Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Suh (the April thread)
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InvaderRam.
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April 17, 2018 at 9:01 pm #85214
znModeratorIn Their Own Words: Ndamukong Suh on Proving Himself in L.A.
Kristen Lago
The Rams turned heads this offseason by signing of one of the highest-rated free agents of 2018 — defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Suh has been a strong force in each of his eight NFL seasons, playing and starting in 126 games and wreaking havoc on the front line.
The five-time Pro Bowler has amassed 51.5 sacks, 171 quarterback pressures, and 58 tackles for loss. But the defensive lineman’s disruptive playing style hasn’t come without a price. Suh has developed a reputation for sometimes being overly aggressive that has followed him throughout his career.
But now that the Nebraska product has found a new home in Los Angeles, he’s eager to prove to the organization and the community that he’s a hard worker “who always plays with a chip on my shoulder.”
Here is Ndamukong Suh in his own words:
On his excitement to join the Rams organization:
“I think the biggest thing is I have to thank God and my family first and foremost. Great opportunity from Les, the Rams, Kroenke, McVay. Definitely excited about the opportunities here. Really fortunate just looking at the overall scheme, I think everyone looks at everything on paper and I would say we’re in pretty good shape on paper. But we have a lot of things to prove and really myself — I always play with a chip on my shoulder. That’s really how I kind of prove my worth and we’ll go from there.”
On making the decision to sign a one-year contract in L.A.:
“As I said before, I don’t think any decision of this magnitude is easy. There was a lot of other great teams that I had offers from and had the opportunity to join, but this was the best decision for me. I think for me how I look at it is I wanted to prove myself. I wanted to come in here and prove myself that I’m worthy of being here and staying here for the long stay. I think the overall goal is to focus on this particular year which is the most important thing in front of us.”
On his reputation of being overly aggressive on field:
“I think reputation is something that you create on your own, but also that gets skewed by other people’s opinions. I would say to anybody and all the fans just come up to me as a normal human being and ask me who I am, get to know and have a conversation with me. Leave it as that simple. That’s what coach McVay did and I think that’s why we hit it off from day one.
I definitely think everyone’s reputation is skewed. I don’t think you can know any particular person unless you’ve been in their shoes and been around them 24/7, 365 to know exactly who that person is.”
On how he would describe himself as a player:
“I would just say tenacious, aggressive, likes to make plays and help other people make plays. Just overall very competitive and want to win.”
April 24, 2018 at 12:51 am #85356znModeratorRams still open-minded about Ndamukong Suh’s workload
Alden Gonzalez
LOS ANGELES — Over the past eight years, no defensive lineman played more snaps than Ndamukong Suh, who recently joined the Los Angeles Rams for his age-31 season.
From 2010 to 2017, Suh registered 6,773 snaps, 354 more than runner-up Calais Campbell during that stretch. Suh hasn’t necessarily slowed down in recent years, either. His 2,666 snaps over the past three seasons rank third among defensive linemen, trailing only Cameron Jordan and Khalil Mack.
The Rams are mindful of that, but they’re still uncertain about how cautious they will be.
“I think that stuff will all sort itself out,” Rams coach Sean McVay said at the start of the offseason program last week. “I think what that says, as much as anything, is the durability and the way that he takes care of himself.”
Snaps for Suh
No defensive lineman played more often over the last eight years than Ndamukong Suh, who absorbed an NFL-leading 6,773 snaps from 2010 to 2017.
YEAR SNAPS (RANK)
2010 907 (4th)
2011 712 (t-38th)*
2012 851 (14th)
2013 836 (24th)
2014 803 (14th)
2015 919 (7th)
2016 919 (4th)
2017 828 (8th)
*Suspended 2 games during seasonSince being drafted second overall by the Detroit Lions in 2010, Suh has played in every game except the two he was suspended for in 2011. With the Miami Dolphins last year, he played in more than 90 percent of his team’s defensive snaps in four of Miami’s 16 games. He absorbed more than 80 percent of the defensive snaps in all but three of those weeks.
The Rams like to rotate their pass-rushers a little more than that. Aaron Donald at times took on a heavy workload, similar to Suh’s. But the Rams’ most often used defensive lineman played less than 80 percent of the team’s snaps six times and topped 90 percent in only two games.
Suh is uncommonly durable for an interior lineman who absorbs so much punishment. But the Rams boast a unique amount of depth at his position. Donald might be the game’s most dominant defensive player, while Michael Brockers was an underrated interior lineman before moving outside to 5-technique last season.
To keep guys fresh on base sets, the Rams could use two of Donald, Suh and Brockers and easily bring in either Ethan Westbrooks or Dominique Easley, the latter one of the game’s more effective defensive ends when healthy.
Still, McVay referenced Suh’s track record and work ethic while stating that he would be “well equipped” to continue to handle a high workload if needed.
“Those are things that I think we’ll figure out as we get further into it,” McVay said, “but everything that you’ve heard about him with the people that have been around him, you see how conscientious he is, how disciplined he is with his offseason program — taking care of his body, eating right. Those are things that we’ve seen in this short amount of time already.”
April 24, 2018 at 1:52 am #85357
InvaderRamModeratorthey need to reduce his snaps. i think that his reputation for taking snaps off can at least in part be explained by how heavily he’s been used in the past. he doesn’t have to be the workhorse on this defensive line. reduce the amount that he’s asked to do and just let him rip when he is in.
ideally suh wouldn’t be playing more than 75% of the snaps on the season. suh and donald get around 70-75% of the snaps. brockers gets 65-70%. and the remaining 85-90% of the snaps get split between the backups.
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