In two starts for the Miami Dolphins, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has just three tackles and hasn't yet recorded a sack, but that could be because he's doing his own thing and ignoring the play calls of defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle.
Ndamukong Suh is already ignoring his defensive coordinator in Miami
The Dolphins gave Ndamukong Suh a six-year, $114 million contract but so far he has just three tackles and is reportedly creating confusion for the Miami defense.
After allowing 396 yards of total offense to the Jacksonville Jaguars -- the highest total for the Jaguars since the 2012 season -- the Miami Herald reported that much of the defensive confusion stemmed from Suh trying to call his own shots.
According to the Herald, Suh “strayed from Kevin Coyle’s script” during the 23-20 loss:
The Miami Herald has learned that Suh freelanced at times Sunday, creating confusion on the defense. By taking matters into his own hands, the Dolphins’ $114 million man took a bad situation and made it worse.
“I couldn’t tell you,” Suh said, when asked to explain his uninspired play. “At the end of the day, we have to go back to the drawing board and figure out what we want to run so guys can make plays and go from there.”
At a press conference on Monday, Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin addressed the report and said that the reason for Suh’s lack of production has been teams “running away from him a lot.”
Philbin’s response: “There was a report Suh was freelancing. I didn’t see anything of the sort. Not sure where that came from.”
Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles finished the game with 273 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, the best performance of his young NFL career. Much of that can be credited to the fact that the Dolphins' defensive line was unable to record a single sack against a Jacksonville offensive line that gave up 71 sacks in 2014.
Suh signed a six-year, $114 million contract in free agency with $60 million guaranteed, making him the biggest coup of free agency. In five seasons with the Detroit Lions, Suh earned four Pro Bowl nods and recorded 36 sacks, including 10 as a rookie and 8.5 in 2014.
The Dolphins have a shaky history when it comes to free agency and missed badly in 2013 when the team signed Mike Wallace, Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler to large contracts.
After back-to-back road games to open the season, the Dolphins will be back to Miami for a home game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3.
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