(link) OT: Suh to Dolphins
Barring a breakdown in formal contract negotiations, Ndamukong Suh will sign with the Miami Dolphins after the new league year officially begins Tuesday for a deal that will pay him approximately $114 million with $60 million in guaranteed money, league sources told ESPN.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12444126/ndamukong-suh-sign-6-year-11…
Its the Lions, he's gone.
As a Pats fan amongst Lions-fan roommates I laugh at this, another in the long line of Lions blunders...
As a fan of a team that now has to face Suh twice/year...dammit Detroit...
but I don't see how this is one.
Its a fuck up because you don't let one of your best players -- and one of the best defensive players in the league -- walk for nothing. They should have signed him to an extension years ago. They didn't. Once they crossed that bridge and the writting was on the wall that he was going to be too expensive to sign, they should have tried to trade him and at least get a pick or something for him. They didn't do that either.
On top of that, they didn't pick up Fairley's option, so now they don't have any DTs on the roster, and are going to probably have to overpay for subpar replacements, because I hate to break it to you, good DTs don't grow on trees and are in high demand.
This whole situation with the Lions D-Line is an amazing fuck up by that front office.
Thats why the pats cut wilfork and the ravens are going to cut haloti ngata
You know what, you guys are right. The Lions are a really smart, well-run organization, and they are bound for success, and I think this is another move in a long line of great moves by the franchise. I look forward to continued success for this team.
Guys who are on downside of career...Suh is in his prime.
I wouldv'e liked him resigned. I don't trust the front office to be able to use the cap space wisely. Even if it is a relative overpayment. We'll maybe wind up replacing one great player (yes Suh is a great player, he's the best Dtackle in the league since he entered it) with 5 average-belowa average ones.
You're not much of a Pats fan if you don't understand this move.
I completely understand letting him walk, I was actually just telling my buddy that this is best case scenario, the Lions can sign 3-5 good players with that money, and to see whether the Pats with a lot of good players win more than the Texans with one great player. It's a blunder in that:
A) The Lions tried (hard) to keep him, offering only $2M less in guaranteed money than Miami.
B) He is still one of the biggest cap hits on the team this year, while he plays for someone else.
C) They now have no one left on their team from their selections in the 2010 draft. Not that they should have kept Suh for that money, but this does go to show how meticulous a team has to be when deciding who to draft. Not that you should pass up on incredible talent for fear that they will become to expensive to keep for their entire career, but trading down to get 2 good players that you can pay and satisfy forever works and works well. See: Patriots. Also maybe don't draft a receiving Tight End 10th overall when elite OL talent is available and the secondary has needed a boost for years.
I am simply laughing at the Lions because they didn't entirely just say "we won't pay, we can sign many players for that money" and let him go. They wanted him back and were willing to give him $58M guaranteed (so why not guarantee $2M more if thats all it took), but still lost him. I think this is a blessing for them, but to the fools in their front office that blessing is in disguise still.
The team that took Aaron Hernandez in the 2010 draft shouldn't be using that draft to lecture other teams on how to be meticulous about your draft picks.
This is such an asinine comment. Like "Future murderer" was in the scouting report on Hernandez when the Pats drafted him. And frankly, anyone throwing shade at the Pats decision making and front office should go have a seat in the STFU corner. Especially a Lions fan of all people. The Pats have more trips to the Super Bowl than the Lions have trips to the playoffs -- not to mention wins in the SB vs wins in the playoffs.
Maybe sit this one out champ. Let the grown ups talk.
"In 2007, Hernandez and other UF football players were at a nightclub when an altercation occurred. Victims Corey Smith and Justin Glass were shot that night at a stoplight. A man fitting Hernandez’s description — a muscular man, standing 6-3 or 6-4, weighing 230 or 240 pounds, with a lot of tattoos and of “Hawaiian” or “Hispanic” ethnicity — was told by an eyewitness to be involved. Also identified by the witness, Randall Cason, was former UF player Reggie Nelson."
"The police report obtained by the Orlando Sentinel describes what happened: “Without saying a word, the Hawaiian pointed a small handgun in the front right window and fired five quick shots. Cason saw Smith slumped over with blood coming out of the back of the head, at which time the Hawaiian and Nelson took off running towards McDonald’s.”
http://mobile.sportingnews.com/article/4585380-aaron-hernandez-double-m…
It ABSOLUTELY WAS A BIG F'ING MISTAKE to draft him back to an area where "his boys" were so close-by. The Pats did not do their homework at all. Also, you sound like a real dick.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/06/21/drafting-hernandez-was-alw…
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You know what, you guys are right. The Lions are a really smart, well-run organization, and they are bound for success, while the Patriots are dumb, make lots of mistakes, and will probably never have success.
My bad.
This brings up another point. Urban Meyer must have known that two of his most talented players were ID'd in this 2007 shooting. Meyer and Belichek are apparently really tight.
Anyone think Meyer concealed this tidbit to Belichek?
Anyone think Meyer is a pathological liar whose downfall might eventually be his (lack of) honesty?
I do. His Florida exit was weird, maybe even scandalous if you believe internetz rumorz.
Dishonesty bit him in the ass with the Weber thing. Just a matter of time
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Also, where did I say the Lions are smart and the Pats are dumb? I did not. I AGREE WITH YOU
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I got annoyed with everyone and editted all of my reponses I could to that answer. The amount of people defending the decision making in the Lions organization (and peeople -- not you though -- calling the Pats dumb) had blown my mind and I couldn't take it. I'm having a cocktail now, and feel better about things.
I know it was weird. But what are the "scandalous rumors" surrounding his Florida exit?
I know it was weird. But what are the "scandalous rumors" surrounding his Florida exit?
