Ndamukong Suh was interviewed by radio station KTAR in Phoenix Thursday prior to being the grand marshall in this weekend’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR race there.

Nothing the Lions defensive tackle said was shocking, it’s mostly the same old stuff, like getting past the stomping incident.

However his answer to whether he’s a leader on the team was interesting, especially about getting back on the horse: “I definitely see myself as a leader. One of the ways I’ve been lucky enough to lead and likely to continue to lead is just my actions and the way that I approach the game and working hard and being a player that steps up in big-time situations when plays need to be made. I feel like I did that a good amount in my rookie season. I might have slipped a little bit in my sophomore season, but I look forward to picking up and getting back on the high horse.”

He also admits there are things he can improve on: “There’s ways that from my rookie season to last year with having a little bit down stats-wise. There’s other ways from stats to helping my other teammates produce that I can get better at. Being able to go in and watch film when I was back in Detroit early last week, I saw some mistakes that I had and I look forward to correcting them.”

Suh needs to get back in control if he wants to truly be a leader on defense. The official team line is he played well last season despite his lower stat numbers. But also that he has to learn to play within the rules. He may have played well last year, but it was only for 14 games, not 16 in the regular season due to that two-game suspension. It’s going to take some stellar play before that is forgotten.

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