Unhappy Suh plans to appeal $20K NFL fine for hit on Dalton

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh acknowledged Wednesday that he's clearly "not happy" with the $20,000 fine the NFL slapped on him for his hit on Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Andy Dalton in last week's preseason opener.

Suh plans to appeal the punishment -- "Who wouldn't?" he asked rhetorically -- and said this incident won't impact the way he plays football.

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"I'm not going to stop playing hard," Suh said. "I owe it to my fans and to my teammates and coaches. ... There's a reason why football is football."

Suh was fined twice last year for hits on Chicago's Jay Cutler during the regular season and Cleveland's Jake Delhomme in a preseason game.

Suh's checking account can absorb the latest hit. His five-year contract is worth $40 million guaranteed and as much as $68 million, though the NFL has increased the fine each time.

"Twenty grand? For the preseason? They're trying to send a message," Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson told The Associated Press.

Suh was fined $7,500 for what he did to Delhomme, grabbing his face mask, twisting it and slamming him to the ground. He was docked $15,000 for shoving Cutler hard and high in the back from behind during a game last December.

Detroit's second preseason game is Friday at Cleveland. Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas said he and his teammates are mindful of what Suh can do.

"Everybody sees it, and it's the back of your head, but it's not really something you worry about," Thomas told The AP. "Most of our focus and attention is between the whistles, and it seems he's getting a name for himself for what happens after the whistle."

Suh compared his situation to what recently retired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal went through early in his career, enduring lots of foul trouble for being much bigger and stronger than opponents but ultimately persevering.

Earlier on Wednesday, Suh let be known just how angry he was in a post on Twitter.

"$20,000REALLY???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #NFL #BIGFAIL," he wrote.

But the Lions rallied around Suh and came to his defense.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has taken his share of tough hits and suffered more than his share of injuries, said he believes Suh's play is misunderstood.

"He's kind of gotten a bad rap early on here," Stafford said after a spirited practice. "He plays hard, and he plays all the way to the whistle, but he doesn't hit guys late.

"He doesn't hit in the helmet. He always plays hard, and that's the way you're supposed to play football. I'm glad I don't have to go against him. But he's just playing up to the whistle."

Lions coach Jim Schwartz declined to directly comment on the fine, but he was asked about whether or not Suh's unprecedented size and speed lead to his hits perhaps appearing more violent than they are intended to be.

"It does look different when he does it," Schwartz said, "but it is what it is. The league puts it on the defensive player to know when the ball is gone."

Schwartz noted there is a "fine line" between curbing a player's intensity and style of play and going too far in the other direction.

One Lions official said the organization isn't inclined to address the infractions with Suh and isn't overly concerned. The Lions realize what a smart player Suh is, as well as his overall intellect. They believe Suh will figure out "where the line is" for himself.

Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said he had a 40-minute chat with Suh on Wednesday, and it was as enjoyable as any in his 30-year coaching career. Cunningham was adamant that Suh's ability and prowess make him impossible to block and works against him in instances like this.

"No one has ever played like this at defensive tackle," Cunningham said.

"There is no malicious intent on anything," he added.

Follow Jason La Canfora on Twitter @JasonLaCanfora

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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CJ2K unhappy with Titans, will be a contract holdout

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee running back Chris Johnson will not be reporting for training camp with the Titans until he gets a new contract, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity Friday because the decision had not been publicly announced.

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Johnson, a Florida native, said in 2010 he wanted a new deal that included $30 million guaranteed. The Titans revised his contract last offseason by pushing some money from the final year into 2010 to convince the running back to report. He is scheduled to make $800,000 in salary this season. Johnson said on Twitter on Friday that "Imma just leave it in god hands."

The Titans are scheduled to report for camp Friday with the first practice Saturday.

Johnson can be fined $30,000 for each day of camp he misses, but the three-time Pro Bowl running back wants to be rewarded for his production. He became only the sixth player in NFL history to run for at least 2,000 yards when he ran for 2,006 yards in 2009 and set an NFL record for yards from scrimmage that season with 2,509.

