DAVIE, Fla. — With the Miami Dolphins desperate to make a game-clinching stop in the closing minutes, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh moved around from snap to snap, even sliding his 305-pound frame to end for one play.
“The final series, I was all over the field,” Suh said.
That he was, flushing quarterback Colin Kaepernick out of the pocket on the last play Sunday and then running him down from behind 2 yards short of the goal line as time expired to give Miami a 31-24 victory.
Suh’s a four-time Pro Bowl tackle who almost always gets double-teamed, so the Dolphins are doing what they can to free him up. And he’s doing what he can to make the strategy work.
Along with his normal left tackle position, he lined up at right end and even middle linebacker against the 49ers. Typically impassive, Suh grins when talking about how the Dolphins are making the most of his talents.
“Within the scheme, within the situation, we find the right time to switch,” Suh said. “I don’t really want to give you the ins and outs of why I do it. But yes, I have opportunities where I can put myself in a particular place.
“It comes from the trust and confidence your coaches have with you, and them agreeing and seeing the things that you can do.”
Left unsaid is that it wasn’t that way last year, Suh’s first with Miami, when the team went 6-10 and his impact went largely unnoticed. Suh clearly relishes his revised role under first-year head coach Adam Gase and new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
“Vance is one of those great coaches that allows his players to find ways to be successful,” Suh said. “He gives us freedom within the scheme.”
