Suggs continues to fight off age, offensive linemen to get to QBs
we see the preparation it takes for him to get comfortable with the offense that he’s going against — getting their calls assessed and how they’re blocking him so he can play fast Sundays and Mondays and Thursdays, whatever day it might be.”
Even the Ravens who have been around for a while look at the level of play that Suggs has been able to maintain, and shake their heads.
“It’s hard to be a good player in this league,” 32-year-old All-Pro safety Eric Weddle said. “It’s hard to become a great player. It’s even harder to continue to be a great player. I appreciate that because I know how hard it is to get to the top and to try and stay there. He’s doing it, man.”
Suggs is the master of the strip sack, and Monday night’s was the 30th of his career. But he said after the game that it’s not so much a matter of technique as a commitment to take the ball away from the opposing offense whenever the opportunity arises.
That dates to the glory days of the Ravens defense, when Suggs was just getting started and linebacker legend Ray Lewis was in his ear every time he slammed an opposing quarterback to the ground.
“He stays in my head and he’s not even playing no more,” Suggs said. “But Ray, my rookie year, I was getting some sacks, but I wasn’t stripping the ball, and every time I got a sack, he used to come and [say,] ‘Sizzle, get the ball. Sizzle, I want the ball.’ … Ray Lewis, he probably made a tackle tonight. He’s always gotten credit.”
It certainly isn’t easy to stay healthy when you’re in your 30s in the NFL — as Suggs has proved on a number of occasions — but he credits the coaching staff and director of performance Steve Saunders for putting him in position to be at his best.
“That’s huge,” Suggs said. “Yeah, [people] always bring up, ‘He’s in year 15, 35 years old.’ As long as I’m healthy, I can be Sizzle.”
Harbaugh wasn’t through praising Suggs’ big play Monday night or, for that matter, his general big-play ability.
“You don’t see guys his age do that,” Harbaugh said, who was turning his postgame podium session into a stand-up routine. “He’s just a special guy, an amazing guy. He came over after [the strip sack] and he said, ‘Do you want to say thank you, Coach?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I do. Have I ever told you I love you?’ Beautiful.”