Ndamukong Suh grew up playing soccer. Still, at 6-feet-4 and 305 pounds, it's jarring to see him line up to attempt a field goal. But as has been the case all season, Suh is the Dolphins' backup kicker.
Dolphins give Suh a couple FG attempts a week in practice many weeks in case Parkey gets injured in a game. Suh backup K.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) November 2, 2017
It's a job he "won" in the preseason.
"The man can kick," defensive tackle Jordan Phillips said in August, via Sun-Sentinel.com, after Suh kicked a 32- and 39-yarder before missing a 33-yard attempt.
Defensive lineman William Hayes added: "I think he told me he used to play soccer when he was younger, so nothing will surprise me what you can do when you're that big of a freak."
Suh actually attempted an extra point during a regular-season game. As a rookie with the Lions in 2010, kicker Jason Hanson went down with an injury and Suh was the next man up. He missed to the right but Suh looked, well, just like a kicker -- his set up, his approach and his follow through were all familiar seeming.
So how did Suh end up as the Lions' emergency kicker seven years ago?
He apparently won a friendly kicking competition during training camp, nailing a 30-yard attempt that got the defense out of practice early.
"Ndamukong is our backup field goal kicker; he's done it in practice," then-Lions coach Jim Schwartz said after Suh's missed extra point. "You guys have been to practice before and seen him do it. We have a lot of confidence that he could kick it. It put him in a difficult situation because he went out without any warm-ups. I probably should have called a timeout and given him time to get ready."
Given the sorry state of the Dolphins' offense, perhaps coach Adam Gase should try Suh on that side of the ball as well.
"I'm pissed. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of the offense being awful," Gase said last Friday, via ESPN.com, a day after Miami was on the business end of a 40-0 Baltimore beatdown. "Guys better need to get their heads right. Coaching staff needs to do a better job, because obviously our players not knowing [what to do] is a direct reflection of them."
Trading Jay Ajayi to the Eagles seems like the perfect opportunity to introduce the world to DT/K/RB Ndamukong Suh.
