Ndamukong Suh – September 5, 2017
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Tuesday, September 5, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(What are your thoughts about the concerns about the hurricane relative to preparing for a football game.) – “Honestly, we’ve gone through this last year. Looking at that situation and looking at where we are right now, all we can do is really focus on football. Let the higher ups from (Head Coach Adam) Gase and our ownership and our front office be concerned with the game and us prepare. Whether we play it Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, I believe this team will be ready.”
(How much would moving the game to the bye week – Week 11 – impact you from a football standpoint and from a team standpoint?) – “Like I said, I don’t know what the plan is and I’m not going to really focus on it. I’m just going to be prepared to go against Tampa’s offense, and that’s what I think everybody else is planning on doing. That’s the message that we are, as leaders, going to continue to emphasize on and then when we know we have to play, we’re going to play.”
(Are you worried on a personal level? You have a family, home, everything with a Category 5 potentially heading at us. What are your thoughts about that away from football, about the community and how dangerous this could be?) – “I’m definitely concerned about the community in South Florida as a whole. Really the whole state, especially with a state of emergency. Luckily, my family doesn’t like me so they’re up in Portland, Oregon and Detroit and up north. (laughter) They’re safe for the most part but myself, we’ll figure something out.”
(Any message to the fans about thinking about them or anything like that?) – “Oh yes, I’m definitely thinking about them. Please be safe. Be smart. Obviously listen to all of the messages that are given to people and like I said, be smart.”
(Is there any sort of level of frustration on the players side just wanting to know when the game is going to be?) – “No, I wouldn’t say so. I think our mindset and personally, my mindset, is all concerned about the (Buccaneers) offense and understanding that. This is our second day of practice and (we’re) getting real familiar with Tampa and their particular offense. I’m excited. I’m looking forward to when we will play; but not too concerned because whether it is Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, it’ll eventually hopefully happen soon.”
(When you’re playing a team without a starting running back – Buccaneers RB Doug Martin has been suspended for this game – how do you prepare in terms of who you prepare for with the backs?) – “I think you prepare for multiple backs as you do for any game. At the end of the day, we know Doug is most likely going to be out. I believe he is suspended; but Jazquizz Rodgers is a great player. I played against him when he was in Atlanta. I’ve known him since he was at Oregon State and I look forward to playing against him and whoever else he has in their committee.”
(What lessons have you taken from last year’s slow start to avoid that and have a fast start this season?) – “I think it’s good for this young team – even though I’m an older guy – that they went through that experience and knew how to fight their way out of it. At the same time, when we look at this particular season coming up, we know it’s a situation we don’t want to put ourselves in. It wasn’t easy to get out of and we didn’t get out the best way; but at the end of the day, it’s a new season. We have new focuses and we understand what we need to do and that’s taking it one game at a time.”
(Most of your season you’ve played 82-85 percent of the snaps. Do you see any change in that? Do you foresee any change in that this year?) – “I’m a guy that loves being on the field so it’s very hard for me to pull myself off. Even though I may be getting older or whatever it may be, I honestly go back home and train to play every single snap as possible. At the end of the day, I’m going to be out there and go 100 miles an hour when I am. When ‘Coach T’ (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) pulls me out and asks me to sit and whatever it may be, obviously we’ve got great young guys that can play in (Davon) Godchaux and Jordan (Phillips) and Vincent (Taylor). If I happen to be on the bench for a couple of plays here and there, so be it. I’m going to cheer those guys on; but when I’m back on, I’m going to go 100 miles per hour.”
(So how does that work? Do you ask out? Do they make you come out? How does it get determined when you’re not there?) – “I don’t know if there’s a true method to the madness. I think if we’re on a 10-play drive and I’m only at 60 percent, it’s time for me to come out; but if I can still go at 100 miles an hour after 10 or 15 plays, I’m going to keep going. I think that’s what the great thing about our defense and our defense is that we’re all interchangeable. All of us can come in and play any particular position whether it’s end, tackle and vice versa.”
(Have you watched any episodes of Hard Knocks this summer and if so, have you taken anything from it?) – “No, I haven’t watched any Hard Knocks. I saw that (the Buccaneers) were on it but no, I didn’t take the time to peak in as I was in camp myself.”
(Your career parallels that of Buccaneers DT Gerald McCoy quite a bit, going back to your days in the Big 12. Is he somebody you’re friendly with and how would you compare your game with his?) – “That’s probably why I was laughing because Gerald was on the face of Hard Knocks and I saw his video. We were together on, I believe, an ESPN shoot this summer. I’m definitely friendly with him. I’ve seen him obviously coming out. We’ve known each other since college. (He’s a) good dude. I love being around him when we’re not going against each other.”
(Speaking of shoots, you were in a commercial there with New Orleans Pelicans C DeMarcus Cousins. How was it and what was that experience like?) – “That was great. I love being able to work with other guys, especially from other sports. Guys that I’ve respected and seen them grown up in their own ways. Especially when he was at Kentucky, he was with some other younger guys that I know from back home that he played with. It’s always fun and exciting to do cool things together so I look forward to more opportunities like it; but it’s good to be around those types of guys and see how they view the world.”
(When they made that pitch to you in terms of playing on your personality, what was your initial reaction to it?) – “It’s always fun to make fun of yourself and be lighthearted. I think as you get mature, you can do more and more of that.”
(Who was the better actor between you and New Orleans Pelicans C DeMarcus Cousins?) – “I don’t know. You have to look at the body of work and he’s done a little bit more. (laughter)”
(In the commercial, there was a license plate that said BLM. Is that more of a subliminal message or is it…) – “Honestly, somebody brought that up to me. I didn’t know about that until somebody mentioned it to me so I really can’t speak on that.”
(As pro athletes, you guys are conditioned to just think about what’s going on here. Do you almost have to be like that when you have a situation like this where there is so much uncertainty?) – “I think to some extent, yes, especially when we’re in the building; but I’m not going to sit here and lie to you. When I go home, I’ve got to take care of my house and do certain things, check in with my parents and make sure …. My dad keeps texting me ‘Make sure you get away and do what you have to do.’ At the end of the day, like I said, we come in here and when we’re in these walls, we focus on what we need to focus on. And then at the same time, you have to be human and understand what’s going on and be able to adjust and adapt to certain situations.”
(How do you feel physically after going through all of training camp and then having a little bit of a break there?) – “I feel great. I think ‘Coach T’ (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) did a great job for us older guys. There are very few of us but I feel honestly great. I look forward to going into the season and playing all 16 plus.”
