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“The only strange part about last week was actually going through all the walkthroughs and then going through warm-ups and then finally realizing that I couldn’t play because the night before and that same day I thought I was going to be playing.

“I tried to ease my mind off it, but as I started to progress more and more in walkthrough, my mouth wouldn’t participate – it started to swell up. When the coach finally sat me down, I was miserable.

“I think the last time I sat out of a game was my junior year when I got my first concussion, but that was one game and I was miserable then. After that, I was like, ‘Man, I will never sit out another game if it was my choice.’

“It hurt me more not to go out there and help my teammates than my tooth did. I felt really bad. I was kind of down on myself. Actually, I still am down on myself. I’ve got a lot to prove this week.

“Coach changing up the schedule sparks us up a little bit. With the way the season has been going, it doesn’t make sense to keep repeating the same routine and everything. I think what he’s doing is very smart. Health-wise, too, it gives us a lot of rest and it helps us focus more on the opponent than ourselves.

“I did watch the Monday Night game. They lost, unfortunately, but they’re still a great team. The record doesn’t give them enough credit for how good they are, really. Both of us have records we would rather not have, but we’re both NFL teams and we’re going to go out there and give it our best – may the best team win.

“One of the biggest things the coaches stress is to not look at a record. We can’t underestimate anybody. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter about the record. It matters how many points we put on the board, how many minutes we’re going to play, how many plays we’re going to execute while we’re out there. So I think it’s important that we focus more on ourselves and not the opponent.”

Head Coach Jim Schwartz announced after the game that a handful of players who were inactive at Minnesota were inactive due to game plan.

Schwartz: “Coach’s decision. It was my decision. They weren’t injury situations.”

Schwartz was referring to running back Aaron Brown, defensive end Cliff Avril and defensive tackle Landon Cohen.

Much like inactivating defensive tackle Grady Jackson last week against Seattle’s zone-blocking running scheme to go with more mobile, lateral-moving linemen, Brown, Avril and Cohen were inactive at Minnesota.

Schwartz: “We kept up Marvin White, we kept up Vinny Ciurciu. We had an eye toward covering kicks. We didn’t want to be shorthanded in covering kicks, so we went with seven defensive linemen. They were game plan decisions.”

Schwartz says this doesn’t mean he is “down” on any of those three players.

Schwartz on Avril: “I’m not going to critique his play. We made him inactive today; I don’t anticipate that being an every-week thing, but Cliff’s made plays for us. He played tough against Green Bay. We had different match-ups today. Coach’s decision – my decision – as not part of our 45 active, we’re not down on him as a player.

“We’re not down on any of those guys as players. But we’ve got to try to put our 45 that give us the best chance to win that particular game on the field.”

Another player who was unexpectedly unable to play was safety Louis Delmas.

Delmas had an infected tooth and jaw that acutely worsened throughout pregame warm-ups that ultimately sidelined him for the game.

Schwartz: “Louis is a tough, tough guy, but that was a debilitating thing. When you have a really, really bad toothache you can’t hit anybody, you can’t run, you can’t talk – and you get a safety that can’t talk and a safety that can’t hit anybody; a safety that can’t run, (it doesn’t work).”

What was unfortunate about the toothache getting worse throughout pregame warm-ups is that Schwartz was expecting him to play when turning in the inactive list an hour and a half before game time.

Schwartz: “In hindsight, it would have been better to know that beforehand, but Louis is a tough guy. He thought he would be able to answer the bell and he wasn’t able to and left us a little bit shorthanded. That’s just something we need to do a little better job of communicating before the game, but Louis is a tough guy. If he could have gone, he would have gone. He was distraught that he couldn’t play today.”

This weekend the Lions travel to Minnesota to take on the 7-1 Vikings.

During their first meeting in Week 2 at Ford Field the Lions defense did a good job of containing the Vikings’ run game, particularly in the first half, holding RB Adrian Peterson to 41 yards.

In the second half, Minnesota was able to make adjustments which ultimately tipped the game in their favor.

CB Will James:  “We need to be consistent. The first game, we did a good job in the first half and then Adrian Peterson is the type of back that you can hold for 10 plays, 11 plays, 12 plays and then in one play he’ll bust out for a 78-yard touchdown. It’s just about being consistent and everybody doing their job of staying in their gaps so that he doesn’t have anywhere to run and try to bottle him up.”

This week James and the rest of the Lions’ defensive backs honed in on their tackling skills to prevent explosive plays on Sunday.

James: “Everything comes back on the secondary. Nobody sees what happens on the inside, nobody sees what happens with the front four and the linebackers; but when you’re a part of the secondary everything gets exposed, so when there’s a big play, we had something to do with it. But it starts up front – not to take anything away from our responsibilities – but it starts up front and then it gets to the second level and we have to be the last line of defense. It shouldn’t get past us. If a big run does happen, it should have never gotten past us. We’re focused on really making sound tackles, keeping leverage on the ball and keeping it inside.”

“I feel great about this week’s game. We’re a lot better since the last time we played them and, obviously, they got a lot better. We’re going to try to attack the most important thing: the run game and also their pass game with Brett Favre back there. I’m feeling great as a team and as a player.
 
