Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

There's no shortage of critics bashing Ndamukong Suh for his latest foot foul, but one of the NFL's most prominent officiating voices has come to his defense.

Former NFL rules czar Mike Pereira, now an analyst for Fox, said in a video posted on YouTube Monday that Suh did not deserve to be suspended for stepping on Aaron Rodgers' leg, and that a lesser-known player might not have faced any discipline at all.

"Listen, Suh stepped on Aaron Rodgers and I firmly believe if it wasn't Suh and it was another no-name who didn't have history and it wasn't Aaron Rodgers, it wouldn't have led to any fine at all," Pereira said. "Referee Walt Anderson, he sent a text into the league after the game saying he saw the whole thing and in real time he never read any intent. Slow motion makes it a little different, but to me, is this egregious for a suspension? No."

Suh was not penalized by Anderson's crew in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 30-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers after he twice stepped on Rodgers' leg midway through the fourth quarter.

The NFL suspended Suh on Monday for this weekend's wild-card game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Suh has not spoken about the incident, but he is appealing the decision today.

Arbitrator Ted Cottrell, who overturned Ed Reed's one-game suspension in 2012, is expected to issue a ruling late this afternoon.

Pereira said Suh's late hit on Josh McCown in a Week 14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers "was much worse" than the Rodgers play. The NFL did not fine or suspend Suh for that play, which drew a flag.

"Pretty inconsistent discipline process coming out of New York in my opinion," Pereira said.

SiriusXM NFL analyst Bill Polian, who enforced discipline for the league in 1993, also said Monday night that a suspension was too harsh considering the circumstances.

"Commissioner (Paul) Tagliabue explained to me that Commissioner (Pete) Rozelle had explained to him that suspension was absolutely the remedy of last resort because suspension carried with it penalties to people far beyond the player involved," Polian said. "It penalizes his teammates, it penalizes the franchise, it penalizes the fans of the franchise, and it, in many cases, clearly affects competitive balance. To say that this suspension affects competitive balance in the playoffs is the understatement of the year."

A Monday search of past discipline revealed no known incidences where the NFL suspended a player for a postseason game because of on-field rules violation.

In 1946, the league suspended New York Giants fullback Merle Hapes for the championship game after he admitted he was approached by gamblers to fix the game, according to Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"I don't know how I would have ruled having seen all of the tape, and I'll be the first to tell you again that I have not," Polian said. "But I think in this case, with the playoffs involved and competitive balance involved, you better be darn sure – darn sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt – that this is a suspendable offense before you take a player of this nature off the field in a playoff game."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.