"Ndamukong Suh had a lot to say Monday.

But nothing said it better than this.

"If I'm not gonna protect myself," the Lions all-Pro defensive tackle mused, "then nobody else is going to."

That, as much as any statement — alleged or otherwise, heard or unspoken — might explain what he's thinking these days, both on and off the field.

Because he's being asked to wage a war on both fronts, no matter how understandably reluctant he is to admit it. When he's not fighting opponents double teams in the trenches — and the cheap shots that inevitably come with them — he finds himself fighting, or at least being asked to fight, a perception that he's a dirty player, fueled by postgame comments from the Falcons after a 23-16 loss at Ford Field."