Meet the NFL player on a 'Suicide Mission'

• LaRon Landry's hits this season have helped take three running backs out of games
• Miami Dolphins players objected when Landry said he'd be "head-hunting" on Sunday
• His response: "Don't blame me. I'm playing within" the rules

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – LaRon Landry realizes now he used a bad word the other day.

Not a naughty, four-letter word. No, the New York Jets' safety used a buzz word that can get one into some hot sauce – er, hot water – with the NFL these days when he said he'd be going "head-hunting" against the Miami Dolphins this Sunday.

"That wasn't smart of me to say," the Jets' outspoken safety said.

That's about as close to an apology one can expect from Landry regarding his style of play, which for years has been fast, aggressive and, in some opponents' opinions, reckless. In less than three months playing with the Jets after five seasons with the Washington Redskins, Landry has injured two running backs (the Carolina Panthers' Jonathan Stewart and the Buffalo Bills' Fred Jackson) and was in the scrum that hurt the Dolphins' Reggie Bush last month.

Landry knows he didn't injure Bush and that it was defensive lineman Sione Pouha who fell on Bush's knee, but he heard from Dolphins players who didn't like the low shot Landry took at Bush's knees, just like the low blows he delivered to Stewart and Jackson.

In this installment of USA TODAY Sports' weekly Q&A, Landry makes no apologies for the damage he's doing to other opponents' bodies – as well as to his own – while also talking about the "fun" being taken out of the game by the league's strict rules on contact.

And to any Dolphin upset with the injury to Bush, he has the following advice: "You're just another player. … Play the game."

What kind of reaction did you see to your using the term "head-hunting?"

I saw it on Twitter. I read the critics and all the hate. I feel some way towards it, but certain things you can't disclose to the public about how you really feel about it. But I take it to heart, because I'm really not a dirty player at all. I'm a passionate player and I do anything to win. That's what it is. I talk to my parents about it all the time and they know it, too.

There is a fine line between dirty and passionate play these days, though. You understand that?

I love the game, man. You've got to play within the system. You can't be above the system. That's the rules and regulations. You have to abide by that. Certain things are taking the fun away from the game, in a sense, but you've gotta do what you have to do in order to play.

Is it an overreaction by the league, in your opinion?

Nah, they have a lot of concussions out there. You don't want to be a vegetable. The league is trying to protect you for longevity. Players have families and people who care about them. It's understood. I don't understand when it comes across that I'm trying to injure guys, trying to blow their knees out and do this or that. Man, that's a legal hit. Don't blame me. I'm playing within the NFL's system. So my whole mind-set is not to end your career because I know how it feels to be out. I've been out for two years and haven't played a full season (because of injuries).

Did you hear it from the Dolphins' players?

Yeah, they're still talking about it now, and I didn't even injure Reggie. I'm like, 'Do y'all watch tape?' I don't get into the jarring back and forth. It's word of mouth.

But you heard from the players on the field that day?

Yeah, I got a little whiff of it: 'That was (messed) up!' I didn't get into it. It's just another game. You're just another player. We have a lot more football left. This is the last game I'm gonna play y'all guys. You're not bothering me. You're not worrying me. Play the game, man. Play the game. I love the game. I'm not worrying about y'all. Really. I'm trying to dominate so we can win a ballgame. I'm not trying to dominate you because of you. I play the way I play because of the guys behind me, not the people in front of me.

You said you wouldn't stop "head-hunting" no matter how many penalties and fines. You also said you'd do anything to win.

Anything.

Hypothetically, in a loose pile, you see a running back's ankle and nobody can see you…

Oh, no, that's dirty. When I say I'll do anything to win, I'll lay it on the line. Since high school, I've been writing 'Suicide Mission' on my chest. I don't know how I'm going to come out. I don't know. I'm going to lay my body on the line. My parents know that, too.

You write that on a T-shirt, right?

No, right on my chest. Right over my tatts. In black Sharpie.

Have your parents told you to chill out?

Well, my daddy coached me up until middle school. In high school, he was cool with the coaches, and he would tell them, 'Don't give him no slack.' He was the worst coach ever. And when I say worst, I mean getting on me, no slack, no showboating, just hard-nosed football and get your ass out. Now, he'll tell me, 'You can't really keep on putting your body on the line like that. You have to preserve your body. You want to play another eight years. You want to do this and that.'

So it's the opposite advice now?

No, he wants me to play hard, but to choose my battles. Certain battles, I could just make a great tackle. But me, I'm (claps hands) full-speed all the time. I only know one way to get it done. That's my style.

What do you mean when you say your parents know how you lay your body on the line?

The example is of us three, three brothers, and out of us three they said if there was a brick wall up, my brothers would find the best way to get around it, come up with some kind of knowledge to get around it. Me, I'd try to break through it. That's just my mentality. I'd do anything to get it done. I've done a lot of daredevil (stuff), man, like jumping out of the back of a truck.

I think I was 8 years old, coming back from baseball practice. My dad was the coach and he used to pick up all the kids in the neighborhood. We had a big, old F-150 with a camper on the back. Old school. I'm sitting on the back of the truck and I'm like, 'Bro, I betcha I could jump out the back of the truck and fly like Superman.' Mind you the truck is going about 45. Next thing you know – vroom – I jump out there, put my hands up and everything and I fell straight on my face. Boom! Flat on my face. It was all (messed) up. My dad asked where I was and saw me running down the street, face bloodied, teeth knocked out, everything, I got the worst butt-whupping ever. With a bloodied face.

So you were already beat up and you got another one on top of it?

Yeah, because I'm known for doing some daredevil (stuff) just to prove a point.

What was the point?

That I could fly like Superman. I thought I could.

You've talked about your mentality of willing yourself to win. Has there been enough of that in your locker room?

I don't know. Individually, that's what I try to bring to the table and have guys feed off that. You can't really make somebody do that. They've gotta have that within them. That has to be their personality, their makeup. If you see guys not built like that, you have to take up that slack. I take that slack up. Even if I was the only guy like that, I take that slack to want to diffuse anything. I like that.

Diffuse what?

Anything that happens on the field. If you need a big play, I love that. I mean, please throw it my way. Please do that. Even if the outcome is bad, I love a challenge, I love competition. That's a competitor's dream. What guys want to compete on the beginner's level and just against guys they know they're going to dominate? I love a challenge.

There's just been so much talk about the quarterbacks. And it's everywhere. Inside the locker room, do guys believe in Mark Sanchez?

I do. I believe in both quarterbacks. I love the combination they have going on. There are so many things in your toolbox you can pull out, two totally different styles of quarterback.

What do you think about how Sanchez has handled things?

As a competitor, every guy wants to be first. Every guy doesn't want to come off the field. He's been a leader and a competitor, and he's the leader, he's our quarterback. As a leader, he's handled it well.

I'll be frank, I've heard from some folks defensive players have been jabbing Sanchez a bit during practice, saying things like, "Where's the other guy? Put Tebow in," to kind of prod him and test him.

Oh, yeah, well, they joke around with him. But it's a family thing. You're not going to joke around like that with a guy who can't take it. All it'll do is instill negative tension. It's a family, so we all know each other. We know what each individual is capable of doing. I don't really do it. I'm cool with both (quarterbacks). Tim coming from SEC football, us SEC guys stick together. It doesn't matter if it's a rivalry or not. And then, in talking to Mark, Mark's a cool guy. We always joke around.

Are the jabs at Sanchez in practice designed to stoke his competitive fires?

That's the whole thing. We're athletes, man. What type of athlete are you? I know what type of athlete I am. I'm a competitor. I'm a warrior. I'm a fighter.