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| Lions star Ndamukong Suh uttered a phrase Thursday that media members don't recall ever hearing from the mercurial DT. He said: "I'm sorry." (US Presswire) |
Since Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh arrived in Detroit almost three years ago, his dealings with the media have covered the entire range of human emotion.
He assured writers during his first workouts with the team that he wanted to be in training camp on time. Then he held out.
He lashed out in the media after opponents accused him of dirty play last season.
He smiled and celebrated after he was named Rookie of the Year in 2010, and again when the Lions clinched a 2011 playoff berth. He was defiant with the media almost a full year ago after he stomped on Packers’ OL Evan Dietrich-Smith before a nationally-televised Thanksgiving Day audience.
So when Suh skipped out on his normal session with reporters Wednesday after meeting with Lions’ PR about a play where he was denied a sack in Detroit’s loss to Minnesota, it was easy to chalk up his decision to miss his weekly chat as another step in the checkered co-existence between Suh and the people who cover him on a daily basis.
When the media approached his locker Thursday, however, Suh told a reporter who was eager to ask the first question in a now much-anticipated interview to wait. He had something to say.
Then, he uttered a phrase few remembering him ever using with members of the media during his time as a Lion.
“I’m sorry about yesterday,” he said. “I’m ready to answer any and all of your questions.”
And believe it or not, he did.
He explained the reason behind wanting to be credited with the sack by saying “The film in my eyes never lies, and [the fact that he should have received a sack] was what I believe and saw.”
He said he appreciated coach Jim Schwartz’ claims that Suh may have played his best career game Sunday, before shifting the focus from his own play to that of his team.
“Honestly, no performance is ever really good enough when you’re not winning,” he admitted. “So I may have played well individually, but it wasn’t enough as a team effort and I didn’t do enough to help my other teammates so we could win the game.”
He also renewed his pledge to improve as a player by conceding that his play, while better statistically than his 2011 totals, can still improve.
“I never will be complacent,” he said. "I’m going to continue to work and try to help my teammates as much as possible going into this next game against Green Bay.”
Suh’s promise to strive for perfection is of particular interest when you consider the comments of yet another anonymous critic who chose to cheap-shot the Lions through the press.
A week after teammate Dominic Raiola was berated anonymously by an NFL GM in a Pro Football Weekly article, Suh was the subject of criticism from an unnamed NFC scout who believes he is one of a group of athletes destined to habitually underperform.
"[Suh] is one example of a football culture that coddles elite players and does not force them to push themselves for fear that the player will tune you out," the scout told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "We complain at this level that finding leaders is a difficult task, but leadership is, as Eddie Robinson once said, fighting for the hearts and souls of men and getting them to believe in you.
"For a player like Ray Lewis, he demands so much of himself and is willing to push himself, that when he confronts a teammate over work ethic, the player has no choice but to respect him.
"Players like Suh do not demand excellence of themselves because they believe they can be excellent just by walking on the field. These players will underachieve by comparison to expectations."
When he was asked about the comments, he could have -- perhaps deservedly -- traded verbal jabs through the media with his unnamed critic. Instead, he simply echoed the question many Lions players have asked of their anonymous attackers: If you feel this strongly that we’re doing something wrong, why can’t you be bothered to put your name behind your words?
“It’s really funny that we’re keeping everybody anonymous,” he said. “I wish people would kind of grow up and be a man or a woman and say exactly how they feel and put their name behind it.”
Suh even stayed calm when he was asked about the stomp. He knew the questions were coming -- Sunday marks the first time Green Bay has returned to Ford Field since that day -- and he summed up his current thoughts on the incident in two sentences.
“That was in 2011," he said. “It’s 2012. Let’s move on.”
Whatever opinion you may have of Suh, it’s worth noting that his actions this season have indeed moved on from the undisciplined play that has given him a reputation as the NFL’s dirtiest player. After committing 19 penalties in his first two seasons, and being ejected from that ill-fated Thanksgiving game, Suh has just one penalty in 2012.
Granted, his sack total [4.5 through 9 games] is behind his torrid 2010 pace, but he also hasn’t cost his team large chunks of yardage as a result of an inability to control his emotions.
That’s got to count for something.
Thursday’s interview with Suh certainly doesn’t mitigate two seasons of head-scratching actions by a player who at his best could be described as ferocious between the sidelines during that span, and at his worst was considered a loose cannon.
His stated contrition for something he may not have recognized as a mistake early in his career, however, and the discipline he’s shown on the field this season do demand their place as determining factors when you consider the player and person that Suh says he wants to be.
He’s far from perfect. But his decision to use the two most difficult words to say in the English language – “I’m sorry” – is a start.
He says he wants to move on from the mistakes of his past.
And as long as he continues to take positive steps to improve both on and off the field, he deserves that chance.
Follow Lions reporter John Kreger on Twitter at @CBSLions and @JohnKreger
