The Ndamukong Suh Riddle
September 7th, 2022
Time to savor retirement?
This will trigger a couple of Joe’s regular commenters.
At least one guy who comments several times a day cannot realize that former Bucs defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is done, highly unlikely to ever wear a Bucs jersey again.
This guy always — ALWAYS — either only comments “Suh” or works in Suh to his comments. (Joe appreciates the passion.)
As Joe is wont to suggest, if a guy is any good, he won’t be unemployed in August, never mind September. But here we are, just hours from the 2022 NFL season kick off and Suh, 35, is still looking for work.
Joe assumed Suh was not working because he was asking for too much money. That seems to be the case with a couple of teams. Again, when a formerly good player is unemployed in September and is healthy, there is often a good reason why he’s home.
It seems Seth Walder of BSPN, a dude who never met a number he didn’t like, posted run-stop win-rates for defensive tackles. And Suh’s numbers, by way of NexGen Stats, aren’t just bad. They are horrible!
Suh had the second-worst run-stop win-rate in all of the NFL for defensive tackles.
For a coach like Todd Bowles who is determined to stop the run, that number had to be alarming. It is for Joe, as well.
Father Time taps players on the shoulder. But it seems last year Father Time didn’t just tap Suh on the shoulder, he planted his fist in his face.
Middle age can come at you fast, man.
So given how Suh doesn’t work cheap, and given his awful win-rate numbers against the run, it’s easy to conclude why Suh is panhandling for work.
Suh!
(Is shot!)
September 7th, 2022 at 9:05 am
You’re right about middle age. Father Time is undefeated. Brady is the exception because the QB position doesn’t demand he needs to be as athletic like RBs,WRs, DT, LBs, CB, Safety, and just about every other position on the field except Kicker and Punter.
September 7th, 2022 at 9:09 am
Sup!
September 7th, 2022 at 9:09 am
Suh and JPP’s career is a wrap!
September 7th, 2022 at 9:11 am
Toward the middle of the season, teams stopped running up the middle, and had great success running around–Suh couldn’t get there, and everyone knew it
September 7th, 2022 at 9:13 am
Interesting stat. A few weeks ago, I posted that Suh had only 15 solo tackles in over 700 snaps. The worst number of solo tackles of his career by far. This win rate stat seems to support that notion.
But I always did feel that Suh performed well in the biggest games of the year. That included playoffs of both 2020 and 2021. But if you are less than average in the 17 regular season games, I get why he is unsigned.
September 7th, 2022 at 9:14 am
Thats one side of the coin Joe, some stats don´t lie…..But Suh brought some intangibles to the roster that go beyond a stat sheet….
But, and I have no evidence at all, that when you mix those stats with his economic claims, the result is …unemployment…..
September 7th, 2022 at 9:16 am
Man I love margs.
Middle-age…true. One day you’re 20, the next your back hurts from sneezing.
From my cold, dead hands.
Suh!
September 7th, 2022 at 9:21 am
He still had 6.5 sacks, 35 tackles, 13 QB hits last year. He would be a welcome addition in the rotation. He would need to be willing to take a lot less, which I don’t see happening. Instead, he will probably just wait until Hicks is injured.
September 7th, 2022 at 9:24 am
Teams were def trying to stretch us out and attack the edges last year. Suh just doesnt have the speed to protect that area of the field.
September 7th, 2022 at 9:42 am
Suh is like Cam Newton….he’ll show up and collect a check but he’s no longer grinding and certainly isn’t the same talent he once was. But if a team will pay his price, good for him. I think we made the right call moving on and you never know, if we get in a pinch with injuries, Suh knows the system.
September 7th, 2022 at 9:47 am
I appreciate Suh for his contributions to the team, especially in 2020. But as is noted he was the worst rated DL on the bucs last year by a large margin. Even behind Steve McLendon and Pat O’Connor. In fact, the only other player that was rated worse than Suh on the bucs defense in 2021 was our respected and beloved JPP and it was just a measurement of 0.2 that separated them both.