He followed that up by running for 1,364 yards in 2010 despite finishing the season with a bruised thigh. Johnson has started 46 of the 47 games he has played in since being drafted 24th overall in 2008 out of East Carolina and has 4,598 rushing yards with an average of 5.0 yards per carry in his career.

By comparison, DeAngelo Williams got a new deal from Carolina earlier this week worth $21 million in guaranteed money. He played only six games in 2010 and ran for 361 yards while dealing with injuries.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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Umenyiora unhappy with contract, but Giants still an option

Defensive end Osi Umenyiora might be unhappy with his contract, but he has not ruled out a return to the New York Giants.

NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora reported Thursday that Umenyiora gave a deposition as part of the Brady et al v. the National Football League et al case, claiming that Giants general manager Jerry Reese promised to either trade him or make him among the top five defensive ends in the league back in 2008, according to sources who have seen the affidavit.

In the statement, which was given under the penalty of perjury, Umenyiora details conversations with Reese, saying that he was promised that if he "was playing at a high level" over the following two seasons, he would be compensated among the best at his position or dealt to a team that would compensate him. Umenyiora's agent, Tony Agnone, was also deposed.

Umenyiora, 29, claims that Reese has failed to make good on his word.

As one of the plaintiffs in the Brady case, he provided the statements to NFL Players Association lawyers to show the kind of "irreparable" harm being done to players by the lockout.

Despite the drama, Umenyiora told The New York Times on Friday that he would "absolutely" be willing to return to the Giants.

"I love my teammates," Umenyiora said. "The owners of the team, Mr. (John) Mara and Mr. (Steve) Tisch, I'm really cool with both of them. They came to the hospital when I was injured. They're wonderful people. I don't have a beef with them per se. At the end of the day, they're going to have to make the best decision for them.

"If they renegotiate my deal, I have to be on the field, and I have to perform. To play all those guys is going to be very, very difficult. For everyone to get their chance to showcase their skills, it’s going to be difficult to do that."

Said Umenyiora: "Any time you mention my name, it seems as if it’s just a firestorm of negativity, and Osi doing this and Osi doing that. Nobody in that organization or on that team can tell you I’m a disruption or a negative person or I’m perceived in such a way, because they’d be lying."

Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy came out of the woodwork Thursday to respond to Umenyiora's situation via Twitter, calling the defender "overrated n soft" and the "3rd best d-line on his team honestly."

Umenyiora fired back, telling The Times: "That little Chihuahua or poodle in the backfield. He doesn't have to block me. ... If you have something to say, say it man to man. You can't be a Twitter gangster. That's easy to do, trying to be a tough guy. Say it to my face, and we'll see what happens."

Umenyiora also spoke to The Star-Ledger on Friday and referred to McCoy as "Lady Gaga."

"I mean, he’s a girl, man. Who does stuff like that?" Umenyiora said. "If he has more of these things to say, he can say 'em to my face."

Umenyiora went on to describe his contentious relationship with McCoy.

"Yeah, me and him, we had words on the field -- both times we played. I hate him, he hates me, period. He chose to take that off the field and make it public when it's something that's between me and him. It’s something we can address on the football field. He let the whole world know about it, so I’m going to respond."

Said Umenyiora of past entanglements: "Oh, he said all kinds of stuff. He called me an 'African (expletive).' It was bad. It was pretty intense between me and him. I said a couple of things to him."

If Umenyiora ends up with another club, it will pull him out of a Giants-Eagles rivalry he labeled "rough," but he said he'll find his way back to McCoy one way or another.

"I’ll see him somewhere for sure. It’s going to continue, man. There's going to be no going back from this one because I feel he crossed the line."

Giants wideout Steve Smith joined the fray Friday, tweeting: "The nerve of certain youngins running their mouth." 

