Feast Or Famine For The Dolphins

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It took $114 million to lure defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh from the chill of Detroit City to the warmth of South Beach. After spending the first five years of his National Football League career with the Detroit Lions, Suh left to sign with the Miami Dolphins. Suh was the second overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Lions and he became a very intimidating presence on their defensive line. As a rookie, Suh ammassed 10 sacks to be named as the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press. In his five seasons with the Lions, Suh helped and hurt Detroit with his play. By some people Suh has been labeled as a dirty player as he can turn the gridiron into a no holds barred street fight. Since coming to the NFL, Suh has been fined over $200k by the league for his antics which have included unnecessary roughness on opposing quarterbacks and kicks to the groin area of some opposing offensive linemen. The Lions attempted to sign Suh to a long-term extension last year, but they didn’t go overboard in trying to keep him in the Motor City. Suh played things out last season as he helped the Lions make the playoffs for only the second time this millenium. And when the Lions didn’t place their franchise tage on Suh, the fun began for him.

Suh was expected to be a highly sought after free agent this off-season and with the Dolphins looking to beef up their defensive line, it was game on in Miami. With Suh’s huge payday and his tremendous athletic ability, this signing could either make him the next Reggie White or the second coming of Albert Haynesworth.

Since quarterback Dan Marino retired from the Dolphins following the 1999 National Football League season, Miami has only had six winning seasons while only making the postseason three times. Over the past 15 years the Dolphins have lacked leadership on and off of the football field. Suh was given money by the Dolphins as if he were a leader, but who on this team will exactly reign him in if he gets out of control as Miami is a very young football team?

Stephen Ross

This is the same Dolphins organization that is still attempting to clean up their image after the bullying scandal in 2013 nearly ripped them apart. Since then Dolphins over Stephen Ross has worked to change his team’s image and more than anything he wants to bring a winning football team to South Florida. Last year the Lions had the second ranked defense in the NFL with Suh being a big part of that and Miami is hopeful that he can improve on a defensive unit that was 12th in the league last season. Suh constantly commands a double team and for Dolphins defensive ends Cameron Wake and Dion Jordan, they should be freed up more to rush the quarterback. For years the New England Patriots have been the top dog in the AFC East and the best way for the Dolphins to get to the playoffs is to knock them off. Like any other signal caller in the NFL, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady doesn’t like to be pressured and I have a feeling that he and Suh will be exchanging pleasantries next season on the football field. For Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin he is now charged with making things work for Suh in Miami.

A potential red flag for the Dolphins on their signing of Suh is that the Lions didn’t go overboard to sign him. Suh was a first-round pick of the Lions in 2010 and when players are that productive after being selected in the first round, teams tend to keep them on the roster for at least two contracts. The Lions instead opted to acquire veteran defensive tackle Haloti Ngata from the Baltimore Ravens to replace Suh on their defensive line.

If nothing else the signing of Suh has people in South Florida once again talking about the Dolphins. The Dolphins finished the past two seasons with a record of 8-8 and they are hopeful that the signing of Suh will get them back to the postseason for the first time since 2007. But as we have seen, teams in the NFL that tend to make a splash in free agency aren’t rewarded for it when the season rolls around. Under owner Dan Snyder, the Washington Redskins have been notorious to spend large sums of money in free agency only to generally watch the playoffs from home. Two years ago the same Dolphins signed wide receiver Mike Wallace to a five-year, $60 million deal. Wallace has yet to gain 1,000 receiving yards in a season while wearing a Dolphins uniform and he has also been known to pout when he doesn’t get the football. In the meantime we’ll just have to file the Dolphins signing of Suh under the “wait and see” category.

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By | 2015-03-11T12:20:24+00:00 March 11th, 2015|Categories: National Football League|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

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