NFL Network's Warren Sapp said Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh can blame his shoulder surgery and his own lack of improvement for his decreased production in 2011.
"The thing that I think affected him was he played such a power game, grabbing people, slinging them out of the way," Sapp told the Detroit Free-Press on Tuesday during a break from his duties at Super Bowl XLVI's Media Day. "He had rotator cuff surgery. I had one on each shoulder, (so) I kind of know what thatâs like."
Suh, who had 10 sacks and 66 tackles as the NFL's Rookie of the Year in 2010, slipped to four sacks and 36 tackles in 2011. He had right shoulder surgery last January and didnât have the benefit of a supervised offseason program because of the NFL lockout.
Sapp said "from his first year to his second year, (Suh looked like) he hadnât worked on anything.
"Heâs never been a hip-flipper or a true pass rusher. He was just overpowering, throwing people out of the way. And on this level, everybodyâs that strong, so thatâs what you saw was him with his shoulder, and people just understanding he was just going to go through them. Thatâs the way he rushes; he goes through you. So the only thing Iâve got to do (as an offensive lineman) is get myself a nice little base and be ready to go."
Suh's stats weren't helped by missing two and a half games after stomping on the hand of Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith on Thanksgiving, for which Sapp also took him to task.
"Until heâs going to be honest with himself, heâs going to have a long career or whatever he wants to call what heâs doing now," Sapp said. "Howâs he still standing there talking about he was stepping away from this man? In what universe does he live in? I donât get it."
