--Marinelli said he does most of the talking during his sessions with Ford and says many of the same things he does in his news conferences, though in much more detail. "He just listens," Marinelli said. "He's very encouraging." Doesn't Ford get upset? "He's a winner, sure," Marinelli said. "No question. No doubt."

--What does Marinelli tell Ford? "The truth," Marinelli said. "I tell him exactly why. If I mess it up, I tell him. If we didn't coach it right, I tell him. If we need to do this better, I tell him the truth. That's how I deal, my whole life. I just tell him the truth, and he makes his decisions off that. ... I always tell him the truth and what I feel, but I also put it on me. It's my job. That's what I'm supposed to do, win here."

--Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte is so old, he remembers the last Lions quarterback to start a playoff game. It was him, in 1999. "Yeah, you know, that's why they call me old-school," Frerotte, 37, joked in a conference call with Detroit reporters. "That's how long I've been around." Frerotte looked back on his lone season with the Lions and what has happened to them since. Barry Sanders just retired, and nobody expected us to do well," Frerotte said. "We still had crowds in there, and the place still loves the Lions. Detroit loves the Lions, and they still get people to come to games. The (Silverdome) got loud when I was there. We were able to do some good things despite not having Barry. It's hard to believe that with the money the Fords have put into it and everything that things haven't turned around for the Lions."

--The Lions apparently will scrap the no-huddle offense they tried Sunday against Chicago, even though it might be beneficial against a Minnesota team with a good run defense. "I know what you're saying, but it's so loud," Marinelli said of the Metrodome. "We had a hard time with communication last week. When you have four young players playing, all the communication that may go on, it's tough. I want to make sure we're doing something right. We're getting out of the huddle and we're setting hopefully a presence of just being physical and try to get the ball downfield to the big guys."

--Wide receiver Calvin Johnson doesn't say much. But don't think that means he's different than any other star wide receiver coming off a game with two catches for 16 yards. "Every receiver wants the ball," Johnson said. "That's a given right there. That's one of the questions you don't have to ask." What are teams doing to take him away? "I mean, teams don't really do nothing different," Johnson said. "Sometimes they do, but a lot of coordinators, they stick to what they do. It's just a matter of us doing what we've got to do out there."

BY THE NUMBERS: 81 - Lions' point differential this season, the worst through the first four games of a season in franchise history.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I feel bad for Detroit. They deserve so much better than what we're doing. It's a shame right now." -- WR Mike Furrey, on the Lions' 0-4 start.