As a fan I admire and respect them both for their contributions, accomplishments, but it’s time to hang em up.
September 7th, 2022 at 9:48 am
When your a top run defense team…none of these win rate garbage stats matter!!
What matters to me is when Suh was on the field, we became a dominant run defending team. Pretty sure a drop off will happen in department
September 7th, 2022 at 9:49 am
A good career, not the HOF that was his potential, but he has been outstanding. Its time to hang ’em up and enjoy life — a well-earned retirement.
September 7th, 2022 at 9:52 am
I am going to take this opportunity to say… I TOLD YOU SO! LOL
I have been screaming from the rooftops for several months… SUH was not the player people think he was last year. His pass rush was nonexistent except for two games and his run defense progressively got worse and worse and worse.
It was extremely obvious. Age caught up. Now he wants to play somewhere but won’t take a pay cut, not happening.
In a limited role as a veteran backup if needed because of injury, I’d still sign him if he did take a big pay cut though. But right now, he has not needed
September 7th, 2022 at 9:53 am
Father time started tapping me on the shoulder years ago. That is why I stopped wearing a toolbelt and started hiring guys to wear them for me.
September 7th, 2022 at 9:53 am
Clearly Mr. Suh wants to get paid for what he brought to the table in the past. His current skill level is probably way out of whack for the coin he is now emanding. We are better off with our current group.
September 7th, 2022 at 10:17 am
Time stands still for no man. Except for Brady. Some team may sign him later on if they have too many injuries on their D line.
September 7th, 2022 at 10:17 am
One truism of age: “The older I get, the better I was.”
September 7th, 2022 at 10:17 am
Davenport, you might be right on Suh. He had a great career but I’m not sure he did enough for the Hall. Pro Football Reference would indicate no.
September 7th, 2022 at 10:20 am
It’s hilarious that Joe writes an entire paragraph about #8’s relentless Suh comments
September 7th, 2022 at 10:26 am
If this is the end of the line for Suh ( it appears that it is )…what a great career it was. As Parcells/Belichick say “it’s better to move on a year too soon than a year too late”. I think this applies to Suh ( with apologies to the great # 8 )…he wouldn’t have been worth the 8-10 million.
September 7th, 2022 at 10:39 am
I noticed that last season a lot of commenters were moaning about our invisible pass rush.
The graphic shows that it was worse than that.
At least Bowles is trying to get some continuity going with these young, drafted guys. I hope they live up to their potential and make something happen.
September 7th, 2022 at 10:44 am
#8!
Suh made the Bucs comeback against the Rams possible with a beautiful strip of Akers, and was one of the few on defense who showed up for the game. But obviously by his current unemployment, he is asking for too much money given what his season’s worth of film has shown. Likely he was playing through injuries that we don’t know about because he always did. If he could be used in a rotation as a backup and accept, say, $3 large, he’d have a job. Maybe he still will. For the Bucs!
Suh.
September 7th, 2022 at 10:51 am
Him and JPP … The whole “run it back” thing rarely works! You need young blood on your team
September 7th, 2022 at 11:19 am
Beej … ‘Toward the middle of the season, teams stopped running up the middle, and had great success running around–Suh couldn’t get there, and everyone knew it’.
The stats & the observations are all very interesting, but on the big-picture level it still doesn’t correlate. Folks talk about all the running that teams did on the Bucs, YET … we were #1 in the NFL in allowing the FEWEST Rushing Attempts Against. Bucs were also #3 in the NFL in terms of least Rushing Yardage Allowed. If we were sooo bad at stopping the run, exactly how do those numbers happen? Especially considering that Suh was in there for over 700 def snaps, roughly 2 out of every 3 def snaps the Bucs had in 2021.
And regarding opponents running AROUND Suh, isn’t that a good thing? Would seem to indicate that they didn’t have much success going THROUGH him. I never played DLine, but I thought the whole idea was GAP CONTROL. Suh’s gap was inside; if opponents ran outside, isn’t that the DE/OLB’s job to stop it?
