NFL's Detroit Lions: Suh Screws Up Again with Ejection vs. Packers

The footage of Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh stomping Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith in the arm in Thursday's 27-15 loss at Ford Field, was replayed ad nauseum on Thanksgiving, appropriately, of all days.

If Suh, who has been fined before by the NFL for several on-field transgressions in his less-than-two full seasons, was sorry, he didn't come out and say it in his postgame remarks—not to the man he kicked, anyway. He apologized to his teammates, coaches and his "real" fans for being put in such a position—Suh claimed he was misunderstood—but he stopped way short of offering real remorse for what he actually did, or for his third-quarter ejection.

Hall of Famer Deion Sanders called it ignorance on the NFL Network before the San Francisco-Baltimore nightcap. Fellow Hall of Famer Michael Irvin—no angel himself in his playing days—believed that what happened with the 6'4", 307-pound Suh on Thursday afternoon would happen with him again, and Irvin's probably right.

Suh sounded intelligent and articulate in his postgame remarks, which makes you wonder why he does the things he does on the field. Football is obviously a hard and violent game, and tempers do flare out there, but you can't do the things that Suh does and think it's OK, league retribution forthcoming or not (although it likely is).

It's not like Suh is a hanger-on who barely made the team, either. He had 66 tackles and 10 sacks as a first-round draft choice out of Nebraska in 2010. He had 30 tackles and three sacks headed into the Green Bay game, which the Packers left at 11-0 on the year. He needs to be on the field to help the Lions if they are to have a shot at getting back to the NFL playoffs for the first time in a long time.

Suh reminds me of fellow bad boy Plaxico Burress, who, despite his Super Bowl-winning catch a few seasons back, was a regular problem child with the New York Giants, his shooting himself notwithstanding. He missed meetings, showed up late at other times, didn't respond to calls inquiring where he was, etc. They finally let him go after he accidentally put a bullet in his leg, but the seeds of his dismissal had been planted long before—his attitude seemed to be whatever was good for him was going to have to be good enough for the Giants, or it was just too bad.

Burress seems to have gotten much better with the New York Jets. That's probably because he realizes this is his last chance to be an NFL player, or else be banished to the sidelines forever.

Because of what he did against the Packers, Suh was on the sidelines on Thursday while his teammates were trying to come back against a division rival and the league's best team. He may be out a while longer when the league gets done with him after this incident, in which he also ground Dietrich-Smith's helmeted head into the turf several times before getting up and planting a foot in his opponent's bicep.

Maybe Suh will learn his lesson after facing commissioner Roger Goodell again, and will be ready to keep his temper in check and help his team out.

Then again, probably not.