David Steele wrote an article on Monday (4/20) praising Suggs for how he has handled his second go-round as the Ravens’ franchise player and his contract situation on the whole. I couldn’t agree more with Steele.
In six season Suggs has transformed from an immature one-dimensional 3rd down pass rusher, to a model citizen and three-tooled defensive machine. Last offseason Suggs claimed it was not about the contract, he was a football player and he was going play and let his agent handle the business end…and I’ll be damned if that’s not exactly what he did. When Suggs found out that he would be designated the team’s franchise player for the second straight year he was noticeably upset and rightfully so; however, he quickly got over that and apparently has accepted the tag like a man. I’m fine with the Ravens franchising Suggs for another year (it seemed like their only option to keep him), but they better be serious about trying to re-sign him long-term. Steele is exactly right; Suggs is more valuable than a receiver! A top end receiver might get 10 touches a game (on a good day) and do some blocking, but Suggs is going to be blowing up blocks; causing havoc in the back field; bringing down running backs; and covering the flats every defensive snap.
I don’t think Suggs’ heart or toughness have ever been called into question, but if there ever was a doubt one needs to look no further than the AFC Championship game on a snow-covered Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Suggs register two sacks and played a majority of the snaps with a seriously sprained shoulder, which had his playing status listed as questionable (at best) all week leading up to the game. If that doesn’t convince you just look at his track record; in 6 seasons Suggs has missed zero games due to injury and has only missed one start since ’04.
It’s been reported that Suggs is looking for a contract comparable to Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney. In ’07 Freeney signed a 6 year/$72 million deal, with $30 million guaranteed. Suggs may not have the sack numbers of a Dwight Freeney; however, Dwight Freeney isn’t the run stopper that Suggs is. Despite playing in 7 fewer games Suggs has 150 more tackles and only 17.5 fewer sacks. I realize that they play two different positions and I know how valuable sacks are, but wouldn’t you rather have Suggs who can stop the run, rush the passer, and cover running backs coming out of the backfield? Last year Rex even had Suggs lining up noise to noise with wideouts, so he could jam them as they came off the line. Freeney is a great player, but he is one-dimensional, so I’ll opt for the all-purpose defensive monster that is T-Sizzle any day.
~ Pat Cary