Since Suh’s apparently his own agent (and is 35 years old), gut feel is that he never intended to show up for Training Camp (ours or anyone else’s) unless someone met his asking price (which he probably knew wasn’t realistic, although none of us REALLY know what it is). He may be perfectly content with retiring at age 34 (majority of players are) UNLESS someone meets his price. And yes, MAYBE he is waiting until a DT (on a contender) gets hurt and the teams come a-callin. And they will. (Remember when we signed Steve McLendon 2 years ago when Vea went down?)
September 7th, 2022 at 11:40 am
Could it be that teams decided to throw more on the bucs because of all the injuries in the secondary hmmm dunno but at any rate excited for this current roster can’t wait until the Dallas game go bucs
September 7th, 2022 at 11:46 am
Craig … ‘I noticed that last season a lot of commenters were moaning about our invisible pass rush. The graphic shows that it was worse than that.’
Not sure that graphic tells us that Craig. Last season, Bucs were ranked #5 overall in Points Allowed (gotta be doing something right to earn that, ESPECIALLY when you Secondary is as badly beaten up as ours was). In 1,093 defensive snaps …
o Bucs had 47 sacks (ranked #7 in NFL).
o Bucs had 95 QB Hurries (ranked #1 in NFL).
o Bucs had 77 QB knockdowns (ranked #1 in NFL).
o Bucs had 219 QB Pressures (ranked #1 in NFL).
How any team accomplishes those stats with ‘an invisible pass rush’ boggles the mind, doesn’t it.
September 7th, 2022 at 11:52 am
🎱, just pour yourself a tall one (or a short one, even better) and do some reminiscing. And keep in mind, though I certainly hope this doesn’t happen, we are one injury away from possibly pursuing him in season.
September 7th, 2022 at 12:49 pm
Thats why I wanted Logan Hall, I knew we would have to replace him. The other guy I wanted went near the end of the first, but wasnt as long as Logan. Mr. Licht made the right decision trading down and grabbing Hall (we’re lucky he was still there).
September 7th, 2022 at 12:51 pm
Good one, Cobra. So true.
September 7th, 2022 at 1:01 pm
Sug and JPP were great players, but they’re best days are behind them.
September 7th, 2022 at 1:21 pm
Idk..kick tires on suh n gmc..see if they still got anything to give..gmc would be cheaper n happy to be back
September 7th, 2022 at 1:40 pm
Reading these posts makes me want to drink.
September 7th, 2022 at 2:05 pm
Have a bloody mary, Goat. 😉
September 7th, 2022 at 2:28 pm
Still better then the old 93 softie thst wants to come back
September 7th, 2022 at 3:38 pm
Think we should just bring Suh in for the Packers game….
Everyone knows his hatred for A-Rod always inspires his best play of the year, haha!!!
September 7th, 2022 at 4:14 pm
Probably will sign to a team after week one. That way the salary cap and be manipulated
September 7th, 2022 at 7:20 pm
Yet the fact remains that his forced fumble SHOULD HAVE put us in back to b k SBs!!!! Oh and Devin White rarely causes them!!!!
September 7th, 2022 at 8:04 pm
Suh is just chilling until a team comes calling later in the season. He’s still a beast and has some QB pressures left in his tank. I just hope he doesn’t sign with one of our rivals down the stretch.
September 7th, 2022 at 8:59 pm
There were and are better options than Suh, but he would still be a useful asset if he is willing to sign for minimum, and if he is used sparingly, not every down. He was one of the only defenders who showed up vs. Rams.
September 7th, 2022 at 10:44 pm
Thank you for your service fellas for the 2020 Superbowl winning season. Next man up!
September 8th, 2022 at 6:22 am
Please resign Ndamukong suh he deserves it better than Gerald McCoy with the buccaneers. So please resign Ndamukong suh now
September 8th, 2022 at 7:55 am
Give me ol Batman loving GMC. I’m tired of the disrespect on that man’s name. You guys aren’t real fans
September 8th, 2022 at 5:19 pm
Sewer