Detroit Lions Defense: Dirty Players or NFL Throwbacks?

Rumours of dirty play in Motown have been circulating ever since Ndamukong Suh played his first down for the Detroit Lions.  He seems to be the catalyst for this hot button issue of the day around the NFL.  But the accusations are not limited to him.  Anyone playing defense and wearing Honolulu blue is a target.

Apparently anyone who gets a microphone stuck in their grill can't wait to blabber about what a dirty team the Lions are.

The latest accusations are from the Atlanta Falcons, who claim that Suh and Cliff Avril stood over an injured Matt Ryan taunting him by saying "bring out the stretcher." The Falcons also say the two kicked Ryan when he was down.

The always eloquent Rodney Harrison, who couldn't wait to hear the sound of his own voice, chimed in with his opinion: The Lions take after their dirty coach, Jim Schwartz.

I prefer to focus on the big picture and things that can actually be proven. 

Yes, the Detroit Lions straddle the line between hard aggressive play and—what I will refer to as—unnecessary nastiness.  The result has been an increasing rash of penalties. 

This is a sign that their reputation definitely precedes them.

But why all the fuss?  What makes this such a juicy story?  This is the NFL.  Hard hitting action is the name of the game.

Have we forgotten how the league started and what it was founded on?

Truthfully, I had.  Until I was reminded while listening to the Sean, Terp, and Killer radio show recently.  The host of the show, Sean Baligian, asked the question, "What is the most famous NFL image?"  I racked my brain thinking of the biggest moments in NFL history.

Was it "The Catch:" Joe Montana to Dwight Clark?  Was it a wide eyed Barry Sanders fooling a crowd of defenders?  Was it the Green Bay Packer lifting Lombardi up on their shoulders?

No, none of these.  It is the picture of Chuck Bednarik standing over Frank Gifford, who Bednarik hit so hard Gifford was knocked unconscious and out of football for almost two years. 

Not only is Bednarik standing over him, he is celebrating Gifford's limp body with a dramatic fist pump. 

Now I can't say for sure if this is truly the most famous image in NFL history.  But that really isn't the point.  The point is that football is a vicious and violent sport, it always has been.  Nothing has changed.  One man's dirty player is another man's winner.  The line between playing dirty and playing hard is gray at best. 

Not only is football inherently violent, but the NFL has capitalized on the violence and encouraged it.  How else would someone like me, who wasn't alive when Bednarik hit Gifford, know the story of that hit?  Because the NFL has romanticized it and plastered the image everywhere. 

Their message:  "Come watch the NFL!  In all its violent glory!"

Until last year the NFL was still selling pictures of the "hardest hits" on their website.  The images were of hits that had been deemed "illegal" by the NFL, and the players in the images had been fined.  Apparently someone needed to inform the NFL that this was a tad hypocritical.

In fact, the hypocrisy in the media and NFL is astounding concerning "dirty" play.  Chuck Bednarik, Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke are three of the most iconic football names in NFL history.  Thanks in large part to how the NFL portrayed them in the media.  Were they dirty? Some would say.  Or were they just tough players? 

Today they would be considered dirty.  Yet the NFL has cashed in on their images over the years and continues to do so today.

So how can the NFL promote these players of the past as heroic and players like Suh dirty?  Suh's game harkens back to the NFL of old.  He emulates players like Butkus and Nitschke.  Shouldn't the NFL honor players like this?

No, they fine players like Suh who are passionate, play hard and stand up for their teammates.  The media loves to write scathing articles about those players.  It’s tabloid fodder.

But the NFL hasn't stopped cashing in on players labeled dirty.  In the end the league loves the attention Suh and the "dirty" Detroit Lions bring.  They won't condone that type of play; but they sure will advertise the heck out of it.

It isn't just the Detroit Lions.  Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu are annually voted to the list of dirtiest players in the league.  How many times have we seen their smiling mugs on NFL promos? Rodney Harrison's entire career was based on headhunting.  Now he is an expert analyst for Sunday Night Football? 

I realize times have changed and there is always room for progress.  There is a real need to curtail dangerous plays concerning helmet to helmet contact.  Concussion research in the NFL has yielded disturbing results and it is essential that these types of plays be outlawed.

If you want to call those particular plays dirty, so be it.

But there is a difference between a player launching himself like a missile at a helpless receiver's head, and Suh slamming a quarterback to the ground.  One is reckless the other is tough.

The NFL was built on tough players after all.

So remember, the next time you hear a story in the media about Detroit's "dirty" defense, or a player getting fined for hitting the quarterback, take it with a grain of salt.  The NFL hopes that it will spark a lot of debate.

They also hope that it will lead to greater stadium attendance, television ratings, and merchandise sales.  Face it NFL, violence has always paid the bills, and it always will.