(Andrew Weber-USA Today Sports)
Ndamukong Suh is well on his way to becoming a premier defensive tackle; he’s far away from being a good leader. Suh wanted his jersey to hold a “C” sign in the corner for some time. He got his chance, getting named a team captain for the 2013 season. However, being a captain and a leader is more than just the stitching on a jersey; it’s leading through actions that speak volumes towards intentions and character – something Suh doesn’t do often enough.
Suh isn’t a leader on the Lions despite what jersey he wears, or what some of his teammates may say publicly. Teammates that defend his actions are doing what good teammates do. Suh’s racked up enormous amounts of fines, has committed some questionable acts including stomping on a player and supposedly “accidentally” kicking a quarterback in the groin, and was accused of bullying teammates on the practice field. He started off the 2013 season with an illegal-block penalty against a Minnesota Vikings lineman, which wiped out a DeAndre Levy touchdown.
Suh brought out his mop, cleaning up the penalties and the on-field antics for the rest of the season. He played really well and was a dominant force throughout the middle of the Lions’ defensive line. He’s unbelievably talented and physically gifted; it’s a shame his leadership isn’t.
Reports leaked out to some media members about Suh trying to show dominance over Schwartz and being unjustly rough against teammates during practices of the 2013 season. This would be the second season in a row where media members have received information painting Suh as a problem in the locker room. Are these reports true? Not necessarily. Could the players be made up or making things up? Possibly, but when Suh is known to have a bad reputation and a lack of respect for the game of football, those aren’t far-fetched ideas.
Suh is accused of lacking passion and love for football; many believe that he wants a career in the media. Supporters will laugh at those criticisms. They’ll change the channel when they hear such absurd things. They’ll click out of an article like this that dares point out such unjust points about Suh. There’s truth to people believing the bad though. Examine Suh and his lackadaisical attitude involving negotiating his contract.
Detroit wants to resign Suh and he wants to remain in Detroit. What’s this defensive leader doing throughout the ordeal? Firing his agent, being lengthy on selecting a new one, and even going to such ridiculous heights as wanting to represent himself. Suh needs to take football more seriously. An agent should have been signed and he should be discussing his deal a bit more than he is. How can the thought of representing himself even pop into his seemingly intelligent mind? He should shove that idea aside quicker than he would an offensive lineman.
Suh finally hired a new agent, and Detroit is now even readier to sign the tackle. It’s about time. Actions like the above lead people – rightly so, to believe that Suh doesn’t put his team first. Suh needs to examine himself and his intentions more thoroughly. He needs to put his desires on a slide and stick them under a microscope, allowing a closer view for him to see himself.
Hall of Fame defensive Tackle Warren Sapp constantly bashes Suh and extends an arm out to teach the young tackle some things, however Suh has yet to accept his invitation. Sapp may be a big-mouth, but he’s in the Hall of Fame and has won a Super Bowl. True team players do things the right way. They take football seriously. They acknowledge flaws and grow from them. They do things in a timely manner. It was pretty simple to restructure Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson‘s deal; that’s the way team players are. Suh has much knowledge that still needs to find its way into his stubborn head. He is still haunted by his dirty plays – something he has done a better job of fixing. It’s still said that many teammates lack respect for him, accusing him of being selfish. The way he handled his agent situation was ludicrous, giving people ammunition for their turrets filled with Suh critiques. If the Lions do work out a deal, they need to put a clause in the contract that makes Suh examine himself. Maybe then he’ll finally put the team first.
2 Comments
jack_sprat2
May 4, 2014 at 1:10 amLanguage, in an ideal world, should be used to illuminate truth. So, where you write “has committed some questionable acts including,” you SHOULD have written “has committed TWO questionable acts, which were….”
For all the histrionics about Suh, he’s only committed the ONE penalty outside the whistles, and that one was vastly overstated. (A frustrated, half-hearted kick is not a “stomp”, which is how it’s almost always mislabeled. Interestingly, that’s also what it would be called in the WWE, which is a parallel that does illuminate the truth. Goodell deliberately CAST Suh as the league’s “heel”, taking a leaf from pro wrestling. That explains his letting stand that egregious penalty and fine for the push of Cutler. Nothing else does, that’s for sure.)
There were 39 players in the NFL who committed more fouls in 2013 than did Suh. There were 88 personal fouls and 234 unnecessary roughness penalties called in 2013, of which Suh committed NONE. Of the 7 fouls which Suh committed that year, only two were for being a “bad boy”, one each for tripping and the “low block”.
On the other hand, the universally praised Vontaze Burfict committed 6 unnecessary roughness penalties, 2 personal fouls, and 1 face mask penalty. Donte Whitner committed 5 unnecessary roughness penalties, 1 taunting penalty, and 1 unsportsmanlike conduct. Dashon Goldson committed 5 unnecessary roughness penalties and 1 personal foul.
Two years ago, in 2012, fully 280 players committed more fouls than did Suh, who had all of 3. THREE! While playing more snaps than any other D-lineman in the NFL! Of those 280 players, 17 of them committed 10 fouls that year, which is as many or more than did Suh in those TWO years combined! Last season, another 15 players committed 10 or more fouls.
In 2011, the year in which Roger (and the media) cast Suh as the NFL’s heel, Suh committed a grand total of 7 more penalties. Only three of these were “naughty”; one each roughing the passer, face mask, and DQ (for the EDS incident.) Again, that year there were 43 players who committed more fouls than did Suh, 16 of whom had 10 or more. There were 5 other players who were DQ’ed that year, including the aforementioned Dashon Goldson, of the saintly San Francisco 49ers.
