--Dungy also clearly saw Culpepper hasn't had a full grasp of the playbook. He came out of retirement, signed with the Lions on Nov. 4 and started his first of five straight games Nov. 9. "Yeah, they did much more earlier in the year, I think, with formations and different things that they're doing, and you can see that they've probably had very specific packages for him," Dungy said. "But it's grown every week and every week they've done a little bit more with him." Asked if that made Culpepper easier to defend, Dungy said: "I think it was for some of those teams earlier on when he first started playing. But they're going back to where they were, so we're going to prepare for everything."

--Why has Marinelli struggled so badly as a head coach when he learned directly from Dungy in Tampa Bay? "I'm not sure, because I know they do a lot of things the exact same way we do," Dungy said. "He's a guy that I would want to play for. When I talk to players there in Detroit, I think they enjoy playing for him. They work hard. They're pretty fundamentally sound and pretty detail-oriented. So it's just kind of a mystery why it hasn't gone better, for sure." Does Marinelli lack enough talented players? "I'm sure that's part of it," said Dungy, who inherited quarterback Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. "Obviously we've had the same quarterback for 11 years now, the same system and pretty much the same assistant coaches for seven years. So that continuity is a part of it. But why they were 6-2 at the beginning of last year and really looked like they had it going in the right direction and doing things the same way and it hasn't panned out as well, it's hard to put a finger on that."

--Though Marinelli is always upbeat, he loves football and history. How does Dungy think he's handling being 0-13? "I know if anybody can handle it, Rod Marinelli's the guy who can," Dungy said. "I know it bothers him. He has no sense of anything other than success, and he wants to succeed there very badly, and he believes in his players. So he's going to just continue to coach and do things the way he believes in them and try to get it going. But I know it's difficult. When we were together, we lost our first five in Tampa and that seemed like a lifetime. So I can't really imagine what 13 is like."

--The Lions released cornerback Brian Kelly on Tuesday. Did they miscalculate how much Kelly had left when they signed him as a free agent in the off-season? "That's hard to say," coach Rod Marinelli said. "He had a great preseason. I give Brian all the credit. You know how I feel about him. Was that a tough deal for me? Yeah." In 11 games with the Lions, including 10 starts, Kelly had no interceptions and only one pass break-up. On Sunday against Minnesota, he was active but didn't play for the second time this season. He had sunk to third or fourth on the depth chart, and the fourth cornerback must contribute on special teams. "At this point in his career, I didn't think he could do that," Marinelli said. "He's still got some of the skills, but I just felt being where he's at in terms of that third or fourth guy, I needed to then bring a young guy in." The Lions signed Dexter Wynn, a six-year NFL vet who played the Tampa Two at Colorado State and can help in the return game.

--Middle linebacker Buster Davis was one of the Lions' final cuts before the season. Now he will start against them Sunday for the Colts. He is coming off his first NFL start, replacing Gary Brackett (leg). Asked if he had his way if he would have kept Davis and moved rookie Jordon Dizon to the strong side, Marinelli said: "Those are tough calls at the end. But we knew he was a very physical player, and he's playing well. He's done a nice job for them."

--Center Dominic Raiola wasn't upset the Lions fined him $7,500 for flipping off hecklers Sunday. "They did what they had to do," Raiola said. "That's fine. I'm fine with that." Pressed on the matter, Raiola said with a laugh: "It's going to be automatically deducted. There's nothing to talk about. It's done." Asked if he would change his behavior, Raiola said he had done this before and been fined for it before by former Lions coach Steve Mariucci. "Change what?" Raiola said. "What am I a bad apple now? Am I a bad apple? ... I got fined before. Mooch fined me. I got fined before for doing stuff with the crowd. So this is not the first time. If I was a bad apple, yeah, I'd be telling you right now I want to be traded. I'm not saying that, because I don't feel I'm a bad apple."

BY THE NUMBERS: 6 - Touchdown passes Peyton Manning threw against the Lions the last time he faced them in a regular-season game, in 2004, and he played only three quarters.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Execution is killing us." - Lions RB Kevin Smith, speaking figuratively.