ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Ndamukong Suh again is answering questions about his style of play. But the Detroit Lions defensive tackle hasn't been asked by the one person who concerns him.
"I'll consider myself a dirty player when my mom calls me a dirty player," he said Monday.
Suh is back in the spotlight after an incident with New England Patriots guard Logan Mankins during a post-whistle scuffle in the Lions' 34-10 preseason victory Saturday night.
Suh pointed out that an official saw the entire play and they had discussed his attempt to get Mankins away from Lions defensive end Lawrence Jackson. Suh wasn't called for a penalty, but Mankins received a personal foul for grabbing Jackson's face mask.
"I don't regret it at all," Suh said. "What I find funny about the situation is that I wasn't the one called for the 15-yard face-mask penalty, and I also didn't know you could get fined for defending a teammate."
Suh said he had a "great talk about the play with the referee who was right there."
"He said in the future, I should let them handle those situations, but that he understood exactly what I was trying to do," Suh said.
Lions coach Jim Schwartz saw the latest incident the same way.
"He was trying to get someone off one of his teammate's face mask," Schwartz said. "He didn't get a flag, and the other guy got a flag."
Suh might see himself as a peacemaker when it comes to his teammates, but his motives are totally different when it comes to opposing quarterbacks.
The reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year was fined $20,000 this preseason after roughing up Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. And Suh was fined twice last year for hits on Chicago's Jay Cutler during the regular season and Cleveland's Jake Delhomme in a preseason game.
This isn't exactly an image Suh shies away from, either.
"Last year, we earned respect, but this year we want fear," Suh told a CBS Sports reporter during Saturday's broadcast. "We want quarterbacks to fear us, and we want offensive lines to fear us."
Corey Williams plays next to Suh at defensive tackle, and he entirely agreed with the sentiment.
"We don't want anyone to get comfortable against us," Williams said. "We hit Tom Brady a lot of times Saturday -- more than he's used to getting hit -- and he didn't like it. That's our goal."
Bo Pelini, Suh's coach at Nebraska, said he didn't consider him a dirty player.
"He plays violently," he said. "I've never seen him play dirty. When you're as big and strong and as physical as he is, sometimes things are going to happen."
Notes: The Lions waived kicker Dave Rayner on Monday, choosing to leave the job with the franchise's leading scorer, Jason Hanson. Rayner filled in for Hanson late last season while the veteran was sidelined with a knee injury. ... WR Nate Burleson (elbow contusion) is expected to miss Detroit's preseason finale.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
