Ndamukong Suh – November 16, 2016
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Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
(Can it get dangerous if you think, “Alright it’s a rookie quarterback,” or do you just say, “It’s just another quarterback?”) – “It’s just another quarterback. Hopefully, I’m assuming they’re going to run the same offense, but you never know. We’ll be ready for all things thrown at us.”
(Did you ever watch Rams QB Jared Goff when he played at California?) – “No, I didn’t. I’m a Big Ten guy. I follow Nebraska, and that’s about it.”
(You’ve been out here a week now. How different has it been than if you were back home with a normal routine?) – “For me, personally, not much other than being on the West Coast. (It is) a little less humid. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same.”
(Any challenges about your routine maybe physical therapist or masseuse?) – “No. For me, I’m solid. I got people all over the world – all over the country – so I’m good.”
(In terms of the bonding, how much of this is an opportunity for you guys to sort of come together as a team?) – “I think we’ve already become a team and really have had … This is just an opportunity for us to spend more time together, and obviously, away from our families. At the end of the day, I think we’re a close-knit team. I know I can speak for our particular group – the defensive line – we’re all close. We all enjoy hanging out with each other, whether it’s our day off or not.”
(What has been the biggest difference?) – “The biggest difference? In regards to what?”
(Anything within the team. Obviously, we’ve seen a little bit what’s going on behind the scenes that have really spurred this run.) – “I just think at the end of the day we’re executing. I only really speak for the defensive side of the ball. Executing. Obviously, given opportunities to make plays, and we’ve made the most of them, in my opinion. As long as we continue to do that – execute and understand the tasks we have at hand – we’ll be successful.”
(When you were at 1-4, was there any doubt you’d be back here – back competing – in late November?)– “I think at the end of the day, we understood what we did, what we did do. For us to get the tables turned, we had the opportunity to go through a good home stretch and be successful – which we did – and obviously come on the road and be successful as well.”
(How much does getting DT Earl Mitchell back help you guys from a defensive tackle standpoint, d-line?) – “Earl is a great football player. (He) has a lot of energy. Very explosive guy. Anytime you can have a guy like that come off I believe it’s IR – temporary IR – it’s going to be great for us.”
(What do you think of Rams DT Aaron Donald, the Rams defensive interior lineman?)– “Elite defensive tackle. Plays hard. I’ve seen him a little bit. I met him this past summer. Good dude. But I don’t go against him, so at the end of the day, I’ll be watching while I’m on the bench rather than going against him or worrying about anything he’s doing.”
(The quality of the performance of your defense and buying in with the system, is that just how it goes – hand-in-hand – and that’s why we’re seeing guys trusting more?)– “I think guys are just executing and understanding what their tasks are. We’ve had a lot changes. Every week there’s a change. We have different offenses. Teams are going to do different things even though they’ve shown stuff on film. At the end of the day, you just got to go out there and execute and play your technique and understand … That’s why offenses have (the) first 15 (scripted plays). They’re going to give you some of their game plan on the first 15 – (what) they plan on doing against you – and it may not be what you saw on film. Some of it may, but it may not be. So, you got to go out there and execute, understand what your rules are and then go from there.”
(How much is the “do your job mentality” or the emphasis of it helping this defense?) – “I think it’s huge in anything that you do. It’s pertinent for you to be on top of your job and understand what you have to get done. I think across all pieces of life, especially in football – and assignment football that we like to play on the defensive side of the ball – it’ll be key to do your job and be able to go out there and make plays after that.”
(Any background when you met Rams DT Aaron Donald? Was it a professional setting? Where did you meet him?) – “We were in Vegas together for a shoot for Nike.”
(How much time did you get to spend with him?)– “We were at dinner, so put two and two together. Two, three hours, maybe.”
(Were you disappointed you had the chance to play him in the Xbox challenge?) – “No, I wasn’t. I was not. It’s fun to have video games to play, but obviously more important things that we have to take care of during the week.”
(I know it’s the other side of the ball, but QB Ryan Tannehill and the way he has played these four games, what’s that look like through your eyes to see him grow like that?) – “It’s executing. Obviously, taking care of business for us and just going from there. I think at the end of the day, we know he’s very capable to play at a very high level, and he’s executing and running our offense like he should be.”
