Ndamukong Suh Is A Hardcore Player In A League That’s Gone Soft

By: Toby Christie - http://twitter.com/tobalical

After Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day game against the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh may very well be facing a suspension, but at the very least he will be fined for stomping on an opposing player in a 27-15 loss.

This is the latest run-in Suh has had with the rule book in the NFL, and this one comes after his much publicized sit down with commissioner Roger Goodell to iron out how to play the game under the current rules. But is Suh doing anything wrong?

In the spirit of how football was created and what it was meant to be – no he’s not.

Suh is a throwback, hard-nosed defensive player in a league that has simply gone soft. Defensive players like Jack Lambert were once the face of the league. Players like Lambert would completely devistate opposing players. Hell back then quarterbacks were tackled by their facemasks, and nobody complained.

In the golden age of the NFL it wasn’t uncommon for players to get into wars on the field that would result in fists flying, feet stomping or worse. That is how football was meant to be played, and this is why the league is where it is at today. It’s a brutal game, you know that going into it.

What was once encouraged though is now getting players suspended because you have to protect the offense at all costs. It seems that the NFL is afraid that if defenses get tough, the 30-40 points that teams are easily putting up these days will be diminished – and so too will the ratings.

In the end though, fans tune in to see a game of football, not a backyard game of catch and two-hand touch. But the days of real football seem to be behind us…