Ndamukong Suh – October 24, 2017
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Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
(You guys are at this place with a new quarterback once again. It’s your third starting quarterback in whatever it’s been since QB Ryan Tannehill went out. Does that affect you guys on the defensive side of the ball at all?) – “No, I don’t believe so. I think we’ve seen all these quarterbacks in camp and understand what they can do; but really, at the end of the day, we can’t really focus on what’s really going on that side, really because it doesn’t concern us.”
(The run defense, you guys allowed 92 yards last week but 40 yards on two runs. How do you feel that you guys did last week and overall do you come into games and say yes the run defense is rock solid, we can count on it, it’s going to be there?) – “I think we’ve had really, in this season overall, struggled with having some pop plays in the run defense. At the end of the day, as long as we eliminate those, we’ll continue to be successful in my opinion. What we’ve been doing is really just executing. As long as we stay on that path and allow ourselves not to get lax or have a mistake happen, and continue to gang tackle, we’ll be fine.”
(How much of a physical challenge do you find this being in this quick turnaround?) – “I think it is part of the game, part of the business. We understand that. At the end of the day, as professionals, you find yourself in situations where you’ve got to be prepared and prepare for short weeks, long weeks, as we have some of those coming up. It’s just really about the mental grind and obviously taking care of your body at the same time.”
(How do you feel physically right now?) – “Physically? I’m good. It’s football. Really, honestly, I personally don’t pay attention to it. I do what I need to do to make sure I’m there to play and I think it’s served me well in my career.”
(So can you play the same number of snaps four days after a game as you do seven days after a game?) – “I think so. I plan to, if I need to. At the end of the day, we’re very fortunate in our group that we’re all interchangeable. We can line up in all different positions and so a lot of times, I don’t really have to; but I’m wired to play that way.”
(You guys are on a three-game winning streak. Does it feel as though, ‘okay this thing is rolling now, we’re going in the right direction?’ Put it that way.) – “I’d say no for the simple fact that we need to focus in on what the task in front of us is, and we continue to preach each and every week that our focus is to worry about the game that’s of that week, and really go from there. When you start to look at things and see what you’ve done in the past and look ahead and do all of these different things, that’s when you lose track. I don’t say that just because that’s what the head coach says and things of that nature, I say that because I truly believe it; although the head coach says it for a reason, because it’s true. You don’t want to get distracted. You want to understand what you have in that particular week to take care of and go from there.”
(Having said that, you guys have won 12 in a row in terms of one-score games. Obviously you’ve come back from two touchdown-plus over the past couple of weeks. Have you noticed a change in maybe the confidence level or the belief level over the span that you’ve been here in terms of being able to both come back and pull out close games?) – “I’d say under the new regime of (Head Coach Adam) Gase and understanding what we have, we’ve always had a mindset that we’re capable of doing whatever we want to, and then at the same time, we understand the positions that we put ourselves in. So being 28-14 down going late into the third quarter, we understood what we need to get done. Going into half, we knew what we needed to get done, being down, I think, 21-14. Having been in all of those situations the previous season, especially with being a young team – myself being eight years, understanding I’ve been in multitudes of situations – it’s not hard to get out of it. It’s just about going through the process to get yourself out of it and doing it before the time ends.”
(How do you get off to faster starts?) – “That’s the magical question, I guess. In my personal opinion, on the defensive side of the ball, which is really all I can speak to, it’s not allowing people to score. We’ve not been the best in red zone defense. Last week, starting out the way we did, wasn’t the best. We’ve done some good things in previous weeks, so we probably need to go back and look at some of those pieces; but at the end of the day, each and every team is different. This is a copycat league. I’m sure Baltimore has looked at the film and seen what happened last week. We need to figure out how they are going to attack us and then two, to combat that and get off the field, if we end up starting first.”
(What do you think of G/T Jesse Davis’ future as a defensive tackle?) – “(Laughter) Jesse’s good. I think he’ll be fine, especially if he’s playing next to me – a pat on my back. (laughter) We talk for sure, and give him a little crap. We’ve actually got a little funny thing going on, which is harder to play – o-line or d-line? He’s getting a taste of that right now. (Laughter)”
(What about LB Rey Maualuga’s future as a fullback or blocking back?) – “He’s a strong downhill guy, so he’ll serve pretty well on that side of the ball as well as being on our side of the ball. We’ve got some blitzes for him that I’m sure you guys have seen in the past where he’s coming downhill. He’s got some stuff in practice that he’s done, which I wouldn’t want to be a center. (Laughter)”
(Will we see you on offense at any point?) – “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase about that. I’m more than happy to go on the offensive side of the ball and have some fun, obviously in, situations; but the one thing I definitely want to do is get back on special teams and kick a field goal or an extra point. (laughter) I’ve got to make up for that past Jets game, however many years that was ago.”
(When was the last time you played offense?) – “The last time I played offense … It’s been some time. I can’t even think back to it.”
(High school?) – “No, it’s been in the pros. I know I had some stuff in Detroit. I don’t think we ever ran it; but we had some plays for sure. It was actually the ‘Husker package.’ If I’m ever needed and my number is called, I’ll be ready to go.”
(Do you think it’s harder to play defensive line than offensive line?) – “I’ll let you guys ponder that. We’ve got a running piece of what all goes into that. Do me a favor, ask Julius Thomas about what he thinks. (laughter)”
