Ndamukong Suh
Not too many players have come down the pike in the National Football League and been able to dominate from the defensive tackle position. In 1971, Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Alan Page became the first defensive player in NFL history to be named as the league’s MVP. The Pittsburgh Steelers success in the 1970’s was predicated on the ability of defensive tackle Joe Greene who consistently commanded a double team which freed up his defensive teammates. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, the Dallas Cowboys “Doomsday Defense” had many interchangeable parts, but there was only one “Manster” at defensive tackle in Randy White as he wreaked havoc on interior offensive linemen. The 1980’s and 1990’s saw defensive tackle Reggie White abuse offensive lineman as a member of both the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers. And when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers “Cover 2” defense rose to prominence in the late 1990’s, defensive tackle Warren Sapp was a key member of the unit. All of the players mentioned have been enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is not certain that current Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh will join them there, but he is set to become quite rich in the coming months.
After this season ends Suh is set to become a free agent. The Lions and Suh walked away from the negotiating table last summer without an extension which means that he is in the process of showcasing himself to the highest bidder.
Suh was the second overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Lions and he came to Detroit at a time when the team was in desperate need of an attitude adjustment. The Lions went 0-16 in 2008 which they followed up by only going 2-14 in 2009. Suh was a highly touted defensive tackle coming out of the University of Nebraska that played with a chip on his shoulder. Suh had 10 sacks as a rookie as he was named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. Suh’s aggression has also landed him in trouble with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as he was consistently fined by the league during his first few seasons.
This season Suh is still aggressive, but he is doing it to the point that he is not hurting his team as he is keeping it within the lines. Suh has eight sacks this season as he has helped the Lions clinch a playoff berth and with a victory on Sunday versus the Green Bay Packers they can become division champs for the first time since 1991. Suh’s presence on the defensive line has helped the Lions possess the second best defense in the NFL. But aside from the sacks, Suh is a disruptor. Like the great defensive tackles that have played in the National Football League, Suh constantly demands a double team which allows his defensive teammates more opportunities to make plays. But make no mistake about it that Suh can split those double teams and still make life tough on opposing quarterbacks. The Lions best defensive performance of the season came in Week 4 when they limited the Packers to just 232 yards in a 19-7 victory. Suh also sacked Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers once that day while chasing him around Ford Field that entire afternoon while never allowing him to get into a passing rhythm.
The deeper that the Lions are able to advance next month in the postseason will only increase Suh’s value on the free agent market as there will be several teams that will view him as the missing piece to their defense. But Suh may still have to deal with a case of buyer beware.
After spending seven seasons with the Tennessee Titans, defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth became a free agent in 2009. Several teams lined up for Haynesworth’s services, but it was the Washington Redskins that won out as he agreed to a seven-year contract worth $100 million. Haynesworth never lived up to his deal as once he got paid as he appeared to lose interest in playing football. In two seasons with the Redskins, Haynesworth only had 6.5 sacks and some people will view him as the biggest free-agent bust in NFL history. But unlike Haynesworth, Suh has dominated from his first day in the NFL and he plays with a high motor. Suh is a difference maker that makes the people around him better. Suh’s 2015 NFL employer is still undetermind, but whomever it is he will make the other players on that defensive line better because he is a one-man gang and he will be the league’s next $100 million man.
Source: Pro-football-reference.com
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