ALLEN PARK, Mich. – The Detroit Lions, at least some of them, are tired of being labeled as an undisciplined bunch of misfits.
They formed a “leadership council” this year, comprised of several veteran players, including receiver Nate Burleson.
On Wednesday morning during practice, the entire team ran three half-gassers for each personal foul from Sunday’s 34-24 opening victory over Minnesota.
That amounted to running from sideline to sideline, and back, six times because of infractions committed by defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh for his illegal block and safety Louis Delmas for his taunting penalty.
“That came from the leadership council,” Burleson said of the players punishing themselves as a group. “Even though mistakes and personal fouls are individually based, at the end of the day it hurts everybody on the team.
“We had to do it. You can’t just talk about getting rid of those mistakes and not doing anything about it. It’s just a way of creating accountability.
“It’s foolish of a person to expect different results by doing the same thing. In years past, we weren’t as successful as we wanted to be. Let’s implement something that could help.
“It’s almost like you take it on as a family and just say, ‘I hope we learn our lesson.’ I think everybody was thinking that while we were running.”
Asked if they are punishing themselves for any other misdeeds, Burleson said, jokingly, “Not yet. I think if this continues we’ll lock a guy in a dark room and just beat him up.”
EXTRA POINTS
--- Defensive tackle Nick Fairley missed practiced for the second straight day because of a shoulder injury sustained in the opening game.
--- Linebacker Ashlee Palmer (ankle) appeared on the Lions' official injury report for the first time this week. He had fully participated Wednesday, but sat out all of Thursday's practice.
