OT - Ndamukong Suh fined $100,000 for illegal block
Ndamukong Suh was fined $100,000 today for his low block on Minnesota Vikings center John Sullivan on Sunday, but the Detroit Lions all-pro defensive tackle avoided the second suspension of his career.
The fine, the sixth of Suh's career, is one of the largest in league history.
September 10th, 2013 at 6:28 PM ^
I had a feeling he would get fined. But I didn't expect it to be that high.
September 10th, 2013 at 6:30 PM ^
I think it was that high because of his previous fines. Kind of a warning.
September 10th, 2013 at 6:34 PM ^
Suh's reputation as a "dirty player" is media driven and entirely out of proportion with what he has done on to deserve it. His block, while illegal, was hardly a "cheap shot", unless you consider each NFL game to feature multiple cheap shots (aka low blocks).
How many opponents has he injured in the course of his "dirty play" in his NFL career? Answer = 0. Compare that to some of the players the media love - Julius Peppers, for instance, who is personally responsible for season ending injuries to 5 NFL quarterbacks.
September 10th, 2013 at 6:47 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 6:53 PM ^
Yes - Suh did those things (although your descriptions are dramatic especially for the Cutler incident), and, in order, the opposing players Evan Dietrich Smith, Jay Cutler, and Andy Daulton were injured for how many games?
I'm not saying I approve of the antics, but it's WWF out there. It looks bad but nobody is ever hurt. Either Suh is the luckiest man on earth or he knows what he's doing enough to not injure an opponent.
September 10th, 2013 at 6:58 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 7:05 PM ^
I remember that, but it was BS IMO. Of the infractions that get used against Suh in the dirty play debate, that play on Cutler is easily the easiest to defend. In fact, it was a damn good, clean football play. He certainly is aggressive, but he's not intentionally doing anything but trying to get Cutler down and have the ball pop loose in the process. Plus he makes contact with Cutler's shoulder, not his head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntw8mg0SMhI
I'll give you that the rest of the examples were stupid but not as bad as they are made out to be.
September 11th, 2013 at 6:17 AM ^
which is a great way of injuring a knee or leg. I saw Suh use the same leg whip in college and really fucked up the guy he tackled.
If a player on ND or OSU did the same things to a Michigan player that Suh has done to opponents in the NFL you'd be screaming for his head, for good reason. He's a thug.
September 10th, 2013 at 7:05 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 7:12 PM ^
That is how it works in the NHL....suspensions/fines are determined based upon the extent of an injury inflicted. I think it's fair to say that Gholston's play, like some of Suh's plays, are unsportsmanlike, but becuause they aren't debilitating, what harm did they really cause?
I'd rather have Suh go "Ultimate Warrior" and have my QB standing than have Peppers break collarbones and tear knee ligaments. You're a Chicago fan - why no outcry over Peppers style of play?
September 10th, 2013 at 7:18 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 7:33 PM ^
Defending Gholston? I said his play was unsportsmanlike. You want me to say it was the worst thing ever? it wasn't.
As far as Peppers - here are three hits worse than anything Suh has ever done:
Peppers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guG2vd-uAfYhelmet-to-helmet hit on Aaron Rodgers - Rodgers was spitting blood afterwards.
Peppers bodyslamming Stafford rather than simply finishing the tackle, causing a separated shoulder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CkORRd1I6k
Here's a 1950's style clothesline on a fully accellerating Megatron:
Being at work, I can't keep going, but the examples are out there.
September 10th, 2013 at 7:49 PM ^
Oh come on now, Peppers is a violent player but he's not usually as reckless as Suh. I don't see anything wrong with the hit on Stafford or the tackle on a slipping Calvin Johnson. The helmet to helmet hit on Rodgers is bad, but my god the other 2 tackles are football plays and aren't even close to dirty, this is coming from a pretty big Lions homer as well.
Suh has earned his reputation for the stomp and the Delhomme hit, the rest of his "transgressions" are a bit far fetched as is the 100k fine but he'll forever be defined for 2 dirty plays.
September 10th, 2013 at 7:47 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 7:54 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 8:06 PM ^
Riiiight. Keep telling yourself that your personal favorites are clean as a whistle!
September 11th, 2013 at 12:48 AM ^
You should have been my DUI lawyer a few years ago. I got popped doing 15mph over on an empty road in the middle of the night... way less damage than someone sober who actually gets in an accident.
September 11th, 2013 at 11:55 AM ^
I think the stuff against Cutler is bullshit but he's brought the rest upon himself. And this whole non-injury argument is BS. Ever hear of assault or attempted murder? Not to mention the groin kick to Schaub. This guy is getting harder and harder to defend.
September 10th, 2013 at 7:23 PM ^
I fuckin hate how people still insist that Suh hit Cutler in the back of the head and purposely kicked Schaub in the groin. That Cutler hit was directly on his nameplate, not his head, and there is no way you can intentionally kick someone in the groin when your being flipped over and not even looking at the the QB.
