Very rarely does a defensive tackle come along that changes the fortunes
of a football team. When Chuck Noll took over The Pittsburgh Steelers
in 1969, his first draft pick was “Mean” Joe Greene. Greene was the
first overall pick and in his 13 seasons in The Steel City, The Steelers
won four Super Bowl Championships. Reggie White entered The National
Football League after The Philadelphia Eagles obtained his rights from
The United States Football League in 1984. White went on to be force on
the defensive line with The Eagles before helping The Green Bay Packers
win a Super Bowl in 1996. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Warren Sapp
in the first round of The 1995 NFL Draft and Sapp became a cornerstone
of The Bucs dominate defenses of the late 90s and early 2000s. Sapp and
The Bucs claimed Super Bowl glory in 2002.
Now we fast forward to the present and the next dominant defensive
tackle, Ndamukong Suh. Before Suh, The Detroit Lions were the laughing
stock of The NFL. In 2008, The Lions became the first team to go 0-16.
They followed this up with a record of 2-14 in 2009. The fortunes of
this franchise may have changed in April 2010 when The Lions drafted Suh
with the second overall pick. Suh came from The University of Nebraska
which has a reputation of developing great interior linemen.
Suh and The Lions saw a four game improvement last season as Detroit
went 6-10. Suh became The NFL’s Rookie of The Year as he tallied 10
sacks and was a menace for opposing offenses. This year The Lions have
roared out of the gates to a 6-2 start and The Lions defense is one of
the most feared units in the league behind Suh.
A dominant defensive tackle will constantly draw double teams which
will free up his teammates. Suh saw constant double teams last season
and was still able to wreak havoc. Suh’s presence enables teammates on
the defensive line such as Kyle Vanden Bosch, Nick Fairley, and Willie
Young to rush the quarterback without being hindered. I like to refer to
this defensive line in Detroit as “The Assembly Line” as head coach Jim
Schwartz constantly puts fresh defensive linemen on the field with Suh
operating as the foreman.
White, Greene, and Sapp were feared by opponents for their ability,
but they were respected by them as well. Suh also falls into this
comparison. Suh has that rare gift of size, strength, and speed. Suh ran
a sub-five 40-yard dash at The NFL Combine along with bench pressing
225 lbs. 32 times which allows him to take over football game by
himself. We have all seen Greene, Sapp, and White take over big games.
White introduced New England Patriot offensive tackle Max Lane to him
powerful swim move in Super Bowl 31. Greene was front and center for
every big game that The Steelers played in. Greene’s presence freed up
linebackers Jack Lambert and Jack Ham to make tackles. Sapp’s presence
in the middle of The Buccaneer defense paved the way for linebacker
Derrick Brooks and safety John Lynch to be impact players.
Each of these dominant defensive tackles had a quarterback that they
harassed regularly. Greene had Ken Stabler, White had Phil Simms, and
Sapp had Brett Favre. For Suh it is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is the
reigning Super Bowl MVP and the golden boy of a Packer team that most
people expect to repeat this season as Super Bowl Champs. Rodgers and
The Packers have not faced Suh’s Lions this season, but when they do it
will be a battle as The Lions split two games with their NFC North
brethren last season. Both games were decided by a total of six points
and in their last meeting of 2010, The Lions held Green Bay to a field
goal.
Greene is in The Pro Football Hall of Fame and you can’t think of
“The Steel Curtain” defense of the 1970s without thinking about “Mean
Joe”. White is a Hall of Famer as well who’s brute force helped restore
Green Bay as “Titletown”. Sapp will most likely enter The Hall of Fame
as he helped to bring respectability to The Buccaneers. Suh is making
everyone in The NFL take a long look at The Lions. Some people want to
classify Suh as a “dirty player”. Suh is not a dirty player. Suh is
relentless as he is throwback player that tries to inflict pain on
quarterbacks. Suh is aggressive, but not dirty.
Suh is only in his second year as a pro and it is far to early to
put him in any discussion as a Hall of Famer. Suh has toughness and he
has helped to bring credibility to a once futile franchise. If the
season ended today, The Lions would be postseason bound for the first
time since 1999. The sky is the limit for the future success of Suh and
The Lions, but it will be tough for The Lions to have success without
Suh being as dominant as he is.
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