National Football League

Lions choosing not to talk about Suh's meeting

Published Oct. 31, 2011 11:26 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Detroit Lions have a lot of good things to talk about, including being 6-2 for the first time since 2007, and Calvin Johnson's sensational season.

They're not really interested in discussing other hot topics such as Ndamukong Suh's meeting with NFL officials.

''The less I say about it, the better,'' Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said Monday when asked if he would join Suh.

Suh is scheduled to speak with the league Tuesday during a bye-week session set up at his request to talk about rules he has broken. He told reporters after Sunday's 45-10 win in Denver that the meeting will be an opportunity to have good dialogue.

His agent, Roosevelt Barnes, told The Associated Press he will be with Suh in New York at NFL headquarters.

''Ndamukong just wants to get a better understanding of what the rules are,'' Barnes said.

The Lions have created a buzz this season for winning, just three years after being the NFL's first 0-16 team, and for a perception by some that they're a dirty team.

''I just think we're a passionate team,'' receiver Nate Burleson said. ''I'd rather be called nasty, mean or too tough than soft.''

For a change, people have to call Detroit good and might have to talk about the franchise getting to the playoffs for the first time this century.

The Lions have won their first four road games, and of the last 35 teams that have done that since 1990, more than 91 percent of them made the playoffs, according to STATS LLC.

''Wow,'' Burleson said when he was told of the fact. ''That's a pretty good sign.''

The Lions haven't had a 4-0 start on the road since 1956, when they went on to win the NFL title, and they've won a franchise-record six straight away from the Motor City dating to last season.

Detroit is off until playing Nov. 13 at Chicago and the break might help running back Jahvid Best and defensive tackle Nick Fairley get on the field. Best has been out for two straight games with a concussion and the team's bye week doesn't lead Schwartz to thinking he'll have Best back against the Bears.

''It's not one of those things you can have a timetable on,'' Schwartz said. ''It's not something you can put tape around or tough out.''

Fairley, meanwhile, said an off week will make him ''110 percent healthy'' to play Chicago. The first-round pick was out for two months after having surgery on his left foot, played in three games and then was inactive against the Broncos. Fairley said he plans to spend a lot of time this week at the team headquarters to rehab his foot that was in a protective boot Monday.

''I just want to get my body right to help out down the stretch,'' he said. ''It's been very stressful for me that I haven't been able to help the team more, but these guys are getting the job done.''

The Lions snapped their two-game skid with a statement, routing Denver with their biggest scoring outburst on the road since 1967.

Johnson helped - as usual. He caught his 11th touchdown, joining Randy Moss as the only players since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to catch 11 TD passes in his team's first eight games, and the sixth to pull off the feat in league history.

''He's on those kind of paces, but just like our team, 6-2 doesn't mean a lot if we don't do something with that over the second half of the season,'' Schwartz said. ''I'm sure Calvin won't feel good about his first half of the season if he can't continue to have that kind of season or even play better over the second half of the year.''

Detroit is entering a break halfway through the season with a sense of relief with a 6-2 record instead of slipping to 5-3 and answering questions about its 5-0 start being a fluke - and possibly not making the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

''We've shown we're a good team,'' defensive end Cliff Avril said. ''But we also know that we haven't done anything yet and that there's a lot of work left to do.''