Ndamukong Suh – November 30, 2016
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Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
(Nice to see T Branden Albert back out there on the offensive side?) – “I don’t get to see ‘B.A.’ (Branden Albert). We’re split up offense and defense, but it’s always a pleasure having your teammates out there at practice with you.”
(What kind of a leader is T Branden Albert? He’s been dying to be back out there. Finally, he gets to be out on the field again.) – “’B.A.’ (Branden Albert) is a great leader. He’s one of the guys that speaks with his actions, not so much with his words. When he does speak with his words, it goes pretty far and pretty deep, especially with the young guys and even guys like myself. I’ve admired him since he was in ‘K.C.’ and it’s a pleasure to obviously be a teammate with him the last two years.”
(How many of those guys are there around here? Because this team has made a turnaround here that would’ve been tough without guys like that.) – “I think at the end of the day, it’s all about guys coming together – wherever you’re from, whatever you’ve been through. At the end of the day, we’ve found a groove and became a unit – offensively, defensively and special teams. It’s all about putting that together and I think we’re finding a way to do that. (We) pick each other up in tough times and in good times.”
(This Baltimore team is a team that scraps. They may not score a lot of points but they scrap. What do they do on offense that’s…?) – “I think overall Baltimore is an organization that’s found ways to win. It hasn’t always been the prettiest way of doing it when they’ve won championships or been in playoff games or things of that nature. So at the end of the day, from their coaching staff to their players, I’ve got a lot of respect for them in the ways that they’ve found ways to win games. So we’re going to go out there, we know we’re going to be in a dog fight and we’re looking forward to it.”
(They’ve got a field goal kicker that kicks them from 57. He had like four from 50 last game.) – “Yes, unfortunately it’s not my first come around with him. I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth from ‘14 when we were … actually ‘13 when we played against them in the playoffs, or not in the playoffs, but they knocked us out of the playoff contention. At the end of the day, we have to go out there. We have a great field goal block team. We have to go out there and put pressure on him.”
(There was a play in the 49ers game, I think it was in the third quarter, when you tackled their running back for loss. Before you made the tackle, you put the center on his knees. You physically overpowered him. The question is: when you do that to another player, what does it feel like?) – “Honestly, I don’t really pay attention to those things. I understand who’s trying to block me and who’s trying to be in my way of finding the ball carrier or the passer being the quarterback, if it happens to be a center then I need to get them out of my way any way and how, I’m going to do that, and obviously get after the running back or the quarterback.”
(You played right end on the final series against San Francisco? Right defensive end?) – “The final series, I was all over the field.” (laughter)
(You played like three different places. Is that your call or how does that work?) – “I think (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) is one of those great coaches that, I’ve said many times before, he allows his players to find ways to be successful. He gives us freedom within the scheme and understanding what we need to get done. We have conversations on the sideline. If you’re speaking about the time that I rushed against (49ers T Joe) Staley, there was a conversation on the sideline that I was allowed to go and do that. So I picked my opportunity to do that.”
(Would you say you picked the right spot and now is the time?) – “Within the scheme, within the situation, we find the right time to switch. I don’t really want to give you the ins and outs of why I go out there and do it. But yes, I have opportunities where I can call and put myself in a particular place just like (Andre) Branch can put himself in a particular place. ‘Cam’ (Cameron Wake) can do the same thing, Jordan (Phillips) can do the same thing, all of the guys can do it. We’ve just got to go out there and communicate. The great thing about our d-line is we’re all interchangeable so we can play all four positions on the D-line.”
(When Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph comes over, I saw him come over a couple of times and you guys hashed things out right away. How much do you see eye to eye with him?) – “We have a great communication, really tunnel and vision between us, especially when we come off the field. And unfortunately, this is the NFL. We’re going to have bad times. We’re going to give up plays. We’re an organization and defense that wants to be able to squash it and get an answer to that problem very quickly. Communication is key and obviously, it’s up to us as players to go out there and implement.”
(When I was at the Rams game, I had a conversation with a guy named Jackie Slater, who was a Hall of Fame offensive tackle. He’s a broadcaster. He said that when he watched you at defensive end, he saw Reggie White. Have you ever thought about Reggie White…?) – “I’ve admired Reggie White since I was first getting into the league. I think that’s one of the reasons why I’ve always been able to play at a high level when I go to Philly. Honestly, he must be looking down on me or something of that nature; but, he’s a great player and I’d wish to play anywhere near his capabilities. At the end of the day, I’m going out there whether I’m playing defensive tackle or defensive end, playing with my best ability. I’ve always looked at myself as a knock … Everybody had a knock on me when I was coming out of the draft that really I don’t have a patent move. The reason why is because I feel like I can adapt and adjust to any type of player that I’m going against, whether I need to be a power rusher, speed rusher or whatever it may be. And I think he’s an example of that. To have the ability to go out and play end or play interior and just rush and beat people when he wants to.”
(You know the Dolphins have four [offensive] linemen who have played tackle, starting sometimes at the same time. They’ll talk about how it’s a grown man’s game to [move inside] … How the interior of the offensive line is a different game. How does the experience when you’re in the interior line compare to the outside?) – “I’ll just say this, we give our defensive ends a hard time when they have to go and play inside, when we have certain games and different things of that nature. But at the end of the day, they’re capable of doing it. It is a grind being in between tackles, (going against) primarily guards and centers and whatnot.”
(Do you feel you’re at top of your game right now?) – “Do I think I’m at the top of my game? No. Not by any means. I’m a long way from being at the top of my game. I just got to hone into my technique. We have five weeks to get to … (inaudible)”
(Is there some areas you want improvement in?) – “I just say all areas. Never be satisfied. I’m never going to be a satisfied person unless I’m breaking records and if I’m breaking records, I want to set new records, going from there. At the end of the day, I have a lot of work ahead of myself.”
(They triple-teamed you on some plays, but on that last play they single blocked you. Were you surprised? You flushed him out of the pocket and then you chased him down. How much…?) – “Yes, during the drive, the last drive, the majority of the time, their back was opposite of me, which means I was getting double-teamed. So that was their protection. I understood their protection. I realized it really the last second or two, on that last play of the game, when we had that quick breather, that I had the back behind the guard. So I anticipated the one-on-one and had an inside move to try to get to the quarterback. He obviously is an athletic quarterback. He moved out of the pocket and I had to find a way to get him down before he got into the end zone.”
(Is there an optimistic sense right now of what this team can do considering the 1-4 start and now you’re trying to win seven straight for the first time since 1985, of just what could be ahead?) – “I think at the end of the day, and I’ve said this before, when you look at the situation that we put ourselves earlier in the year when we were 1-3, we put ourselves in a tough position and we found a way to fight out of it and it’s been at the helm of our head coach understanding that we need to go out there and focus on what we need to do each and every week, and take each week one piece at a time. We’ve done that and we want to continue on that same path and go from there.”
(The flexibility you now have to be able to change spots on the defensive line after talking to Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph and Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams, is that something you had in Detroit? Did you have it here last year being able to make that move pretty much on your own after talking about it with your defensive coaches?) – “There’s no question I’ve had flexibility to move around, especially in Detroit. I think it comes at the helm of the trust and confidence that your coaches have within you. At the same time, them agreeing and seeing the things that you can do. I’m going to continue to say it, we’re a very talented group in the defensive line room. With that being said, we’re interchangeable, across the board. So when we move into different positions outside of our – as you would say – normal positions, it shouldn’t be any different of the expectations.”
