Ryan Fitzpatrick respects Dolphins' Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh of the Miami Dolphins looks on during a preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Sun Life Stadium on September 3, 2015 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Credit: Getty Images
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The logistics involved in playing an NFL game at London's Wembley Stadium have occupied much of the Jets' attention this week. On Sunday, their major concern will be how to control a Dolphins defensive line led by Ndamukong Suh, who basically received quarterback money when he signed a six-year deal worth $114 million to take his talents to South Beach.
Amazingly, the Dolphins have only one sack through three games, and they rank 31st in rushing defense since Suh joined a line that already had standout ends Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon. But as Jets coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday, "These guys can hit the quarterback, and the sacks will come and they come in bunches. I just hope it's not this week.''
The Jets' Ryan Fitzpatrick doesn't need his Harvard education to know he's in trouble if he has to drop back to pass 58 times as he did in a loss to Philadelphia last week.
"Suh's a great player,'' Fitzpatrick said. "They signed him for all that money for a reason. He's supremely talented. They've got a few of them on that defense. You've got to know where they are on every play and pay a lot of attention to it.''
Fitzpatrick has been sacked only twice in 118 pass plays, but the Jets' offensive line will be without starting right guard Willie Colon (knee). He has been replaced by Brian Winters, who was roughed up by Suh last year when he was with a Detroit team that beat the Jets. Suh had only one tackle in that game, but still made his presence felt.
Part of the challenge of lining up across from Suh comes with the understanding he won't necessarily stop the rough stuff when the whistle blows. In his first game for Miami, Suh was caught "inadvertently'' banging the head of a downed Washington runner with his leg and stepping on another opponent's leg.
"I'm more concerned about locking him up, so all the other stuff doesn't concern me much,'' Jets center Nick Mangold said of Suh's cheap-shot reputation. "I'll cross that bridge when we get there.''
Jets tackle Breno Giacomini added, "It doesn't matter who you play. It's about us. But it is noted that Wake and Suh are on the same side [of the Dolphins' four-man front] . . . I think [Suh] is a great player. He plays tough; he plays strong; he plays through the whistle. I've been known to do that, too, so I appreciate that.''
Asked how Suh adjusted at the end of last year's Detroit game, Giacomini said, "We were doing some good things early, and he figured it out a little bit and got a little bit skinnier. That was a good tape to reference. It's good to look at it, but everybody zones in on one player. It's a great defense overall, not just one player.''
The Jets' offense was sluggish against the Eagles when running back Chris Ivory and wide receiver Eric Decker were sidelined by injuries. Decker (knee) did not practice Wednesday, but Ivory (quadriceps) practiced on a limited basis.
The best way to slow the Dolphins' pass rush would be forcing them to contend with Ivory's running. "He's a huge part of what we do,'' Giacomini said. "Chris runs downhill and is physical. He's what we want back there as far as the running style. It would feel good to see him out there again.''
Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.