I admit that Suh has definitely had some dirty plays, there is no denying that, but those two were palys were not dirty. The fact that he got fined 100k for this block, which happens all the time, is pathetic. Should he have been fined? Yes. 100k, hell no. It also wasn't from behind, but from the side.
September 10th, 2013 at 7:36 PM ^
September 11th, 2013 at 6:31 AM ^
Not to mention the hair tug that also got called a horse collar. Forget which RB that was. But dozens of players pull on someone's dreads and don't get called out as dirty for it.
The hit to Cutler's back was the stupidest thing. The fact that he actually got fined for that was utterly amazing. That was called playing football. Even most people who think Suh is a dirty bastard don't bother bringing up that play.
September 11th, 2013 at 11:51 AM ^
Well, except for the fact that the "Forearm shiver to the back of a QB's head" never actually hit the QB's head...
September 10th, 2013 at 6:58 PM ^
The "block" was pretty unnecessary and 5-10 away from the play. There was no way that lineman was going to have any impact on that play. But he dove at his knees from the blind side.
Everything Suh gets in trouble for seems to be after the whistle or away from the play. It is never really during the actual play.
September 10th, 2013 at 7:22 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 8:21 PM ^
September 11th, 2013 at 11:50 AM ^
Done by a guy with a history of cheap shots....MSU like if I may.
The defense of Suh sounds very homerish.
September 10th, 2013 at 8:24 PM ^
He's like Conrad Dobler dirty. He's Gholston dirty. He's Dirty Sanchez dirty. He's not the victim of some grand media conspiracy to call out an innocent player; his rep is dutifully earned.
That hit was exactly like the one Warren Sapp put on that Packers lineman that not only ended his career, but led to a permanent painful disability. Miracle things didn't end up the same way.
September 10th, 2013 at 9:15 PM ^
Actually, Chad Clifton returned and played 9 more seasons after being hit blindside by Sapp.
September 10th, 2013 at 9:16 PM ^
September 11th, 2013 at 6:33 AM ^
And yet Warren Sapp is a highly respected analyst. So how did Sapp get such a respectable reputation?
September 10th, 2013 at 8:52 PM ^
He has proven to be a reckless and dirty player on multiple occasions. This was an unnecessary and dangerous play. Coming from behind a lineman, who had zero shot at the play and diving at his knees is reckless and dangerous. And of course his reputation hurts. Any repeat offender will get a harsher penalty than a first offense. He has done stupid things and he has done inexcusable things in his brief NFL career and does not get any benefit of the doubt, deservedly so.
September 11th, 2013 at 1:39 AM ^
"media driven"......lol...you are an imbecile with that point of view. Grow up and try to see the world and people as they truly are. A man is defined by his actions. Suh has had plenty of actions since he joined the Lions.
September 10th, 2013 at 6:34 PM ^
Btw -- what does the league do with that money?
September 10th, 2013 at 6:36 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 6:38 PM ^
"Player fine money is used to support retired player programs, as well as other charitable causes as agreed upon between the NFL and NFL Players Association," said David Krichavsky, the NFL's director of community affairs. "Every letter notifying the player of a fine indicates where the fine money goes. I have gotten feedback from players who don't like writing the check to the NFL, but they are pleased to know it does not go back into our coffers but to charitable organizations."
September 10th, 2013 at 6:42 PM ^
Suh's salary is $10.4 million
This fine is a childish joke. Had he busted Sullivan's knee Suh might have been sued for 5 to 10 times that amount.
September 10th, 2013 at 7:09 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 10:15 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 6:51 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 6:59 PM ^
Not defending the play, per se, just saying that this seems more like your standard personal foul and less like the other stuff that Suh was justifiably suspended for. Just seems kind of bogus that they assume intent to injure on THIS play based on some stuff he did last year.
September 10th, 2013 at 7:17 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 9:56 PM ^
My thoughts exactly. I get that he has a reputation, but does that mean every personal foul he commits warrants league intervention from now on? If he gets a little aggressive and roughs the passer sometime mid-season, do they suspend him 2 games or fine him $200k? So ridiculous. At some point you have to move on and understand that a huge, strong DT is going to occasionally get a personal foul. Where does it end?
September 10th, 2013 at 7:07 PM ^
Gee....I wonder what kind of fine Mathews gets for his flying clothesline. I'm going upwards of maybe $45.00 cash money.
September 10th, 2013 at 7:40 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 7:49 PM ^
September 11th, 2013 at 6:35 AM ^
So go back and fix it next time.
September 10th, 2013 at 10:04 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 7:07 PM ^
"Including today's fine, Suh has lost more than $342,000 in fines and missed game checks due to player-safety violations. He's made more than $51.7 million in his career from the Lions so far."
There was something that was mentioned on Twitter that I found interesting with regards to the fine versus the salary. To put the cumulative total in perspective, Kyle Meinke tweeted this afternoon about how this was akin to the average person being fined something just short of about $60 (I believe that was the figure) over the course of four years.
September 10th, 2013 at 9:25 PM ^
September 10th, 2013 at 7:11 PM ^
I used to work with John Sullivan's dad - he was a really lovely man.
( "/coolstorybro" ??)