The Associated Press
Willie Colon is ready to rumble.
The New York Jets right guard will see a lot of Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh on Sunday when their teams square off at MetLife Stadium.
And, it wouldn’t stun anyone if the two tangled a bit at some point.
Suh, of course, has a reputation to play a bit, well, chippy at times.
“Really?” Colon asked with a big smile.
On the flip side, Colon knows a few adjectives to describe his own style of play during his NFL career.
“Docile, calm, collected,” Colon said.
Umm, not quite.
Colon, a New York native whose license plate reads “Bronx Bully,” is known to get into it with opponents at times, quick to defend his teammates. He even got tossed from a game last season in New England after a sideline brawl. During the preseason, Colon and right tackle Breno Giacomini got into a shoving match with a few Cincinnati Bengals players.
“I’ll never back down from a fight,” Colon said. “I’m pretty sure (Suh) is the same way. And we’ll handle all that Sunday.”
Not that Colon is expecting to duke it out with Suh, but he knows the type of emotion the Lions star plays with. Colon also knows he’ll have a tough task trying to protect quarterback Geno Smith from Suh, who has 28 1/2 sacks in 65 career games.
“He’s probably one of the best guys in the league doing it, playing at a very high level,” Colon said. “He’s a menace. I know the type of power he has. It’s going to be a war. He’s just a load, a powerful guy. He just brings it.
“He’s a dominant ballplayer and you’ve got to respect it.”
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POOL TIME: When Andy Dalton came down with Mohamed Sanu’s cross-field pass and headed for the end zone, receiver Marvin Jones thought about their days at the pool together.
Dalton became the first Bengals quarterback to catch a touchdown pass last Sunday, going 18 yards after a trick-play reception during a 33-7 win over Tennessee.
“It’s all about those pool basketball moments we had,” Jones said. “He had some practice trying to body up against us, so I guess that helped him.”
Dalton invites Bengals receivers to his home in Texas for offseason workouts. They also have basketball tournaments in his pool, which has a hoop. Dalton and former Bengals receiver Andrew Hawkins won the tournament two years ago, with Dalton posting up under the hoop.
When Sanu’s pass hung in the air on Sunday, Dalton stood his ground with cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson closing in, went straight up and grabbed the ball as though he were getting a rebound in the pool.
“Going up and rebounding the ball is what he needed to do,” coach Marvin Lewis said. “It showed his talent and ability as a quarterback.”
Those games in the pool showed Dalton’s receivers that he can catch a ball, too.
“I always tell the receivers that I have the best hands on the team,” Dalton said.
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BIG-PLAY POLK: Eagles third-string running back Chris Polk has a knack for finding the end zone. The third-year pro has four TDs on only 18 career touches, including a 102-yard kickoff return in last week’s 37-34 win over Washington. Polk’s first NFL carry was a 4-yard TD run at Denver on Sept. 29, 2013.
His first touch this year was the TD return against the Redskins. He had a 38-yard TD run against Detroit in the blizzard game last Dec. 8, and a 10-yard TD run vs. Chicago on Dec. 22. Overall, Polk is averaging a touchdown every 4.5 times he gets the ball.
“Whatever they need me to do, I will do,” said Polk, who plays behind All-Pro LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles. “I just have to help this team win and keep this thing going.”
Polk missed most of training camp and the first game because of a hamstring injury. There was speculation he wouldn’t make the final cut, but coach Chip Kelly stuck with him.
“He’s certainly got a nose for the end zone,” offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. “I think that’s something that’s maybe a little bit overlooked. He finds a way to get in there. He’s got a little thickness to him as a runner, so when it gets tight in there, I think he can be a good runner. I still think we’re going to see the best of him as we go forward.”
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FATHERLY FOX: Usually, Denver Broncos coach John Fox would tell his players right before sending them off on their bye week that the only way he wants to see their names in the news is if they win the lottery.
He had to change the script after what happened last year.
Fox ended up in the headlines after collapsing on the golf course back home in North Carolina during the Broncos’ bye last November. He needed open heart surgery a few days later and missed several weeks before returning to the sideline.
“I kind of backed off that one, only because they read about me and I didn’t win the lottery by any stretch,” Fox said. “I just told them to make good decisions, be smart, relax, enjoy the time off, come back ready to work and whatever we’ve done up to three games, evaluate it and do better when we come back.”
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AP Sports Writers Arnie Stapleton in Denver, Dennis Waszak Jr. in Florham Park, N.J., Joe Kay in Cincinnati and Rob Maaddi in Philadelphia contributed to this story.
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