--Marinelli is pleased with what Daunte Culpepper has added at quarterback in little more than two weeks. "Daunte gives you something," he said. "You guys have gotten to know him now. He's positive. He's upbeat. He loves this stuff. He's not just a talent, he's got those other intangibles you always keep looking for at that position. To me, it's one of the most important intangibles you can have. And now he's a playmaker, because all of a sudden, a play can look like it's dead and he'll scoot outside or he'll up and run or throw on the run. He gives you some playmaking ability, which opens up your receivers and opens up your runner."

--Marinelli sounds like he regrets not signing Culpepper sooner. "I do that stuff to myself all the time," he said. "I mean, I just wear myself out. No, I do. You look at, 'Could I have done better here? Could I do better there? Can I make a decision better?' Then I go back and try to take all the facts that I had and say, 'Could I have done better there?' Yeah, I could have done better."

--Culpepper said he feels more comfortable and can handle more of the offense this week. As for the possibility of the Lions going 0-16? "I don't think about that," Culpepper said. "Every game is an opportunity to win, so I'm thinking about winning. That being said, that's how I have to approach it. And that's how I try to approach spreading the word to everybody on the team that it's about every day going out and getting a little bit better, because if we continue to get better, I definitely don't think that would be the case."

--Gruden is a Culpepper fan. "We had Daunte in here ourselves last season," Gruden said. "I've always had great respect for him. He's got a big arm. You see his mobility, and as a runner, he's a problem. I think he just deserves another opportunity. He's had some unbelievable seasons in the NFL, and he's not an old guy. He's a young guy. He's got some charisma about him I think that rallies players. He still possesses tremendous ability. Kudos to the Lions for getting him in there."

--Gruden is an even bigger fan of wide receiver Calvin Johnson, though. The Lions drafted him second overall last year. The Bucs picked fourth. "Probably spent 10 days of my life in Atlanta following him around just marveling at his talent and hoping maybe we could get him in the draft," Gruden said. "But he can get on you, man. He can get up in the air and take a ball away from you when the coverage is perfect. He can block you and drive you right into the carpet. He's brilliant after the catch. He's just a kid. He's just getting started. He's had to endure a lot of changes, not only at the quarterback position, but the offense, the structure has changed from Mike Martz to the coaching staff that they have now. Sometimes that stymies your ability to really explode onto the scene. But he possesses all of the traits that we would be looking for in a wide receiver, certainly. And he's a character guy, which impresses me."

BY THE NUMBERS: 38-22 -- Record of the Lions' remaining opponents, tying the Lions with the Eagles and Panthers for the toughest remaining schedule.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Maybe a little bit. But the way the season is going, we just want to try to get a win." -- CB Brian Kelly, a former Buccaneer, on if the Lions' Tampa Bay connections will have an impact on Sunday's game.