The events of this week give entirely new meaning to the phrase, “sue me.” I sarcastically utter it a lot when people feel like I have done them a disservice, most often it seems to my own kids. The phrase sounds the same but takes on an entirely new meaning if it is spelled differently though, Suh me. Henceforth “suh me” will mean a slap on the wrist rather than a severe penalty. When Ted Cottrell ruled in favor of Ndamukong Suh’s appeal he tossed logic out the window.
Suh was originally suspended for one game by the league for a two footed stomp on the injured leg of Packers Quarterback Aaron Rogers. Rogers was prone and had no ability to protect himself. Suh has done this kind of thing before, my guess is that a lot of guys have over the years. But this one was caught on camera. There are two things that make it appear obvious that he knew what he was doing. First, he did not stumble or even look back when his first foot made contact with the injured leg of Rogers. Secondly, when Rogers pushed Suh away he did not even turn around to see who had done it. That’s because he knew who it was, it was the guy he was purposefully stepping on.
I have heard that argument that the suspension had to be lifted because, ironically, one week early Suh’s teammate Dominic Raiola had stomped on the leg of Bears defensive lineman Ego Furgeson. Since Raiola was walking forward not being pushed back his looked much more intentional than Suh’s. The narrative suggests that if Raiola only got one game for stomping on Furgeson, how can you give Suh the same penalty for an incident that looked accidental. The answer is simple, Raiola should have been suspended for more than one game.
Not surprisingly, Raiola came quickly to the defense of Suh. He was getting pushed back, you know,” the Lions center said. “… There’s no way at that point in the game that he did something like that on purpose.” Of course Raiola still maintains his innocence too.
The impact on this game is huge, when the Lions have played without Suh this season the opponent averages over four yards per carry, when Suh is anchoring the defensive line that figure drops to just over two and a half yards per carry. It could be tough sledding for DeMarco Murray this week. Then again, with Suh the Lions allowed their first 100 yard rusher last week. Eddie Lacy had exactly 100 yards on 26 carries and the team rushed for 152 yards.
Expecting that front seven to have two bad weeks in a row is not a good idea, but the truth is the Cowboys have more offensive weapons than the Packers. Tony Romo has a higher passer rating than Rogers this season and his stable of receivers is better. Dez Bryant is one of the best in the game. So if the Lions are able to shut down the Murray it will be up to Romo and the receivers to win the game.
I must admit that there is part of me that likes the fact that Suh will be playing. I believe the Cowboys will win the game and now there will be no excuses about Detroit being depleted. I grew up a Lions fan and feel a little bad predicting that they are going to fail this week However, the truth is, as a fan I have been embarrassed by the actions of Ndamukong Suh for too long. He is a free agent after the season and has said that he won’t play for the Lions next year. I say good riddance.
To my fellow Lions fans who feel betrayed by my opinions on this game I say, “sue me” or “Suh me.”
