DETROIT – Ndamukong Suh was suspended by the NFL on Monday. Suh deserved it.
His transgression - an ill-advised two-step on Green Bay Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers' left leg in the Lions' 30-20 loss on Sunday - was both dumb and uncalled for.
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Suh, a star defensive tackle and a driving force in the Lions' top-rated defense, will miss the Lions' playoff game in Dallas Sunday.
According to a statement from the NFL, Suh "unnecessarily stepped on (the) opponent's unprotected leg as he lay on the ground unable to protect himself."
This should never have happened. That's why coach Jim Caldwell was brought here. He was supposed to clean up all the dumb and dirty plays that the Lions had become infamous for under coach Jim Schwartz.
Instead, Caldwell, in his first year at the Lions' helm, will be without a star player in the biggest game of the season.
Suh, of course, will appeal it. But it's hard to imagine he'll get his suspension reversed.
He's a two-time offender. Plus, he's been fined numerous times in his career for questionable hits on opponents.
That's the reason many of his own peers consider him the league's dirtiest player.
"I don't know if I can put it into words," Lions' safety James Ihedigbo said to the media on Monday. "He's a dominant force in our defense. He's kind of the key centerpiece. We have faith in guys that can step up and fill that void and do the best job they can to get this win and help us out.
"It's unfortunate, whatever way you want to slice it. You're losing one of your best defensive players and one of the best D-linemen in the league, it's unfortunate."
Even more troubling than Suh missing for the playoff game, this is the second time in two weeks a starter has been suspended for the same incident.
Center Dominic Raiola was forced to miss Sunday's game at Green Bay after intentionally stepping on the ankle of the Bears' defensive tackle Ego Ferguson the week earlier.
That's on Caldwell.
After the Raiola incident, Caldwell had to stress to his team the importance of not playing dumb or dirty.
It's hard to believe two different players could do the same thing in back-to-back weeks and result in the same suspension.
And of all players, Suh should have been the first person that Caldwell talked to after the Raiola suspension.
Caldwell had to let Suh know to be in control and not let his actions take him out of the mix.
The Lions finished 11-5 and are attempting to win their first playoff game since 1991 and their first road playoff game in 57 years.
Did we mention that the Lions have lost their last seven playoff games? Or that QB Matthew Stafford is 0-16 in his career on the road against teams with a winning record?
The Lions need all their players to break some of these unreal, ugly streaks, especially a star like Suh.
Caldwell knew Suh's history. Suh's first foot action was caught on national TV on Thanksgiving Day in 2011. It was a national story, made all the papers, and resulted in a two game suspension.
Last season, Suh was fined $100,000 for an illegal low block on Minnesota Vikings' center John Sullivan.
Suh also has been fined for playing rough play against six quarterbacks, including Chicago's Jay Cutler and Cincinnati's Andy Dalton.
Given Suh's rap sheet, Caldwell had to get to Suh, convince him to keep it clean and play above board.
When Caldwell was asked about the Suh-Rodgers incident after the game, he said that he didn't see it. Worse, Caldwell said he doubted in was intentional.
Hello!?
Without seeing it, there's no way you can offer such an opinion. It sounded as if Caldwell was playing the role of enabler.
Often times, coaches can't do but so much. Winning and losing mostly comes down to the team with the best players.
However, one way coaches can impact is discipline; get players to play within the rules and not make dumb penalties.
With Suh, Caldwell failed miserably.