“Favre’s comfortability with his offense makes a big difference because starting on the fourth and fifth week is when the quarterbacks, the receivers and the running backs get things together.

“We got them early, they beat us and this week is going to be even more challenging just trying to stop their whole package as far as Brett Favre throwing it to jet-fast receivers and also Adrian Peterson back there. It’s going to be a challenge that we look forward to stopping.
 
“Preparing for this week is different because I’m not used to seeing a team in one season twice. It’s different but it’s also a good thing because I basically know what they’re going to do, I just have to be disciplined enough to go out there, read my keys and execute the plays.
 
“A big thing will be stopping the run. Playing against a back like Adrian Peterson, him running around the edge is something every defense has to take under consideration to stop him. He’s great in between the tackles, but he’s excellent outside the tackles.

“Once he gets outside the box, he’s gone – you can basically throw up your hands for a touchdown. We’ve got to do a great job of trying to contain him. It’s going to hard, but we’ve just got to do a good job of getting all 11 hats on the ball.”

Gunther Cunningham is starting to breathe a little easier now that he is getting his personnel back on the field.

Last week, defensive end Dewayne White, defensive tackle Sammie Hill and safety Ko Simpson returned to the starting lineup. This week, defensive end Jason Hunter was able to practice after an ankle injury had him sidelined for two games and is listed as probable for this week’s game.

Cunningham: “I really like Jason because he’s one tough guy. He’s like Jared DeVries; everyday he’s a workman-like guy and his play, believe or not, brings some leadership. He doesn’t even say anything. He sets a great example of what we’re trying to get to, so I’m real happy about that.”

White was a factor in last week’s game, batting down a ball for an interception. Cunningham says Hill did alright after missing three games with an ankle injury, but has practiced better this week.

Injuries have definitely been a factor for the Lions’ defense, but Cunningham sees the mental game as the most significant.

Cunningham: “Whether the guys were here in the past or came in new, we’ve got to get this monkey off our back because in the last few games we’ve pitched seven-and-a-half quarters of shutout football, and then we (got down on ourselves after) the Pittsburgh game. That problem arose.”

“That problem,” Cunningham says, is over-eagerness. Players are anxious to make plays – and are actually in good position to make plays – but are losing correct angles on the ball because they are pursuing too quickly.

It was a struggle the defense had against Steven Jackson last week.

Cunningham: “One example I can give, Will James came in, in great position, and he knew what the (play) was going to be. He felt it coming but he came too fast and got tripped up on the tight end or the outside linebacker – it was a combination of guys, there was a pile there. He slipped and fell, and that’s when bad things started.”

The good news is: being over-eager can be corrected.

Cunningham: “It’s not one guy; it’s two or three guys. I think they’re trying too darn hard. They need to focus more on their leverage and make sure they enter the play in the proper way.”

“As an offense, we’ve been on and off at times and that last game, we couldn’t seem to put it in the end zone. As far as me, I played well in the Rams game, but before that I hadn’t played well the previous few weeks. But I improved in the Rams game, so I’m going to try to build on that.
 
“I was just struggling with being decisive. I was getting out there thinking too much when the defense would do something that was unexpected. It was just me being real indecisive and not being able to play as hard because I didn’t really know what to do.
 
“You’ve got to know what to do quickly. Defenses are moving around just like you, so you’ve got to know what to do. If you don’t know what to do then it messes up timing and everything. Last game, I just went with it and it helped me out.
 
“As an offense, we just need to stick to the basics, do what we do best and not try to do too much. Everybody needs to take care of their individual things and it will bring us together as an offense.
 
“My process for preparing each week is to study the whole defense and the coverages that they like to run. I study blitzes; as far as ends, what they like to do on pass rushes, if they’re an every-down rusher and whether they are a speedster guy that likes to get on the edge. You’ve got to study the whole defense because tight ends move around so much.
 
“This week we will definitely be keyed into the crowd, but we still have to focus in and not really worry about snap count. We have thought about it. To prepare, we just work on the silent snap count and stuff like that so we don’t have to worry about it.”

“As far as last week’s game, every NFL team is a good team. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be in the NFL. I think people can get caught up a little too much in their record than their personnel.
               
“I highly doubt anybody would overlook us because we play hard – we play very hard. That’s one thing that the Lions fans and everybody in the world is going to get from the Detroit Lions. They know we’re going to go out there and play as hard as we can. So I highly doubt that Seattle overlooks us.

“They’ve got a great team, they’ve got great personnel. We’re going to prepare as hard as we can for them this week and hopefully do what we do best: play football. Matt Hasselbeck is a mobile quarterback. He can sit in there; he has a strong arm, he’s very smart, he reads defenses really well.
               
“I think he got hurt this week but, as of right now, we are looking to play against him. We look forward to playing against him; he’s a great quarterback. He’s very smart and just to have an opportunity to play against him is a pleasure.
               
“T.J. Houshmandzadeh is a great receiver. He’s very aware. He has good ability. He moves well off the ball and has the ability to get open. He has great hands and he’s very smart, so that’s going to be a big test for me.
               
