Chicago Bears: Should Suh’s Stupid Stomp Save Season?
Published by Professor Bush on November 25, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The loss of Jay Cutler certainly dampened the Chicago Bears‘ playoff hopes. But maybe Ndamukong Suh‘s head smash and stomp of Evan Dietrich-Smith in the Thanksgiving game will give the Bears the opening they need.
Suh’s action certainly helped the Green Bay Packers win the game. But a potential multi-game suspension might be even worse for the Lions. Suh’s presence in the middle of the Lions’ defensive line allows them to run the wide-nine technique to get pressure on the quarterback without being vulnerable to the run. Defensive ends Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch can concentrate on the pass rush knowing that Suh will stop the running plays. But if Suh is suspended for several games, this will have a big impact on the Lions defense.
You would expect Caleb Hanie to need a few weeks to get up to full speed as the starting quarterback. So it is easy to see the Bears losing the two road games to the Raiders and Broncos. Beating the Chiefs, Vikings and Seahawks is certainly a reasonable expectation. Losing to the Packers at Lambeau Field also seems likely. In this case the Bears would end up at 10-6.
Without Suh, the Lions could easily lose road games to the Saints, Raiders and Packers. If they win their home games against the Vikings and Chargers, that would put the Lions at 9-7.
The Atlanta Falcons would seem to have a clear path to a 10-6 record since the away games with the Texans and the Saints are the only two games that should give them any difficulty.
The case for a wild-card team from the NFC East is very weak.
So Mr. Suh’s stupid stomp and likely suspension might just cost the Lions their playoff spot, and the Bears would be their replacement.
Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com
