On the surface, Tony Dungy comes across as a soft-spoken, back seat kind of guy. Those of us who know his history, however, know that he loves to ruffle feathers. Whether it’s pissing off the Cowboys, criticizing Rex Ryan for having a potty mouth, or telling the Titans what to do with Vince Young, Dungy is always ready to share his opinion no matter how controversial it may be. For that reason, it comes as no surprise that he weighed in on the Ndamukong Suh situation on Monday and took an interesting stance.
“I really have to fault the Detroit organization,” Dungy said on the Dan Patrick Show. “I think they really could have stopped this.”
As we saw by his no-hesitation stomp of a Packers offensive lineman, Suh obviously lacks discipline. That being said, how would you handle him if you were the Detroit Lions coaching staff? Suh’s attitude and aggressiveness are what make him a force on the defensive front. There is no excuse for stomping a player or throwing shots after the whistle blows, but if he spends too much time worrying about harnessing his aggression wouldn’t it stand to reason that he would become a different player?
Much of what people perceive as dirty play from Suh is simply playing hard. Jim Schwartz and company have the difficult task of needing to find a middle ground between telling Ndamukong to tone it down and changing him as a player. Despite what Dungy says, something like that is much easier said than done.
H/T to Pro Football Talk for the story.
