Lions DT Suh apologised for stomp says Packers Guard Dietrich-Smith - NFL News
Green Bay Packers will face Detroit Lions in their final game of the regular season and sparks are expected to fly after their last encounter on Thanksgiving ended with a lot of bad blood between the two teams.
The Packers won the last encounter with a dominant performance running out 27-15 victors but the result was overshadowed by a furious stomp by Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh on Packers guard Evan Dietrich-Smith.
Before the Packers meet the Lions at Lambeau Field on Sunday, Dietrich-Smith has come out to calm tempers and bury the hatchet with Suh saying that the defensive tackle had apologised for his actions.
"He's cool, he apologized, and there's no hard feelings and that's pretty much it," Dietrich-Smith said.
"I think we've all moved past it," Dietrich-Smith added. "It's a big learning experience for everybody. I think everyone in the league can take note of everything that happened and I think every player is going to take a step forward to move past that kind
of stuff."
The Packers were leading 24-0 in the third quarter when during a play cameras caught Suh and Dietrich-Smith fighting on the turf. A furious Suh got to his feet and with Dietrich-Smith still on the lashed out a fierce stomp on the arm of the Packers Guard.
The officials promptly ejected Suh from the field and the defensive tackle faced a two-day suspension with additional fines.
Suh was unapologetic initially but the uniform criticism from all around and even from his own teammates and Coach made the defensive tackle to apologise on his official facebook page.
Dietrich-Smith on his part did not want to retaliate against Suh after the stomp saying that the physicality of the game sometimes leads to mistakes.
"Stuff happens," Dietrich-Smith said. "It's football. It's an emotional game. Sometimes you get carried away and you learn from those kinds of things, and that's about it.”
The match is a dead rubber with both teams already qualified to the postseason. The Lions have entered the playoffs round for the first time since 1999 with Coach Leslie Frazier converting a team that were the perennial National Football League punching
bags into a tight knit unit.
The Packers are currently the team to beat in the league. With a 14-1 record and the best quarterback in their star studded roster the Packers are the favourites to win another Super Bowl Championship.
It will be important that Suh keeps his composure this time and help the Lions beat the Packers which would send a message to the rest of the league that the Lions are indeed genuine competition in the playoffs.
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