I know it was weird. But what are the "scandalous rumors" surrounding his Florida exit?
Like "Future murderer" was in the scouting report on Hernandez when the Pats drafted him.
Umm... it basically was.
"They couldn't pin a lot of stuff on him (at Florida)," said one AFC college scouting director, whose team had Hernandez off the board. "But people at the school would tell you, 'Every time there's an issue, he's around it.' If there was trouble, Hernandez's name would come up. ... He was a con guy. Very believable. Spoke well. A lot of things inside of you hoped you'd turn him around, but people that I talked to said they didn't trust him, that he'd burn you."
Those who were at Florida, working under Urban Meyer, confirm that much: Hernandez had a way of beating the system. Said one ex-Gator staffer, "He was really intelligent, and that's why he was such a pain in the ass. He knew how to beat the system on everything."
Meyer and his coaches privately told some clubs that, to be managed, it was crucial that Hernandez be surrounded by the right people
"He was considered a cool guy to be around," said an NFC personnel director whose club had Hernandez off the board. "But around the program, he was the one guy everyone knew not to mess with. They knew he'd fight. He had a temper."
"He admitted to smoking, and basically that was the environment he was brought up in, how comfortable he was with smoking," said the personnel man. "It was the emotional state of this kid, the highs and lows, the overall stability that got you. You're not saying, 'OK, this guy may be a murderer.' It was just, 'He's not mentally ready.' "
A battle of "which team has fewer arrests" is a loss for the Lions worse than the one they took in Foxboro this year. Yeah, you're right, Lions haven't had a player murder anyone in a while. If that is their only vetting process during draft evaluations (and by on-field performances it just might be) then congrats. However, given Hernandez's production versus what he was paid, he was a damn good value. Pats have a long history of taking on troubled players who are cleaned up in New England because of the leadership there. See: Randy Moss, Corey Dillon, etc. Lions don't. See: Charles Rogers, Titus Young, etc.
As a Pats-Lions fans...you want to see the Lions sign Wilfork to replace Suh.
I know and agree with the move. Not worth it. However, Lions tried to keep him, lost him, and in typical Lions front-office fashion do not realize why this is better/will have no idea what to do now. BB wouldn't have even thought of making the guy an offer, it's just a different scenario. Hopefully Suh to Miami pushes Odrick up our way though...at a reasonable price of course...
"Hi, I'm a stereotypical Patriots fan. Now that the Patriots are Super Bowl champs again, it's safe for me to pretend to forget what a shitted-up franchise the Patriots were for every year of their miserable-ass existence until they took a lucky flyer on a sixth-round quarterback who was a part-time college starter. This gives me the right to act like the world revolves around anything Boston and lets me pat myself on the back for being part of the self-described greatest fanbase in the world, all the while laughing at idiots who root for anyone not from Boston and the crappy teams they root for."
It is downright laughable to say the reason the Pats became good was taking Brady in the 6th round. The process of turning around the organization began when Kraft bought the team in 94. They went to the super bowl in 97 with Bledsoe, and were a playoff team with Bledsoe and Belichik before DB got hurt and Brady came in. They weren't a dynasty until they found out how great Tom was, no. However, they were certainly in a different league than the Lions over that period.
Were they? Between 1994 when Kraft bought the team, and 2000, the year before Brady led them to the Super Bowl, the Patriots went to the playoffs four times. So did the Lions. Better, yes. "Different league," no.
NE had 3 playoff wins in the time period you reference.
The Lions have won one playoff game in 57 years.
Different league? Probably!
The Lions had the best RB in the history of the game just quit because he was tired of the bullshit. In the last two generations of Lions incompetence, the Bengals have been to the SB twice and TB has won it twice. Sorry, but you're barking up the wrong tree here.
Sorry you'll never win a Superbowl or anything, Suh, but those checks are gonna clear like a mofo won't they!
It's not the same. Making roots in one home is better than being wishy washy in two places. I figured he was going to end up somewhere sexy or back home in the NW.
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close enough
I'm sure lots of it is guaranteed, but that is an insane amount of money for a DT with a bit of a reputation (that might get him suspended) and getting close to 30. He's a great player, but that seems like a lot of money for a position that can age pretty quickly. Still, wish him luck even though it is a tough loss for Detroit. Miami's front line looks terrifying right now.
Not guaranteed.
The $60M that is signing bonus sure is.
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How? The Lions brought back Teryl Austin, one of the better DCs in the league while offering him a great contract for a DT. Yeah they should've forseen this coming years ago but this was inevitable. In a time where great players are restructuring contracts to take less $ to win championships, the Lions had little room to work with.
Double.
the Lions had little room to work with.THAT'S why the are the same old Lions. You don't think the Lions created their own problems? It's not only the coaching over the years, or the shitty QBs over the years, it's management too! And for the revisionist historians out there, it's just not Millen. It was Russ Thomas before him and Mayhew after him. Mayhew gave the Lions a lot of problems with dead money and now, poor restructuring.
People forget that the Lions had three top-five draft picks on their team that all got paid before the new rookie scales took effect, so they all got huge contracts coming out of college. None of them are going to take pay cuts just because a bunch of rookies are getting less now. The Lions got royally unlucky.
Sorry... but why have the Lions had so many high pics?
And other teams, NE, SEA, etc., seem to find a way to make it work.
I guess we're Michigan brothers here but when it comes to the Lions, we won't see things the same way.
Nah, the same old Lions would have matched this crazy salary and further hamstrung themselves going forward.
Suh is a gamechanger on the defensive line right now, but if the Lions have any hope of becoming a consistent winner again they'll need to have a more flexible, thoughtful approach to roster management. They'll hopefully be able to cobble together 65-75% of Suh's performance from the draft and FA, and should do so at a fraction of the cost.