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NFL Reviewing Ndamukong Suh's Hit On Jake Delhomme

Ndamukong Suh tackles Jake Delhomme during a preseason game.
Ndamukong Suh tackles Jake Delhomme during a preseason game.

If Ndamukong Suh is going to be fined and/or suspended for his vicious hit on Jake Delhomme last Saturday, we should know in the next couple of days. The NFL is already reviewing the play, which basically means they are trying to determine what course of action against Suh, if any, is necessary.

What should happen to Suh depends on who you ask. Browns quarterback Seneca Wallace for example, thinks the rookie defensive tackle should be suspended.

Wallace said, "He already face-masked him, then he grabs him by the neck, twists it and throws him down. To me, that's something you can get suspended for, I think."

Wallace said the move was "a little over the top as far as a personal foul goes. I understand the face-mask part. But he horse-collared him and threw him down. We laughed about it, but that stuff can get people really hurt."

Eric Mangini, who was planning to ask the league to review the play if they didn't already plan to, called Suh a "good kid" who made a "poor decision." Although the play looked malicious, Mangini didn't think that was Suh's intent, reiterating that it was just a bad decision in the heat of the moment.

Jake Delhomme, who should be more upset than anybody about the play considering he was the one taking the hit, doesn't seem to care about what type of discipline Suh receives from the NFL.

"I'm just glad we got the first down," he said with a smile. He went on to throw a TD pass two plays later.

Suh explained what happened during the play on Monday.

"I was just going after the ball and trying to make a play," he said. "And that's what I will continue to do. I had no clue he let go of the ball. I just know as a defensive lineman, we want the quarterbacks and the offensive linemen to feel our presence."

As for what his reaction to a possible fine is or if that will change how he plays, Suh made it clear that there's no chance of that happening.

"I know this is a different league and you get fined for these things, but I don't know," he said. "That's their decision and something that I am going to have to live with. But I can't change the way I play. If I do, then I am doing a disservice to my teammates.

"Obviously, I am not going to go wild and hit quarterbacks in the head as hard as I can or try to do something stupid. But I am going to continue to play hard. I've slung quarterbacks before and got a personal foul and I've slung quarterbacks before and didn't get a personal foul. That's what the referee is out there for."

My guess is Suh will be hit with a fine for the play and everybody will move on. I definitely understand why some people from the Browns are upset, because if a Cleveland player did that to Matthew Stafford during a meaningless game, we'd all be quite angry. At the end of the day, though, Suh simply made a mistake. I'm sure next time he will just make sure to not grab the quarterback's face mask before going hunting.