Ndamukong Suh has been in this situation plenty of times — hard play, big hit and postgame criticism. In this particular instance, the heated backlash is coming from the opposing sideline.
Suh delivered a monster hit on Bears quarterback Jay Cutler in the second quarter on Monday night. The big lineman flushed Cutler out of the pocket, chased him down and slammed him to the ground on his right shoulder. Cutler returned to the game after missing just one play, but he did have the wind knocked out of him, which caused him to roll on the ground in pain.
Suh, as mentioned, has quite the reputation when it comes to a hard-nosed brand of football, so in instances such as this, he immediately comes under the gun. Cutler and Bears coach Love Smith didn’t have a problem with Suh’s hit, but Chicago wideout Brandon Marshall took exception to it.
Marshall sent out the following tweets after the Bears’ 13-7 win.
A Suh. What u did to Jay wasn’t cool. Great players don’t have to do that.
— Brandon Marshall (@BMarshall) October 23, 2012
A Suh. Something I’ve learned and now passing down to you. Succeed with character
— Brandon Marshall (@BMarshall) October 23, 2012
Suh defended the hit after the game, pointing out that his intent wasn’t to injure Cutler.
“Simply a football play,” Suh said. “I can’t control my momentum, especially at that high speed. I’m chasing him. He’s running away from me. My whole goal is just to get the quarterback down and make a play and get us off the field or move on to the next play.”
Cutler underwent X-rays on his ribs after the hit, and he will be evaluated further on Tuesday.
Check out Suh’s controversial hit below.
