Lions' Suh is not your ordinary rookie

He's a rookie, just like the two guards he'll line up against at Raymond James Stadium today, right?

No, not quite.

Yeah, he's a rookie. But neither Ted Larsen nor Derek Hardman, nor anyone else for that matter, has seen anyone quite like Lions rookie Ndamukong Suh.

As much as the Buccaneers hoped rookie defensive tackle Gerald McCoy would prove to be the reincarnation of Warren Sapp, it is Suh who has emerged as the NFL's next great "QB Killa."

Already, he has the heads of eight quarterbacks mounted on a wall in the Lions locker room. That's more than any defensive tackle in the league this season, rookie or otherwise.

Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. Suh was the most coveted defensive player in the 2010 draft, a University of Nebraska product whose name alone invokes a sense of dread. Translated from its origins in the Ngema tribe in the African nation of Cameroon, Suh's first name means House of Spears. True to his heritage, Suh comes at you like a rolling ball of butcher knives.

"He really doesn't compare to anyone I've ever faced,'' said Hardman, an Eastern Kentucky product who will line up directly across from Suh on most downs in his second NFL start. "But then again, I went to a pretty small school.''

Larsen, who on occasion will line up across from Suh in his ninth NFL start, went to a much bigger school: North Carolina State. But he also struggles to find a comparison.

"The best defensive tackle I faced in college was probably Cam Thomas,'' Larsen said of the North Carolina product drafted in the fifth round by the Chargers who has one sack this season.

"As for Suh, he's obviously a really talented player. He was the No. 2 pick in the draft this year and he's really playing well. He's just another problem we have to face and deal with.''

The real problem is figuring out how to stop him, and not just from getting to the quarterback. Suh has 52 tackles, fourth among NFL defensive tackles, and he can blow up any part of an offensive attack.

"He's really versatile,'' said Bucs center Jeremy Zuttah, who often will be asked to slide Suh's way to help Hardman or Larsen.

"He can beat you with quickness, with speed, and he's also incredibly strong. So, you really have to mix it up against him. We can't give him the same look every time or else he'll just use one of those other attributes against you.''

Surprisingly, Suh's best attribute may be his determination. The physical skills, he said, are a blessing. Without drive and determination, however, Suh fears his physical skills would go to waste.

"I want to impose my will on other players and on other teams,'' he said. "I want to be aggressive and disrupt offenses. That's just my nature. I definitely hold myself to a very high standard.

"And any time I reach or get close to that standard then I'm looking to push it even higher. I just never want to be satisfied. You can never be perfect in this game, but I think I can get close to it.''

Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman is one of the few Buccaneers who have witnessed first-hand Suh's attempts to play a perfect game. He faced him three times while at Kansas State and can vouch for Suh's determination.

"He's a beast,'' said Freeman, whose Wildcats never beat Suh's Cornhuskers while they competed as collegians. "He has a personal vendetta against every offense he plays.

"One way or another, he's going to make something happen, whether it's stopping the run, whether it's getting a sack. You saw the interception (he had against St. Louis). He can do it all. He's a complete player.''

The Bucs know that, of course. Before the draft, when it seemed there was an outside chance they would have their choice of defensive tackles, the Bucs did as much research on Suh as they did McCoy.

That research may actually come in handy today. Having viewed so much tape of Suh during the scouting process, the Bucs may have an idea what his weaknesses are, should he actually have any.

One thing is for certain. The Bucs will invoke their "we just do what we do'' adage, which is their way of saying they won't dramatically alter their game plan for Suh.

"I don't think we're going to change the integrity of our blocking scheme,'' Zuttah said. "If I free up I might look that way, because he is a special player. But we're not going to change the integrity of our protections.''

Suh said the way teams play him has changed dramatically since the beginning of the season, with double teams increasing exponentially. Morris knows why.

"The question we all had about him back when he was being so dominant in college was, 'Can he be just as dominant when he's going up against men in the NFL?' " Morris said. "The answer is, 'Yes.'"

Since The Lions lost defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch to a neck injury two games ago, however, Suh has failed to record a sack and his four tackles during that span represent a season low.

Not that any of that will alter the Bucs' approach. They're preparing for Suh's best, and Morris believes the respect bordering on fear that they've developed for him may actually help them achieve their goal of stopping him.

"I think you have to have a sense of urgency against him,'' Morris said. "That healthy fear is always a good thing. It keeps you on your toes, keeps you on the details, keeps you razor-sharp throughout the game.''

Razor sharp would seem to be a prerequisite for battling the Lions' House of Spears.