Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
It’s not often that I agree with the fines and punishments handed down by the NFL, but the league most certainly got it right this time. Ndamukong Suh has been fined $100,000 for his illegal block on John Sullivan this past Sunday. After the NFL made it very well known before the season started that they don’t want players’ knees being targeted during blocks on changes of possession, Suh went out and blatantly disregarded the league’s warning. His chop-like block on Sullivan is a perfect example of what the league is trying to eliminate. Now, he’s going to pay.
In typical Suh fashion, he’s claiming there was no malintent on his part. He says he was going for Sullivan’s mid-section on the block. I don’t buy it and the NFL didn’t either. No matter what the defensive tackle claims, he still ultimately performed an illegal maneuver that could have ended the opposing center’s season before it really even began.
Jared Allen took exception to Suh’s block and was one of the few players that commented on it:
“This is a fraternity. In the NFL, you try to take care of guys. Things happen, and guys are going to make hits. But you can’t take a dude’s legs out from behind on an interception return down the field. He plays hard. I like his style of play. But if you end a guy’s career like that, it’s just uncalled for.”
Maybe, just maybe, Suh will finally get it through his thick head that he can’t keep playing the game the way he does. There’s nothing wrong with being physical and striking fear into your opponents, but that can be done in non-Busch League ways.
The $100k fine will surely be the last time he’ll get off ‘easy’ this year, because his next incident will no doubt lead to a suspension.
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