Clinton Portis has a message for Ndamukong Suh: You ain’t so bad (Rocky Balboa voice).
Suh is a mean dude on the gridiron, and he again ticked off some people Sunday in his first game with the Miami Dolphins by knocking off Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris’ helmet. Portis, who preceded Morris as Washington’s running back from 2004 to 2010, didn’t like the questionably dirty antics, especially given Suh’s reputation for bending — and often breaking — the rules.
“I just would love to be in that situation,” Portis said this week on ESPN 980’s “The Drive” of Sunday’s incident. “Why didn’t guys play that way when I was on the field? I wish a guy would have. I would have dove at the back of Suh’s knees so quick and got up and just probably choked him out.
“I definitely wouldn’t have let him get away with that. But again, Alfred Morris is a different guy than myself.”
One can debate whether Suh’s actions in Week 1 were really that egregious. After all, Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones received just a $35,000 fine for slamming Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper’s head into his own helmet after a tackle.
The NFL also announced Suh wouldn’t face disciplinary action. According to NFL spokesman Michael Signora, the polarizing defensive lineman’s apparent helmet punt was “not deemed a kick.”
But Suh’s reputation precedes him, and his track record is far from immaculate. Portis would have taken that into consideration — or so he says — if he was in Morris’ shoes Sunday at FedExField.
“Guys give this facade of being tough and, ‘Oh man, I’m the man and don’t try me,’ and you know, they’re really not,” Portis said. “I don’t think Suh is, you know, that tough of a player. I think he’s a great player, though.”
Suh is about 100 pounds heavier than Portis. But hey, a good chokehold is a good chokehold.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@ForTheWin
