Was Ndamukong Suh's illegal face-mask tackle a sign of things to come?
It was during an exhibition match on Saturday 28 August that the question first arose. Nobody had seen it coming, and now that it’s happened, people aren’t quite sure what to make of it. The story began somewhere early in the second quarter, right after a snap.
In the middle of the scramble there stood Ndamukong Suh, the 23-year-old former Nebraska golden boy. He had his eyes on his goal, the quarterback, and he wasn’t going to let him slip away. In the middle of the scramble Suh grabbed the 35-year-old Jake Delhomme’s face mask, twisted it, and after wrapping his arm around the Cleveland Brown quarterback's head he slammed the man face first into the grass, dirt and soil of Detroit’s Ford Field.
The act sparked fierce protest from Delhomme, which got his opponents struck with a 15-yard penalty, and eventually got the Browns a first down. But what to make of Suh’s actions? Is this a sign of things to come? Do we have another explosive behavioral case on our hands?
Suh first made waves in his college years as one of the most decorated defensive players in college football history. He’s won the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award, a Lombardi Award, an Outland Trophy, a Bronko Nagurski Trophy and he’s been a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. All these accolades garnished Suh praise and respect from his now NFL contemporaries as well as making him the second overall pick in April’s NFL draft.
After this seemingly flagrant act of violence, the Browns were up in arms. Eric Mangini, coach of the Cleveland Browns, demanded the NFL investigate the play. The back-up quarterback for the Browns, Seneca Wallace called for Suh to be suspended. Lions’ defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch says that’s a gross overreaction: “I asked him what happened and he said he thought Delhomme still had the ball, it was just an honest mistake."
Suh himself had much to say about the situation he now finds himself in: "I was just going after the ball and I had no clue that he had gotten rid of it, I don’t know what to expect from the league. I’ve gotten personal fouls before, but that was in college, and they can’t fine you there.”
Last Saturday’s exhibition game was the second professional match for the young Suh, and it wasn’t yet a regulation game, so it could be that nerves just got to the rookie. It could be that his drive to finish the play got in the way of his better judgment, but that shouldn’t necessarily make him a target of league persecution.
When asked what his thoughts were Cleveland Brown coach Eric Mangini had this to say: “When I met the kid he was a good kid, I don’t think he’s a malicious guy, from what I know about him. It was just a poor decision.”
Mangini wouldn’t comment on whether or not he agreed with the referee's call. But he did say this: “It put the quarterback at risk, but I’m not the official. You don’t want to see that at any point, but my experience with him in the draft process is that he’s a good kid and it was just not a great decision”.
So is Suh the NFL’s newest bad boy and loose cannon? Or was this just an honest mistake from a fresh new face poised for great things to come? Only time will tell. From Terrell Owens to Ben Roethlisberger, the NFL faithful love their share of villains, but whether or not Suh's actions were just malice or indiscipline isn't clear yet. What's certain though is that fans just got one more reason to watch one of the NFL's best prospects.
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