Ndamukong Suh – December 20, 2016
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Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
(How has your team changed from the last time you played these guys? What’s the biggest difference?) – “I think we understand our focus and what we need to do to win games. That (game against Buffalo) was at the very beginning of it, when we were going against them. As you grow as teams and as weeks go by, if you’re doing well, you’re finding other ways to win. You’re figuring out your weaknesses and making sure that you are not allowing them to become weaknesses, or continue to be weaknesses, more or less.”
(RB LeSean McCoy is one of the most productive backs in the NFL this year. You guys have struggled against the run most of the season, how do you address that in this particular game?) – “It’s simple: tackle. He’s an elusive back, and he’s a guy that is very hard to get down; but we have to find ways to tackle, and really just go from there.”
(So you think that, that’s the issue? The tackling has been the issue this season?) – “It’s getting him down, which is a form of tackling.” (Laughter)
(Tonight the Pro Bowl selections are coming out. What would it mean to you to get selected, and would it be any different given that you didn’t make it last year? Would it be extra special?) – “It’s always an honor to be seen as a Pro Bowler from your peers, and the fans – as well as the coaches. So, if I’m lucky enough to be a part of it, I’ll take it, and go from there.”
(Is their offense, does it all revolve around RB LeSean McCoy, or do they switch it up?) – “I think it all revolves around their run game, which predominantly starts with him. But, also their quarterback is a part of that as well. I think overall, their running back corps, including the quarterback, is really the main focus to starting the engine of their offense. Then, obviously, they move into the passing game in certain situations, and going from there.”
(DE Mario Williams was talking about how together this team is. Even though he’s banged up, he’s like ‘I don’t care, I do my role.’ What is it about this staff and this team that these special games in December are able to happen?) – “I think we put our minds together to focus and understand what we need to do, especially after having a rough start. Everybody’s played their parts. That’s what it’s about. This is the ultimate team game, and every guy has got to be in their right positon and do their particular job, and things should move in the right direction. Some situations it doesn’t always work out that way, as we felt earlier in the year. As of late, we’ve been feeling everybody is doing their job, doing it the right way, and we’ve reaped the benefits of that.
(How tough is it for the staff to make the moves … I mean they made some difficult decisions … They’re genuine though, these guys understand it. Is that rare?) – “I don’t really focus on those things. At the end of the day, I have to focus on what I have to do for this team to be successful. Whoever’s out there with me, I feel comfortable with them, as I’ve played with them all the way through camp, and through OTAs and what not. As long as you’ve been on the team, we don’t have really many new guys, so I feel comfortable with whoever’s out there.”
(A lot of defensive linemen, they get fooled into rushing up field, especially on third-and-long, and things of that nature. But you guys were playing extremely smart, recognizing some of the screens, snuffed out some of those screens. How were you guys able to do that? Was it a matter of film preparation? Was it something that you saw prior to the game?) – “What game are you speaking of?’
(The Jets) – “The Jets? I think at the end of the day, you watch film and you understand what teams want to do in certain downs, and down-and-distance. When they have telling things that they want to do, you recognize that, and you anticipate it; but at the same time, you play what you see.”
(Is it possible, that the Jets game was the best game that yourself and DE Cameron Wake have played as a tandem on the defensive line? Obviously, you were both very obvious making plays, one after the other.) – “I think this is really the only true year we’ve had the opportunity to play all games together. We haven’t finished the season, but he was only available for (seven) games last year, with obviously having an unfortunate incident, which I believe was in (Game 7). At the end of the day, Cam is very productive. I pride myself on being very productive and the defensive line realizes that we are resources where we have to be at. We go out there and be productive no matter what.”
(In all candor, was there ever a time after 6-10 last year and 1-4 this year where you thought ‘Am I going to win here? I’m used to winning some in Detroit.’ Was that ever a thought that you even wondered about?” – “It just comes down to hard work and understanding (you’ve) got to get the right people, the right schemes, and the right understanding of how to win games. I think you create a culture of that, and we’ve done that at the beginning of this year. It took a little bit of time for it to kick in, but it’s obviously kicked in, and we just have to continue to build off of that.”
