Warren Sapp rarely holds back in his evaluations and the former All-Pro has come out firing when it comes to Ndamukong Suh.
Sapp is considered by many to be the finest pass-rushing defensive tackle in NFL history, and after his second season Suh has a ways to go to make the same kind of impact.
Sapp, who had 96 ½ career sacks and will likely be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame soon, didn’t hold back.
“From his first year to his second year, he hasn't worked on anything," said Sapp, according to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. "We're looking at the same guy rushing in the same fashion as he did when he first got into the league.
"You can get away with that at first because they haven't seen you. But that second year, you've got to come show me something, son. He came with that same bull rush."
Sapp says that Suh wasn’t the same following shoulder surgery after his rookie season. His production dipped too.
“What affected him was, he plays such a power game; just grabbing people and slinging them out of the way," Sapp said. "He had rotator cuff surgery. I had one on each shoulder and I know what that's like.
“They say when you rehab, you are supposed to come back stronger than you were, but, no. He was put into a situation where there was no offseason, no rehab or any of the things you need to do to get that shoulder strength back. Without that power, I mean, he's never been a hip-flipper or a real pass rusher, per se. He just overpowered people out of his way.
"At this level, everybody is that strong and that's what you saw. Him with the shoulder and people started to understand that he was just going to go through them; that's all he was going to do. So, all I have to do is get a nice strong base and be ready."
Sapp was also critical of Suh’s stomping episode. Suh is still a talented and sometimes dominant performer. He needs to be more consistent in Year 3.
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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune
Why is he taking his shits?
Sapp a cool Commentator he not Deion or Irvin,But he a whole lot better than Faulk & Woodson.
Don't really see this as taking shots, but more as a thoughtful analysis of why Suh wasn't as effective. Where are the shots? Is he lazy? Is he stupid? Not seeing it.
Can we PLEASE get this clown's name right?
It is THE CRIMINAL cheap-shot-artist Warren Sapp.
Just because his blind side assault against Chad Clifton was TECHNICALLY legal, does NOT mean it was not with criminal intent to injure a player.
Thank you.
I'm with you, Hammer. He tries to come off as above reproach, especially on Inside The NFL, but he was a dirty player and he's not much better (sexual assult allegations...) off the field. We don't forget that easily there Sapp.
HammerNH & Marko - If Sapp's hit on Clifton was indeed a blind side then it would have in fact been illegal. But it was actually a clean, legal hit. Just because Clifton wasn't expecting it doesn't mean it was dirty. I played football and our coaches taught us to always keep our heads on a swivel because you never knew when or where you would get hit. And on the flip side, we were taught to always hit some one (legally) no matter where on the field they were. How often do you see someone come from across the field to make a play? If someone would have blocked them they couldn't get there to make that play.
Feb 01, 2012
09:01 AM
I think you meant to write "shots".