Smith's message included a photo montage of the Giants celebrating their Super Bowl XLII victory next to an empty Eagles trophy case.

"Eagles have a great team as do we," Smith continued. "They've had our number lately but until you win something major I don't wanna hear it."

Umenyiora, a seven-year veteran, has been unhappy for quite some time with the contract extension he signed in 2005. The collective bargaining agreement signed in 2006 prompted increased spending around the league, and other defensive linemen quickly eclipsed the $31 million deal, averaging $5.5 million a season, that he had signed.

With two years left on his contact, he can earn $3.875 million in salary and bonuses in 2011, and $4.725 million in salary and bonuses in 2012, far below others with similar career production.

Umenyiora's monster season in 2007 -- in which he posted 13 sacks and helped the Giants win the Super Bowl -- spurred the meeting with Reese that was covered in the affidavit. A league source, however, pointed out that there could conceivably have been some miscommunication, that Reese might have been talking about possibly exploring a trade or new contract down the road without directly promising to do so.

In the two years Umenyiora was to perform at a high level, he did not do so -- he spent 2008 on injured reserve with a knee injury and lost his starting spot and became a situational player in 2009 while clashing with the coaching staff. La Canfora reports that his trade value was low, based on injury concerns and the fact he was coming off just a seven-sack season in 2009, at the time Reese was to have had to make good on his "promise," as per the statements from the affidavit.

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Unhappy Titans fans pepper Goodell on lockout, other issues

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defended the lockout to some unhappy Tennessee Titans fans and said the league doesn't have a "drop-dead date" to end the impasse with the players and play the 2011 season.

"We're going to work to try to get this done and try to avoid having lost anything more of the NFL than we've already lost," Goodell said.

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Goodell held his latest conference call with season ticket-holders Thursday, spending about 36 minutes on the telephone with Titans fans. They asked Goodell if the 2011 season will be wiped out and about an 18-game schedule, having a team in Los Angeles and how ticket prices are set.

Most of the fans the commissioner heard from weren't happy about the situation.

Lee from Joelton wanted to know why NFL owners won't open their books to the players. John from Lafayette asked how far apart owners and players really are on a collective bargaining agreement. Phillip from Nashville didn't have a question but warned the commissioner that upset fans will take out their anger on the NFL.

"Get everybody to sit down and stay until they work out some agreement and get this thing behind them before the NFL loses all credibility," said Phillip, who shares eight season tickets with his son.

William from San Ramon, Calif., flies to Nashville for three games per season, and he reminded Goodell of Major League Baseball's struggles to regain fans after a strike wiped out the 1994 World Series.

"It's like Rome's a great empire, so's the NFL," William said. "But if it's not supported by the fans, it won't be a great empire."

Goodell calmly answered each question, defending the lockout as a tool to force negotiations. He said he understands fans' frustration and anger directed at the NFL.

"I think all of us will bear the responsibility for it if we're not able to come up with solutions," Goodell said.

The commissioner also defended owners not opening the books, saying that won't solve the issue. Goodell said players have the league's revenue "down to a penny" and know costs are rising faster than revenues. He said NFL economics have dramatically changed over the last 10 to 15 years.

"These are serious issues that need to be addressed, and this is the time to do it and not kick the can down the street here," Goodell said. "The owners have been responsive to putting a fair proposal on the table. We now need the players to engage rather than litigate and to get back to trying to solve the problems, which as you point out are at the core economic issues."

Goodell also said the NFL intends to play the full season. But he noted the league had to cancel its annual rookie symposium in June, with the start of training camps dangerously close.

"We don't have a drop-dead date," Goodell said.

The commissioner said negotiations, not lawsuits, will settle this labor dispute.

"There are obviously issues that we disagree on, but there are certainly solutions to those disagreements," Goodell said. "I think it's going to come down to everyone realizing we're better off working together to find solutions than fighting. That's in the best interest of growing the game and will be in the best interest of all parties going forward."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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