Ndamukong Suh Fine Proof NFL Is Way Too Soft

The NFL preseason is only a week old, and already the league is doling out fines to players for hits that were once just a normal, expected part of the game.

Detroit Lions star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was slapped with a $20,000 fine for his hit on Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. The league contends his hit was late; during the game, Suh was flagged for a personal foul.

While I will concede that in this case Suh's hit on Dalton was late, I do not believe for one second that the hit was considerably dirty enough to warrant such a fine. Penalties exist for a reason; to fine every single player for every single hit-related penalty is ridiculous.

But, alas, this is the precedent the league has set, starting last season with its targeted campaign against Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison. Or is it the league's targeted campaign against injuries? Anymore, it's hard to tell.

For example, Harrison's hit on New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, from last Halloween. Clearly, you can see that this is a routine hit on a quarterback, the kind of timely and brutal play any linebacker in the league dreams about. This resulted in a $20,000 fine on Harrison.

Or consider this hit by Harrison on Cleveland Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, also from last season. The hit drew no penalties, but resulted in a $75,000 fine against Harrison.

And how about that hit Suh had on Dalton? That cost him $20,000, while this hit on then-Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme cost him only $7,500.

The play was not dissimilar to his hit last week on Dalton; however, the fines seem to send a different message.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has made it his mission to increase the in-game safety of the players. This is an admirable undertaking, considering the scores of retired players with severe brain deterioration caused by repeated blows to the head (known as traumatic encephalopathy).

However, the methods Goodell and the NFL have used to enforce the new safety guidelines make me, and many others who pay attention to the league, wonder if safety is the goal of the fines, or if defenders are being punished for playing the game as it should be played—intense, full-bore and hard-hitting.

It is my opinion that the league is arbitrarily punishing a handful of defenders, and using the guise of player safety to advance its agenda of making the game a more offense-focused, big-passing league.

The NFL, it seems to me, is not concerned with the safety of all of its players, just the cash cows: the quarterbacks. They forget that the quarterback, while obviously important, is only one member of a team, and that this sport is compelling for reasons well beyond just the guy throwing the passes.

Now is the time to remind everyone that NFL quarterbacks have been playing the game, and the position, for a very long time, and they know how to take hits and expect that they are coming. Hits are part of the game, and they are part of the quarterback position.

Also upsetting is that, by repeatedly fining defenders for certain plays, and ignoring others, players are getting unfairly tagged as dirty, when they are merely extremely good at their jobs.

What do linebackers do, exactly? Do they not pressure the quarterback? Do they not try to sack him before he can complete a play? Do they not tackle running backs as hard as they can, ideally behind the line of scrimmage, trying to make every offensive play one for a loss?

So, how, exactly, can a player like Suh or Harrison reasonably play the game, at their position, on their respective teams, without pulling a fine? And how can they even be certain that the fines levied upon their hits are not arbitrary?

Here's a good example: Last year, Chicago Bears defensive end Julius Peppers was fined $10,000 for this hit on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

And here is a hit by Suh on Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, which resulted in a $15,000 fine.

What makes the latter hit $5,000 more illegal than the former? And what makes the latter hit illegal at all? Cutler was running, therefore not considered a passer, not in the pocket, and was fair game for a tackle. Suh managed to bring Cutler down by pushing him in the back—not in the head, not by the head, not via horse collar—and did his job by making an important tackle. Full stop.

Another issue here is a matter of practicality. Let's revisit the hit that Peppers made against Rodgers.

How practical is it to assume that Peppers or any other linebacker, defensive end, or safety who is hurtling himself at top speed at a quarterback who had the ball in his hand less than a second before can immediately stop himself from running into, tackling, or otherwise breathing the same air as that quarterback?

He can't, and it's unreasonable to assume that he can. But, let's penalize him, let's fine him regardless. Somehow he may learn how to slow down, not tackle the quarterback, and play the game with far less effort than he wants to or is accustomed.

I am sure that will do wonders for his morale as a player, for the morale of his fellow defenders and teammates, and for the fans who watch their defenses give up big plays that once would have been stopped, in fear of a penalty or fine. Or, he will take that fine, and keep taking them until slapped with a suspension, which we all know is looming over the heads of every defensive player in the league.

But at least we know this rule applies primarily to quarterbacks. Watch Ravens defender Jameel McClain accidentally hit Steelers tight end Heath Miller. This was a helmet-to-helmet hit that resulted in Miller suffering a severe concussion.

While McClain was fined $40,000 for that hit (where that number came from, no one knows), he was not flagged for the hit in the game. However, when Cutler runs with the ball and is knocked down—not even tackled, mind you—by Suh, the play draws a penalty flag.

I take absolutely no issue with wanting to increase player safety in the NFL. The game has changed accordingly with its players who are bigger, faster, stronger and in better physical shape than at any time in the league's history. Coupled with greater knowledge about the long-term effects of all manner of football-related injuries, a revamped safety policy is necessary.

However, when the system lacks consistency, when fines can be levied without penalties, when some penalties draw fines while others do not, when one man (that would be Goodell) has total control over who gets fined and for how much, it sends a clear message to the players that this system may not really be all about player safety.

This system thus appears as more of a way to soften up the game, making it more friendly to quarterback play and the offense, via reducing the defenses' impact.

It's not pro wrestling, and fans aren't watching for big hits like they anticipate a powerbomb from Sid Vicious, but big hits are not only a reason why people enjoy watching the NFL, they are an integral part of how the game of football is played.

For the league to not have a policy that differentiates the intentional fouls from the incidental, and the blatant from the unavoidable, it easily sends one down the train of thought that ends at Goodell trying to soften the game.

It's not the National Quarterback League, and it's not the National Fluffy-kittens-and-hugs League, nor is it the National Fuzzy-policies League; it's the National Football League.

It would serve Goodell well to remember that "football" includes hitting, not just scoring, and that discipline must never be arbitrary if it is to be taken seriously.