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T.J. Lang Hated Playing The Lions On Thanksgiving, Clashing With Suh

By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid

His perspective might change now that he's home, but T.J. Lang was no fan of traveling to Detroit and suiting up on Thanksgiving Day during his time with the Packers.

"I can tell you coming from Green Bay, we played I think three Thanksgiving Day games (in Detroit), absolutely hated it. Not only is it a Thursday game, but it's a noon kickoff, which is even worse. You're traveling. It was brutal, I hated it. I think we lost three of the four games we played here too," Lang told Barstool's 'Pardon My Take' podcast.

Lang was actually 2-1 in Thanksgiving Day games versus the Lions, but it goes to show how much he loathed the whole experience that he remembers his record otherwise.

Another thing he distinctly disliked about playing the Lions? Locking horns with Ndamukong Suh.

"I hated it. I've never played against a more literal psychopath in my life. Guy was a nut job," Lang said.

Suh's offenses against the Packers include stomping on Evan Dietrich-Smith in 2011 and stepping on Aaron Rodgers' ankle in 2014. He also apparently challenged Lang to a fight after the latter incident.

"That was Dietrich-Smith he stomped on and then he stepped on Aaron's leg one game. (Rodgers) said he couldn't feel his leg, it was like 45 degrees that day. It wasn't even that cold," Lang said with a laugh.

Lang was joined on Barstool's podcast by fellow offensive linemen Travis Swanson and Graham Glasgow. Asked to name the hardest guy to block in today's NFL, the three of them agreed on Aaron Donald of the Rams.

"Currently Aaron Donald, all time probably Justin Smith. You can't judge toughness on a guy who has a giant Budweiser tattoo on his arm. He was a bitch to block," Lang said.

Other highlights:

  • Glasgow, who played for Jim Harbaugh at the University of Michigan, said his current coach stands in contrast to his former one.

"Coach Harbaugh's really intense and he'll be in your face all the time. Jim Caldwell's one of the nicest guys I've ever met, I really do mean that he cares about his players. He's like the good cop," said Glasgow.

  • Swanson and Glasgow each recalled the weirdest question they were asked at the NFL scouting combine.

Swanson: "I think it came from the Browns, I think it was a regional scout or something like that. He said name all the things that you can do with a brick in one minute and then started the clock. I was like, 'You can start to build something, you can use it as a doorstop.' I think I got maybe four in.

Glasgow: "When I met with the Bengals, basically they gave me a psychological evaluation just to see how sharp I was. 'You have four coins and 46 cents, what are the four coins you have?'"

The answer: a quarter, two dimes and a penny.

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