“Every week, I prepare myself for the 12th man. Going into Green Bay – that was one of the toughest games I ever played in because that crowd was ridiculous. Going into Qwest Field, being challenged, their crowd gets into it as well. But, like I said, as long as we go in and do what we do, we can take the crowd out of it. Hopefully we do that.”

“The bye week gave me time to relax and refresh my legs. It helped me get my mind right for the week coming up. I went to Western to watch their homecoming game, plus it was my little cousin’s birthday and he plays for Western – Douglas Wiggins. I took him out and gave him a couple dollars for his birthday, so it was a fun weekend all an all.

“Mentally and physically I’m feeling very prepared. My body is very refreshed, mind-wise and physically. I’ve been out at practice working hard and I’ve been studying film as hard as possible, so I think all-in-all I’m very prepared. All-around, I feel I’m very prepared for the game.

“Looking back at the season so far, we already played 10 games – preseason and regular season – and that’s a college season already. But I can’t take it as that, I’m in the NFL now. We played six games and those six games are gone. All I can do now is think about the rest of the 10 games and hope the season will improve for us, but we have to take it one game at a time.

“I’ve been preparing for each game individually and not thinking about the next game, but just think about the next day. So, I take that approach throughout the week and six weeks passes by very quick.

“As far as the Rams, their record does not give them much credit for the assets that they’ve got on offense and on defense. They have by far one of the best running backs in the NFL in Steven Jackson. He’s very big, he can catch and he can run routes. You hardly see a big dude like that running routes as fast as he is and as physical as he is.

“They’ve also got a great quarterback in Marc Bulger.  The main thing we’ve got to do is to try and get a quick read on him because he has a very strong arm. Once he let’s go, it’s gone. If you’re not there on point, you’re not going to get there. I think for the secondary, we just got get a good read on him; react to the throw.”

Julian Peterson is familiar with the St. Louis Rams having played them twice a year from 2000-08 as a member of the San Francisco 49ers (2000-05) and Seattle Seahawks (2006-08). Peterson’s teams had a 10-5 record against the Rams over that span.

Because of his familiarity with the Rams’ offense, Peterson understands the importance of stopping their top threat, RB Steven Jackson. 

Peterson: “The biggest thing is you’ve got to stop Steven Jackson. You’ve got to make sure you bottle him up because he is pretty much their offense. They’ve got some good players out there but what I see is Jackson running hard. He is doing a good job running regardless of what their record is, so our biggest thing is bottling him up.”

Jackson has yet to score a touchdown this season, but has been productive despite a tough stretch from a team standpoint. He ranks third in the league in rushing with 635 yards on 143 carries (4.4 average), trailing Cincinnati’s Cedric Benson (720 yards) and Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson (687 yards).

Peterson: “He does everything. He can catch and run. He has the ability to rush for 1,000 yards and has the ability to catch close to 100 passes in a season. He’s a multi-purpose guy.”

Head Coach Jim Schwartz has been impressed with that production and also sees him as the key to stopping the Rams offensively.

Schwartz: “When you’re an 0-7 team, it’s hard to continually rush the football. What happens (when you’re behind) is: (you’re) not able to stick with the run. It says a lot about Steven Jackson that he can be where he is rushing the football – he’s strong, he can run inside, he’s got the speed to run outside, (and) they’re using him a lot in the passing game. (He’s a) very, very talented player.”

Being aware of Jackson’s running style is helpful for a defense because you can come up with ways to counter it. Peterson knows this more than anyone.  

Peterson: “The biggest thing with him is you can’t let him just come at you full steam because that when he’s at his best. You need to stop him before he gets started and try to slow him down at the line. You have to get him to chop his feet.”

The primary focus for the Lions this week hasn’t been game planning for the opposition; instead, players and coaches are taking the time to evaluate themselves individually and as a team and are looking forward to a couple of days off to recharge both physically and mentally.

TE Casey FitzSimmons, who’s entering his seventh season in Detroit, feels that this year’s bye couldn’t have come at a better time.

FitzSimmons: “I think that this is the latest that I’ve ever had a bye since I’ve been here, but it’s probably one of the best positions for us to be in with Calvin (Johnson), Matthew (Stafford) and all those guys being banged up and injured.”

In years past the week of the bye has generally been a short practice week, wrapping up on Wednesday.

This year, the practice schedule was a little different as players had Tuesday off and a practice on both Thursday and Friday morning.

FitzSimmons: “If we’re not winning and not doing the things that we need to get done then obviously we’ve got to fix it. That’s what we get paid to do: practice and work. It’s our job, so for us to come out here during the bye week, I’m looking at it as a chance to get better and get this team on the right track and win some football games.”

For ninth-year veteran tackle Jeff Backus, the extra days of work this week have been beneficial, giving players an opportunity to reflect on the past six weeks.

Backus: “This is definitely a different approach than we’ve had the last few years and I think it will give us a chance to make some drastic improvements here in the second half of the season. There’s nothing wrong with putting in a little extra work and doing some self-evaluations and trying to get better.”