Ndamukong Suh Is In Costume

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is a great football player who loves to celebrate holidays.

The Dolphins signed Suh to a six-year, $114 million deal in the offseason, making the former second-overall pick the highest paid player in team history.

What Miami thought they were getting was a four-time Pro Bowler and a three-time first-team All Pro.  Instead, they are getting a season-long Albert Haynesworth doppelganger.

Haynesworth was of course the former stud defensive tackle that the Tennessee Titans were too scared to pay.  He was dominant in his contract years, then when the Redskins inked him to a $100 million deal, his production fell off the map and he seemingly went into hiding.

Suh seems to be taking that course of action for the Dolphins.  In seven games this season, he has 19 tackles and a pair of sacks.  Hardly Pro Bowl numbers, much less numbers worthy of being the highest paid defensive tackle in the history of football.

During Thursday’s 36-7 loss to the New England Patriots, Suh was a complete non-factor.  He had just two tackles and that was playing against a Pats offensive line who at one point was down to their last lineman.  New England is missing starters all over the place and Suh would have been just as productive had he not made the trip to Foxboro.

Maybe Suh is simply “tricking” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross?  We know that the team is stuck “treating” Suh to $60 million and are at the mercy of the 6-foot-4, 320 pound tackle as to his personal motivation.

At this point, Suh is doing a better impersonation of Albert Haynesworth than anyone since “Fat Albert” signed his $100 million deal in 2009.

Just in time for Halloween.

More Bad News For the Dolphins

As if Ndamukong Suh’s disappearing act isn’t bad enough for Miami interim coach Dan Campbell, now he must deal with the actual absence of defensive end Cameron Wake.

Wake suffered a torn Achilles in Thursday’s loss to New England, ending his season and possibly his Dolphins career.

“I would feel horrible, and I know his teammates would, too, if that’s the case,” Campbell said after the game of the possibility of losing Wake. “If you lost a guy like Cam, it would hurt. Not only is he a leader, but he’s a very productive player.”

Wake, 33, has played for the Dolphins since 2009. He has 257 combined tackles and 70 sacks over the course of his career. He made the Pro Bowl in 2010 and again from 2012 to 2014.

Wake is due to earn $8.275 million next season, with a dead money cap hit of just $1.4 million, meaning that the team would save nearly $7 million off the cap if they were to part ways with the pass rusher.

The history of pass rushers coming back effectively from a torn Achilles is a relatively short list.  Terrell Suggs tore his back in 2012, and was able to play in the Ravens Super Bowl victory over San Francisco.  He returned at a reasonably high level, right up until he tore it again in Baltimore’s season-opening loss at Denver back in September.

The former CFL star, Wake, may be able to suit up next season, but at 34 years old he will likely not justify an $8 million salary following the injury.  He had seven sacks in as many games in 2015.

What To Watch On Saturday

12:00 EST

#19 Ole Miss vs. Auburn- Ole Miss still controls their own destiny as far as an SEC title.

3:30 EST

Georgia vs. #11 Florida- This will likely be for the SEC East title.  It’s always a great scene at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, FL.

Maryland vs. #10 Iowa- Does anyone think Iowa is the 10th best team in the nation?

8:00 EST

#9 Notre Dame vs. #21 Temple- This would be the biggest win in program history if the Owls can find a way to pull it off.

10:30 EST

#8 Stanford vs. Washington State- Some believe that Stanford is the best one-loss team in the country.  This won’t be an easy game against Mike Leach’s explosive passing attack.