Ndamukong Suh's solid opening game, as part of a stoutDetroit Lions front that bottled up Adrian Peterson, will be overshadowed by a boneheaded personal-foul penalty.
The defensive tackle was flagged Sunday for a low block on John Sullivan when he dove at the defenseless Minnesota Vikings center from behind after a Lions interception. The play wiped out a defensive touchdown.
Sullivan avoided serious injury, but his teammates weren't happy about the play.
"This is a fraternity. In the NFL, you try and take care of guys," Vikings defensive end Jared Allen said, per the Star Tribune. "Granted, things happen and guys are going to make hits and some things are going to be borderline. But you can't take a dude's legs out from behind on an interception when he's running down the field. To me, there's just no room for that."
Suh is facing NFL discipline for the play, league spokesman Randall Liu told NFL Media on Monday. The league changed the rule during the offseason to protect defenseless players.
Suh, who is under the microscope more than any other NFL player after a history of cheap shots and personal-foul penalties, said he talked with Sullivan after halftime.
"I'm not going for his knees," Suh said. "He knows that. We had a great conversation running out at halftime. And he understood. My aim was his waist to cut him off."
Unfortunately for Suh, he's not going to get the benefit of the doubt on these type of plays.
Regardless of his intent, the play was categorically uncalled for. First and foremost, diving at a player's knee on a change of field is dangerous (the Vikings lost defensive tackle Kevin Williams for this game on a similar hit). Second, aiming at his "waist" is irrelevant. The play was past Suh and there was absolutely no reason to hit Sullivan.
Suh is a fantastic football player. However, plays like Sunday's continue to overshadow the positives and hurt his own team.
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