Jets guard Matt Slauson played with Ndamukong Suh at Nebraska, but Slauson definitely is no fan of his controversial former teammate.
A day after Suh was ejected from the Lions' loss to Green Bay for another over-the-line incident, Slauson blasted the Detroit defensive lineman as "out of control" and wondered if Suh needs medical help.
"Somebody needs to get him under control, because he's trying to hurt people," Slauson said in an exclusive interview with the Post after practice Friday. "It's one thing to be an incredibly physical player and a tenacious player, but it's another thing to set out to end that guy's career."
Ndamukong Suh of the Detroit Lions.
Suh, who already has been fined $42,500 by the NFL for dirty play in less than two full seasons and recently met with commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss his behavior, appears to be facing another hefty fine and a suspension after stomping the right arm of Packers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith in the third quarter of a 27-15 Detroit loss.
Suh was ejected, but Slauson said much more dramatic action is warranted -- and soon -- against the player who was his college mate from 2005-08.
"I have no idea what the league can do, because apparently what they're doing now isn't working," Slauson said. "I don't know what's going on with him, but something isn't right. I mean, they've fined him out the butt, but he still doesn't think he's doing anything wrong. I don't know what they're going to have to do, but something has to be done."
An NFL spokesman said plays from Week 12 that would be reviewed for potential discipline will be done under normal circumstances, after all games are completed.
Suh's postgame explanation that he merely lost his balance also didn't fly with Slauson, who described it as "delusional."
Urgency is necessary, Slauson said, because of the obvious malice in Suh's illegal on-field actions.
"Last year, when he got fined for the takedowns on the quarterbacks, it looked like he was trying to kill them," Slauson said. "I'm all for physicality, but within the framework of the game. I know it takes a different type of person to be a defensive lineman -- you've kinda got to be a jerk who wants to take the quarterback's head off. But you [shouldn't] literally want to kill them like he does."
Suh wasn't considered a head case by NFL scouts after a celebrated career at Nebraska that didn't include any on-field incidents, but Slauson said Suh was a different player in practice while in college.
Slauson said there were at least two ugly incidents involving Suh and other players during practice at Nebraska that Slauson witnessed but that went unreported.
Slauson said "I prefer not to say" when asked if those two practice incidents involved Suh stomping on teammates' limbs or similar cheap shots.
But as a result of those acts and Suh's generally unpredictable temper, Slauson said Suh wasn't popular at all with his college teammates.
"He was well-respected for his ability, but everybody kind of knew who he was," Slauson said. "He wasn't well-liked."
The subsequent problems in the NFL haven't made Suh any more popular within the Nebraska football program, Slauson said.
"There's a lot of people in Nebraska that aren't very pleased right now," Slauson said. "The University of Nebraska has always prided itself on producing high-character guys, and [he isn't one of them]."
Slauson said he doesn't envy Goodell and the rest of the league's discipline makers when it comes to figuring out what's next for Suh.
"He sat down with Goodell, and I assume Goodell laid out everything," Slauson said. "So I don't know if [Suh] was just ignoring him or seriously doesn't understand [the difference between right and wrong]. He's a really smart guy, so I don't know what's going on.
"I don't know if he's got a screw loose or if he's trying to make himself the villain [for marketing purposes], but whatever he's doing is wrong and it's got to be fixed."
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