Ndamukong Suh – November 9, 2017
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Thursday, November 9, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(How’s your knee?) – “I’m well. I’m looking forward to Monday.”
(So you’re a go for Monday? No question?) – “You’ve got to ask (Head Coach Adam) Gase. He makes the final call.”
(I think if you say you’re good, Head Coach Adam Gase will say you can play.) – “He’s got all the power so you just have to wait for him to decide and hopefully I’m up on Monday.”
(What do you see as the challenges of playing against Panthers QB Cam Newton?) – “He’s an elite running back in the quarterback position. He obviously has a great arm as well; that’s why he plays quarterback. He’s a great challenge for us. I enjoy playing against him. I enjoyed two years ago going up there and practicing against him and that team. I think it was good for this team, as we did against Philly this past year. I’m excited. I think it’s going to be a great opportunity, obviously being on the road again, underneath the lights. Hopefully we’ll come out on the right side.”
(How disappointing has it been that you guys have been in front of a nationally televised audience and haven’t produced a win?) – “I would say at the end of the day, we just haven’t gotten our job done – whether it’s a national television game, one o’clock game, afternoon game, primetime game – we want to be successful in all situations, in all games, because every one means the most and obviously we’ve got to take care of this week’s business to get to where we want to be.”
(How did you injure yourself in the game? Can you tell us what happened?) – “Did I injure myself? I didn’t injure myself. (laughter)”
(What was the incident where it happened on Sunday?) – “It was on the play, the sack-fumble, and then I was just going after the ball. It’s football. I understand things happen and trying to stay out of the way and make plays.”
(So it was just the impact of somebody’s leg?) – “Honestly, I’ve refused to watch the film (of the injury). Let that be that. You can make your own interpretation from there.”
(So you haven’t seen the play?) – “I’ve seen the first half of it. (laughter) I haven’t seen the tail end of it. I saw up to Kiko (Alonso) making a great play on (Marshall) Newhouse and getting the ball back out for us.”
(I know you guys were frustrated about the loss but has there been a lot of talk in the locker room about RB Damien Williams’ touchdown?) – “In what regard?”
(Just the touchdown that RB Damien Williams had.) – “He’s an elite back. He’s a guy that we know that when we put the ball in his hand, he’s electric and can make plays. I think we’ve seen various sparks of him, especially early in the year when the carries were split between three guys. Now he has an opportunity to play a little bit more. He’s a great guy coming out of the backfield from a passing threat, as well as running out of the backfield. We expect for him to make plays and ever since I’ve been here, I’ve always seen him as a great threat.”
(Going back to your sack-strip, do you recall the last time you actually flew at a quarterback to swipe a ball like that?) – “No, I don’t really recall. It’s something that honestly, my d-line coach (Terrell Williams) challenge me to do. I saw the opportunity and did it.”
(With Panthers QB Cam Newton, obviously everybody knows he’s an athletic quarterback. How difficult is it for a defensive lineman regarding containment when you have a player like that?) – “I think that’s the biggest thing is that when you worry about containment, you’ve already kind of lost. For me as a player, as a guy that has played against athletic quarterbacks and specifically Cam himself, you just go out there and take your shots. The way we have our defense set up and the way we know we can rush, and at the same time the help that we have in the back end, you just go out there and play.”
(Most quarterbacks are kind of … when they’re about to get sacked, they kind of crumple up. What does Panthers QB Cam Newton do? Does he try to take somebody on or get out of there?) – “Cam is a little bit different in the way that he’s a bigger body, so he can shrug things and he feels like he can overpower through most tackles, especially when he sees little guys. I have noticed that when he’s going against bigger guys, he’s going to shy away a little bit; but at the end of the day, he knows how to move around the pocket. He’s been doing it all of his career. I remember watching him at Auburn and being successful there. At the end of the day, you just have to make sure one, you go after the ball first and foremost; but two, you get after his right arm and make sure he can’t throw the ball and get rid of it.”
(You’ve been around S T.J. McDonald for a while now, six months or so probably. What are you guys getting when he returns?) – “Man, I’m excited about T.J. coming back. One, he’s going to have fresh legs, so he should be running all over the field and having fun. Secondly, he’s just an elite DB that has the ability to play in the box as well as in coverage. I think in preseason and really in camp, when I have a chance to be on the field with him at the same time, he just finds the ball and makes plays. I’m excited for him to come out there and be able to do that.”
