The financial component of Ndamukong Suh‘s next deal has been discussed at length in recent months, but Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star takes a closer look at the nature of Suh’s game and describes it as something of a double-edged sword. Doyel writes that Suh is exactly the type of player the Colts have tried to avoid in recent years: a violent, cruel, and dirty player who violates the team’s mantra of winning with decency. And yet, it is those traits that, when combined with Suh’s undeniable talent, could lift the Colts from a playoff-caliber team to a Super Bowl team.
Doyel notes that the Colts have a number of talented players on the defensive side of the ball, but no great players, and no players with the type of nasty streak that can lift an entire unit. As has been proven time and time again, big-ticket free agents are rarely the answer in today’s NFL, and the negatives of their salary cap charges often outweigh their on-field contributions. But Doyel believes Suh is the exception to that rule, writing that the Colts can afford Suh even when they say they cannot, and he says the club should do everything it can to bring Suh to Indianapolis.
Now let’s take a look at a few other links from the league’s south divisions:
- Mike Wells of ESPN.com has a look at a few questions facing the Colts this offseason, predicting that Greg Toler will return to the team but that LaRon Landry will not. In addition to safety, Wells identifies the running game and the pass rush as areas in clear need of improvement.
- D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at the timeline on which Falcons head coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff will be operating this offseason and the challenges they will face. Ledbetter also names the defensive and offensive lines and linebacking corps as areas of need.
- In a separate piece, Ledbetter looks at the mixed track record of Korn Ferry, the search firm that the Falcons used in its head coaching search that culminated in Quinn’s hiring.
- In a pair of articles, Ryan O’Halloran and Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union look at how the Jaguars‘ new offensive coaches will coexist.
- In the wake of the Titans‘ recent hire of Dick LeBeau, Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean looks at the mixed results the team has had when making “splashy” hires in the past.
- Nate Davis of USA Today provides a brief offseason outlook for each team in the AFC South, noting that the Texans will be in real need of cornerback help if Kareem Jackson leaves in free agency and that the team could use an upgrade at tight end.