In 2010, his rookie year, Suh also had 7 penalties. Four were “naughty”, including 1 each illegal block above the waist, face mask, unnecessary roughness, and unsportsmanlike conduct. That season, there were 183 unnecessary roughness penalties, 56 unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, and 132 penalties for illegal blocks above the waist. There were 45 players who were more penalized than Suh that season, of whom 17 had 10 or more fouls.
Hall
of Fame defensive Tackle Warren Sapp constantly bashes Suh and extends
an arm out to teach the young tackle some things, however Suh has yet to
accept his invitation. Sapp may be a big-mouth, but he’s in the Hall of
Fame and has won a Super Bowl. True team players do things the right
way. They take football seriously. They acknowledge flaws and grow from
them. They do things in a timely manner. It was pretty simple to
restructure Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson‘s deal; that’s the way
team players are. Suh has much knowledge that still needs to find its
way into his stubborn head. He is still haunted by his dirty plays –
something he has done a better job of fixing. It’s still said that many
teammates lack respect for him, accusing him of being selfish. The way
he handled his agent situation was ludicrous, giving people ammunition
for their turrets filled with Suh critiques. If the Lions do work out a
deal, they need to put a clause in the contract that makes Suh examine
himself. Maybe then he’ll finally put the team first. – See more at:
http://sportsunbiased.com/nfl/28586/detroit-lions-ndamukong-suh-isnt-a-team-leader/#sthash.DvnNpIIF.dpuf
Hall
of Fame defensive Tackle Warren Sapp constantly bashes Suh and extends
an arm out to teach the young tackle some things, however Suh has yet to
accept his invitation. Sapp may be a big-mouth, but he’s in the Hall of
Fame and has won a Super Bowl. True team players do things the right
way. They take football seriously. They acknowledge flaws and grow from
them. They do things in a timely manner. It was pretty simple to
restructure Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson‘s deal; that’s the way
team players are. Suh has much knowledge that still needs to find its
way into his stubborn head. He is still haunted by his dirty plays –
something he has done a better job of fixing. It’s still said that many
teammates lack respect for him, accusing him of being selfish. The way
he handled his agent situation was ludicrous, giving people ammunition
for their turrets filled with Suh critiques. If the Lions do work out a
deal, they need to put a clause in the contract that makes Suh examine
himself. Maybe then he’ll finally put the team first. – See more at:
http://sportsunbiased.com/nfl/28586/detroit-lions-ndamukong-suh-isnt-a-team-leader/#sthash.DvnNpIIF.dpufWhen Stafford did his deal, it was July of the off-season, two years before the final year of his contract. The Lions COULD have done this at the same time, when it would also have been two years before Suh’s walk year, but THEY chose not to do so. In any case, it looks as if Suh still has two months or so to be a “good teammate”, by your standards in this regard. (Although, I frankly regard the attitude with which you view this matter as petulant. The man is SIGNED for the upcoming season. Beyond that, as things now stand, he owes neither the Lions nor their fans anything at all. Not least, because they would cut him in a heartbeat, were his performance to decline OR a younger guy to equal his, for rookie money.)
is he hings now stanf, yHou acknowledge to abe ll
of Fame defensive Tackle Warren Sapp constantly bashes Suh and extends
an arm out to teach the young tackle some things, however Suh has yet to
accept his invitation. Sapp may be a big-mouth, but he’s in the Hall of
Fame and has won a Super Bowl. True team players do things the right
way. They take football seriously. They acknowledge flaws and grow from
them. They do things in a timely manner. It was pretty simple to
restructure Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson‘s deal; that’s the way
team players are. Suh has much knowledge that still needs to find its
way into his stubborn head. He is still haunted by his dirty plays –
something he has done a better job of fixing. It’s still said that many
teammates lack respect for him, accusing him of being selfish. The way
he handled his agent situation was ludicrous, giving people ammunition
for their turrets filled with Suh critiques. If the Lions do work out a
deal, they need to put a clause in the contract that makes Suh examine
himself. Maybe then he’ll finally put the team first. – See more at:
http://sportsunbiased.com/nfl/28586/detroit-lions-ndamukong-suh-isnt-a-team-leader/#sthash.DvnNpIIF.dpuf
jack_sprat2
May 4, 2014 at 1:25 amYour site doesn’t play well with others, either, as you’ll note. It registered none of those copy jobs in the box, leading me to think that it hadn’t, in fact, copied them, as well as depriving me of the opportunity to edit them for brevity and effect. As well, it truncated my last paragraph, which followed. BTW, I’m using Firefox.
As far as his handling of his agent goes, just how in hell would you know enough to judge it? Do you have inside information? Care to share it? Myself, I’ve always believed that how a man handles his personal business is personal, but maybe that’s just me. All that I care about is that he does. Given that Suh is signed through 2015, even if that’s a walk year, that’s good enough.
As for the notion that the Lions should “put a clause in the contract that makes Suh examine himself,” that’s the sort of paternalistic shit that makes some athletes go nuclear with the “plantation” talk. (It’s especially ludicrous, as well, given the Lions long history of coddling Lewand.) If the disaffected fans don’t like his choices, then let them petition the team to cut his ass. Put up or STFU. Just don’t treat a grown man as if he was YOUR damn child. Or property.