We always viewed Ndamukong Suh's absence from voluntary offseason workouts as a comprehensive non-story.
The Lions pass-rusher confirmed in May that his decision to stay away had nothing to do with his contract. Besides, Suh's personal strength coach Mike Barwis told NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport that Detroit's quarterback killer is poised to hit camp as a "physical specimen."
"Ndamukong is a stud," said Barwis, the star of Discovery Channel's "American Muscle," which debuts Wednesday. "... He trains very, very hard. Guys finish up the workouts, and he's the guy in there who stays extra to condition beyond what's demanded of him, and these workouts are pretty hellacious. A guy like that is a pretty unique guy. ... He knows what he has to do to be ready, and I think he's proven that every year he's been ready."
Suh -- who attended the team's mandatory practices without incident -- told NFL Media's Amber Theoharis and Brian Baldinger on Tuesday that his decision to skip voluntary gatherings was never an issue with Lions coach Jim Caldwell.
"I think with this day and age, and with technology and the ability to do anything from anywhere in this world, it's not that big of a deal because we made great adjustments," said Suh. "And even being a leader, we didn't pick our unity counsels and our captains as of yet, but our unity counsels wasn't even picked until, I believe, right before our minicamps, so it's still very open.
"Our biggest part of the year for us, outside of OTAs and minicamps, is (training) camp. So that's what we're getting ready to go in to."
Chatter over Suh's preparation and "attitude" was half-baked from the start. We have no doubt that Detroit's defensive terror will be fully operational when camp kicks off later this month.
In the latest "Around The League Podcast" the guys offer up their personal top 10 lists on the eve of the "Top 100" finale.
