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Jeff Riger: Lions React To Suh Stomp Suspension

Tuesdays in the NFL are usually off days for players; however it might have been a good thing this Tuesday was not. You see, the Lions played on Thanksgiving and had pretty much all weekend off, so the team got back to practice Tuesday instead of the usual Wednesday. It was a perfect time to address Ndamukong Suh and his two game suspensions. Of course, Suh stomped Evan Dietrich Smith during the third quarter of last Thursday's loss to the Packers and now hopes to appeal his punishment.

The defensive tackle himself is not allowed in the Allen Park facility; however, that didn't stop his teammates from talking about him. Below are some of the more interesting quotes about Suh, his suspension, and what this will do to the Lions for the remainder of the season.

Kyle Vanden Bosch on if Suh's team is mad at him:

"No I haven't witnessed it; honestly I think he's just in a lot of people's thoughts right now. He's going to have to deal with the repercussions of it personally. We'll handle the effects that it has on us as a team. It's going to be tough for him. He is a big part of reason that we have a shot at the playoffs; we are going to need him to get into the playoffs. I know it's going to hurt him not being here the next couple of weeks."

Vanden Bosch on if he thinks the stomp was selfish on Suh's part:

"You know I think selfish is defiantly the wrong word. You know it's in the heat of battle and his biggest concern is just the effect that it had on the team and the game and the effect that it has on the team going forward. Ever since he has been here, he has been a team first guy and he would do just about anything for this team, this organization, this city to get this team into the playoffs."

Vanden Bosch on if the stomp could have been avoided:

"It's difficult to swallow your pride and walk away and move on and especially in the heat of the moment. I don't think everybody understands, I think a lot of people just want to say he should have walked away and even thought that's the right thing to do in that moment, a lot of people don't understand how difficult that is to do."

Cliff Avril was asked if other players are mad at Suh:

"I don't have an issue with him, I'm pretty sure if guys, if they were men, if they did have issues with him then they would say something to him. I don't think guys have an issue with him. They might have an issue with when he did it, I guess you might be mad because it was 4th down, but we don't have a problem with him, that's for sure."

Avril was also asked if he is surprised by the 2 game suspension:

"Am I surprised, I mean I kind of figured he would get suspended. Am I surprised? No! He will do his time and we will see him back in two weeks against whoever we play."

In the most amusing exchange of the day, Jim Schwartz was asked if Suh needed anger management classes:

"This is the first one that he has had that has been after the whistle, correct? I think I'll just ... If we were having an awful lot of them after the whistle maybe that would be a different story. I'm a football coach, I'm not a psychiatrist."

Watch the videos below for more quotes from Vanden Bosch and Avril.

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