anyone. I guess, when you are an exceptional player, you get more negative press from the refs and players. Good luck Suh We still love you in Huskerland.
it is pathetic, to see officals ruin games. i mean the NFL, appoligized to the VIKINGS, for giving new orleans tha win. the flat out came back and said sorry we blew the game for you, you should have won. wtf is that. get officaiting off the field, and in the booth. for everything. watch the fine rack up who cares. play football.
agreed, football is a very violent sport. players and coaches often talk, even brag about playing “violently.” You can’t just turn that off. And you can’t punish those who excel at it.
I think Suh is right, he’s just a different breed. a natural phenomaneon and when he hits guys it can look more effortless because of his physical gifts.
and don’t blame tom brady and the refs for what you may interpret as the “wussification” of the nfl, because they’ve altered the rules to benefit the QBs. blame the market, the audience, the league is just giving them what they want.
passing sells, high scoring air attack offense does big ratings and the league has adjusted its product accordingly. trying to facilitate that.
on the other end, your top line pass rushers are now more coveted and highly paid to counter that
Suh is the Reggie White ,Warren Sapp of his day. If they cant block him and if he sacks a QB he is not trying to kill the guy his job is hit the guy and put him in the grass. I am sure he would be more gentle if they were not trying to escape and make a play. Jesus this is football once a play starts you do not have time to think you react. He is just very good at what he does and I think he intimidates opponents to a degree.