Matthew Stafford doesn't know why former Detroit Lions teammate Ndamukong Suh hates him
If you're not a regular listener to "The Morning After" podcast with Kelly Stafford, you're missing out.
The wife of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and former Georgia Bulldogs cheerleader now has her own show, and on an episode released Tuesday, discussed the Rams' exhilarating victory Sunday afternoon in Tampa to advance to the NFC championship game.
Kelly was in attendance at Raymond James Stadium, and her nerves were quite high all day. She said she couldn't eat or drink anything until nightfall and for the second straight week battled an upset stomach due to the anxiety.
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But at the 13:15 mark of the episode, she tried to make sense of Ndamukong Suh screaming at her husband on a second-quarter play. Suh and Stafford, who is in his first year quarterbacking the Rams, were teammates with the Detroit Lions from 2010-14, with Stafford picked No. 1 overall in 2009 and Suh coming in one year later as the No. 2 overall pick. The Lions made the playoffs twice during the five years they were teammates, before Suh left in free agency and signed with Miami.
During the first quarter of Sunday's game, Suh pressured Stafford on a pass play that fell incomplete, and both fell to the ground. It appeared Stafford gave a little push with his leg into Suh in an attempt to untangle himself, and Suh took exception, pointing at Stafford and mouthing an expletive. "You see he kicked me?" Suh said to the referee as he announced a 15-yard penalty on Suh for taunting.
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Kelly said at first she didn't think it was a big deal, until she saw the replay. She said people were direct messaging her on Instagram asking about the play, so she addressed it on the podcast:
"Not really sure why Suh doesn't like Matthew, but Suh doesn't like Matthew. And it has become this weird dynamic in the past couple years like Suh will come out in the media and stay stuff, whatever, it doesn't even matter, it doesn't phase Matthew, it is what it is.
"I see Suh in his face ... I look at the replay in the suite, I realize it's Suh and I'm like 'huh, this is interesting.' And he's in Matthew's face saying, 'I'm gonna (expletive) you up, I'm gonna (expletive) you up.' Those were his words. And to be honest, if I was Matthew, I'd be like 'I'm (expletive) terrified cause you are a monster and you could really do some harm.'
"Obviously, when I saw that, I was like, 'Oh F you Suh. Like what is wrong, relax dude, it's football.' And I have no idea what just triggered that.
"So then I asked Matthew last night (Sunday) and he was like, 'honestly, I don't really know what happened. I didn't really know who tackled me. But I remember getting put to the ground and someone on me and got him off me to try to get to the next play, and then Suh was in my face telling me he was going to (expletive) me up.' And I was like (laughing), 'What? I don't understand.' He's like, 'who's gonna understand it, whatever, it doesn't matter.'
"But it infuriated me. To stand up and tell someone that you're gonna (expletive) them up after you spent years together in an organization and did appearances together and there were never really issues. ... Matthew was like, 'I don't know, I guess he doesn't like me.' ... He kind of giggled about it when I asked about it, he was like, 'I really have no (expletive) idea what this guy is doing. I don't know why he's so angry at me.'
She said she knows Suh has a reputation (for cheap shots), but players should get clean slates. They grow, change and make mistakes but mature over time.
"I'm trying to give some grace here and not get very upset about the massive man threatening my husband. But at the same time, are you kidding. What are you doing? ... It's water under the bridge now, Matthew could care less.
"But I want to point out one thing. The best thing to say 'F you' to someone without actually having to say is to throw a dime right in their face at a zero all-out blitz right as he's coming for you. And you throw it right as he hits you and it hits Cooper (Kupp) right in the hands, and your kicker kicks a game-winning field goal. ... Matthew has done very good against an all-out blitz all year, so it was a very interesting call. So he saw it coming and just waited until Suh got as close as he could and just launched it right in his face. ... Sometimes, you gotta shut them up with your play. You don't have to say anything. You don't have to do anything. ... Matthew could care less, but I loved, I loved watching him throw that ball right in Suh's face.
"I feel like he's the only player in this league who really dislikes Matthew and we don't know. We legit don't know why. ... Now he can actually dislike him for a fricking reason (because we won). I thoroughly enjoyed it and that's all I'm gonna say. I wish Suh the best, I really do. His family is always so kind. But come on dude, ya'll were teammates at one point. That really bothered me. ... I just don't get it, it disappoints me in a way with Suh. Maybe we'll figure out, maybe there's a reason and he'll let us know, but Matthew doesn't really seem to care. Just me, of course."
The Rams host San Francisco on Sunday and can advance to Super Bowl 56 with a win, where they'd get to play in their home stadium against the winner of Kansas City vs. Cincinnati. The Rams lost three years ago in Super Bowl 53 against New England, 13-3, in large part due to poor quarterback play from Jared Goff. The Rams traded Goff to the Lions along with two first-round picks and a third-round pick for Stafford one year ago.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Matthew Stafford can't figure out why Ndamukong Suh hates him
