Ndamukong Suh – November 16, 2017
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Thursday, November 16, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(As you guys watched the tape this week on defense specifically, what stood out to you as the reasons why it hasn’t been quite as good the last couple of weeks as earlier in the season?) – “Missed assignments and not tackling. I think it’s as simple as that. That’s what I assumed after the game and that’s what showed up on the film.”
(Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke and Head Coach Adam Gase were talking about the defense has not had a lead so that it could unleash it’s pass rush this season and it would be so much better if you guys did have a lead and you could unleash that pass rush. What kind of a difference does that make when you don’t have the lead and you’re kind of playing from behind?) – “I mean I think it’s always great to have a lead and have the best scenario for you to be in; but I don’t know what life people live in through that to be expected and unfortunately some times we don’t have leads, some times we do have leads, and it’s been to our own detriment, especially the last three weeks for us not to keep those leads on the defensive side of the ball. We have to continually, at all times, make sure we eliminate points and touchdowns, and if we have to give up some points let it be field goals at most.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase and Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke both brought up the idea about communication and being on the same page. Can you take me a little bit inside the game to understand how it is that the defensive line and linebackers, the linebackers and the d-backs, how do you all actually communicate to each other during the game, in between series to make sure that the same page occurs?) – “I think it’s … I mean I can go through a million different examples but at the end of the day, it’s all about being on the same page, and one of the best ways to be on that same page is communicating. Starting from our middle linebackers, starting from usually our free safety, that gives the down and distance, things that we anticipate obviously, and the calls that are being called where guys need be at, where guys need to be lined up. We obviously have different checks that we have. For example, when we have unbalance we call it ‘tank’ and we move into different situations like that where we have different alignments that we need to be in. So for me, communicating that to my linebackers – because a lot of times I see it first because I look for different things in the pass game, pass rushing, seeing where the formations are, all the different stuff like that – I can communicate those things to my teammates and vice versa, they can communicate those things for me. I missed some things last week and I blame that on myself; but at the end of the day, if we’re all collectively looking for the same things, anticipating things and communicating, hopefully we have a limited amount of those, because we’re never going to be perfect.”
(Do you expect to be available on Sunday and what is it extra that you’re having to do to be able to be available as far as the dings and nicks and the bruises that you’re dealing with?) – “I’ve prided myself on always being prepared to play on Sunday, so whatever it takes – whether it’s within the training room, in the weight room, as we have great staffs on both sides of those for me to get prepared – that’s what I’m going to do. If I’ve got to stay up late at night and do extra things, that’s what I’m going to do, and at the end of the day it’s Coach Gase’s decision how much I play and all these different things, and if I even actually play. So, we’ll go from there.”
(Do you have a new injury or is it a lingering situation?) – “I think playing in between the tackles, things are always going to happen, no matter what. I don’t know of anybody in the sport of football that’s come out clean of a game of not having some sort of nick or bruise. At the end of the day, I don’t really pay attention to them, I just address them and go about my business.”
(When I was looking at the film, there was one play where I saw you try to go in between the center and the guard and it looked as though they each grabbed one of your legs and lifted you up off the ground. I’m wondering how helpless that must feel when two men, literally each man has their arm around your leg?) – “There’s plays like that, and at the end of the day, it’s usually a guard that’s pulling, a center blocking back and a tackle blocking down. For me, at the end of the day, I have to squeeze between those two or run through one of the men and figure it out. My job is to create havoc and my job is to continue to do that. If it so happens to be that one particular play I get grabbed, I have to find a way to fight out of it and get to the ball.”
(Is it actually within the rules for them to lift you up off the ground?) – “I would consider it holding, but I’m not sure whenever that’ll be called. It’s happened in many years past and I’m not concerned with it.”
(I know we ask you a lot about the mood of the team, but how is the mood of the team right now with the three-game losing streak and seven games to go?) – “I don’t think anybody’s happy, but I think we understand as professionals we need to get back to work and understand that (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase is taking care of our bodies in a lot of ways, especially with our situation and what we have going on, and take advantage of that, of a coach looking out and more or less putting you in a good position. So when you come into work today – which is technically our first day of work even though guys have been in here in days before, preparing for film and different things like that – when we get to the physical stuff and then we’re in meetings together, make the most of that time and really just put those things in the past. Unfortunately that happened, with our three-game losing streak; but let’s break that and take care of business with the next opponent that we have.”
(If I can double back to playing with a lead, is it possible for a defensive front to generate as much pass rush on first down as third down, behind as ahead?) – “Yes, I think there’s opportunities at any particular level. Understanding this game and being around it a long time, if you understand how people want to block you and really when offenses really get out of the first 15 (scripted plays) and usually stick to their plan and go back to things that they like, there’s ways to create pass rush, get after the quarterback and put them off-kilter. That’s our job as guys up front and the front seven to get that done, really honing in with our coaches, having in-game changes to make sure that we do affect the quarterback and affect their offense so they’re not successful.”
