Sprint Game Ball Of The Week: Ndamukong Suh

This post is sponsored by Sprint.

With the Lions starting 0-3 and playing quite poorly this past Sunday in Minnesota, it's tough to single out one player as deserving of a "Sprint Game Ball" for Week 3. In Week 2, this would have obviously gone to Jahvid Best, but there wasn't one single player that really stood out too much this past Sunday. Even so, I have decided to give the "Sprint Game Ball" to Ndamukong Suh.

While Suh only ended up with three tackles against the Vikings, he is deserving of this honor for the things he does that go unnoticed. Tony Siragusa, a former defensive tackle, noticed this (as one might expect) while serving as a color commentator from the field. He pointed out how well Suh did at breaking through the offensive line, as well as creating room for his teammates on the D-line by taking up multiple players at once.

Suh being double teamed is nothing new considering it has been happening since the beginning of the preseason, but it's always interesting to see how teams game plan against him for an actual game. This past Sunday against Minnesota, Suh was not allowed to do a whole lot statistically speaking, but the Lions did hit Brett Favre quite a bit. While they only had two total sacks for the day, the number of times Favre took a hit was much higher.

The one negative about Suh's play on Sunday was that a fumble by Favre was negated because Suh got his hands all over No. 4's helmet as the ball was coming out. Suh was flagged for roughing the passer, giving Minnesota the ball back. Argue all you want against quarterbacks being protected, but Suh does need to be a bit more careful about where he is hitting QBs. I think the rule stinks and I like the aggression, but it's a penalty every time if you hit a QB in the head.

Overall, I am very pleased with what I have seen out of Suh so far this season. It's hard to imagine how good he will be once he improves, as he is already on a high level only a few games into his career. I'm sure this won't be the last time I give him a "Sprint Game Ball," although hopefully in the future more players will do well to give me more choices for this honor.