Schwartz defends Suh

Former Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz is sticking up for Lions star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

Now the Buffalo Bills' defensive coordinator, Schwartz denied claims from former NFL player Heath Evans that Suh was chronically late for meetings and was a disruptive force on the practice field.

"There were a lot of things that were completely untrue that were said. Somebody said that Ndamukong was constantly late and was doing it to show up the coaching staff and all these different things," Schwartz told a Nashville, Tenn., radio station. "And I can say categorically, in four years as a player there, he was late zero times in four years, and I know that for a fact.

"I was there every single day. Ndamukong was one of our first guys in the building every single day, and he matured as a player also."

Suh has drawn plenty of fines and was once suspended for stomping on Green Bay Packers center Evan Dietrich-Smith during the 2011 season.

"You're not going to get voted by your teammates a team captain if you're the guy that's late and things like that," Schwartz said. "He's had an outstanding career so far, and he has a lot in front of him. Even though I'm now over at the Bills and we play Detroit this year, I'm certainly still a Ndamukong Suh fan and in a lot of ways still a Lions fan. I want a lot of players there, a lot of coaches there to continue to have success, as long as it is not at the Bills' expense."

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun

Aaron Wilson
Aaron Wilson covers the NFL for National Football Post, his second stint at the Post. He has previously written for Pro Football Talk and FOX Sports-Scout. Entering his 13th year covering the Baltimore Ravens, he's a beat writer for The Baltimore Sun. Wilson has also covered the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans.

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