Ndamukong Suh apparently has a very interesting approach to pep talks.
Suh is part of a Miami Dolphins defense that hasn’t lived up to its hype, and it’s no surprise the veteran defensive tackle, who signed a six-year, $114 million contract over the offseason, is taking on a leadership role. However, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that Suh addressed his defensive teammates in a rather unconventional way.
“I’m told he told them: ‘I run this defense, I’m going to be here for the next five years, there is no guarantee any of you will be as well. Only a handful of guys are good enough to play with me right now,’ ” Rapoport said on “NFL GameDay Morning” on NFL Network. “He also said the schemes were not good enough, the techniques were not enough and everyone needed to be better. He said, ‘Follow me.’ ”
While the sentiment that everyone needs to be better is good in theory, the way Suh went about it saying it reportedly didn’t sit well with all of his Dolphins teammates.
“My understanding is the room was split,” Rapoport said. “Some saw this as the kind of address a leader would give. Others, just something they’ve never heard before.”
With the Dolphins sitting at 4-7 and in last place in the AFC East after a loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, the team definitely doesn’t need players rubbing teammates the wrong way.
Thumbnail photo via Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports Images