The Lions will go into the game Sunday with a very questionable running game. Jahvid Best, hampered by turf toe injuries last season, was limited late in camp by a concussion. That wasn't always the case when the Lions played the Bucs. In October of 1997, Barry Sanders became the first player in NFL history to break off two 80-yard touchdown against the Bucs. A few years before that, in 1994, he burned the Bucs for 237 yards in a game.

--DT Ndamukong Suh and Bucs DT Gerald McCoy will forever be linked by the 2010 draft. They went second and third overall, respectively, after QB Sam Bradford. Neither of them particularly likes the storyline. "Yeah, it's getting old," McCoy said. "There is no battle between us two," Suh said. "It's just like the draft; we had nothing to do with each other's draft status and when we were picked. All we could do was prove how good we are and let the chips fall where they may." Still, Sunday will be the first time they'll be on the field at the same time since Nebraska and Oklahoma hooked up in 2009. "These are both extremely talented players," said Lions' LG Rob Sims. "I am just glad our guy is on our side."

--Suh would rather talk about his matchup against Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. "Josh is a challenge," Suh said. "I know that from going against him in college and against Tampa last year. He's a good friend of mine and I know how he plays. He's tough, physical and he loves to make plays with his feet and his arm. It's a great challenge but one we are definitely up for. I always have joy in hitting him and being able to sack him a couple of times just to rub it in his face. We are friends off the field, not on the field." The Lions hit Freeman six times last season and sacked him three times.

--Veteran DT Corey Williams was asked what he thought of a comment made by Suh after the Lions beat the Patriots in the preseason. Suh told CBS that the goal of the Lions defensive line this season was to incite fear in opposing quarterbacks. "That's a great statement," Williams said. "That's what we're about. We're about getting after it and getting quarterbacks on the ground. I mean, (Tom) Brady's a great quarterback. We were told that he had said he wanted to get a hit a little more (in the preseason.) So we hit him. I don't know how he liked it, but he got hit. A lot."

--One more about Suh: The pitchman never quits. Suh invited a bunch of his teammates to C Dominic Raiola's house on Tuesday to sample a new Xbox video game he's promoting for Ubisoft. The game is called "Driver San Francisco," and Suh hooked up with Ubisoft in the summer in Europe to race real cars in the Gumball 3000. "I got the opportunity to bring this game to life and I got to play it for the first time today," Suh said. "It was close to the real thing in Europe." Sadly, he didn't dominate his own game. Raiola beat him twice.

--The Lions aren't backing away from expectations. The goal is to win the NFC North and end the long playoff drought. But the memo has gone out -- stop talking about it. "It just doesn't do us any good," coach Jim Schwartz said. But something he told the team at the start of the week resonated throughout the locker room. "He told us we have the potential to be the best team he's ever been a part of," said RG Rob Sims. "He's been on some great teams and I agree with him. I look around and I think this can be the best team I've ever been on."

BY THE NUMBERS
44 -- Sacks by the Lions last season, 6th in the NFL

39 -- Sacks by the defensive line, 2nd in the NFL

QUOTE TO NOTE
"We're going to play physical, we're going to play aggressive, we're going to attack and we're going to show up to the football with a bad attitude. That's what we stress every day and guys have bought into it. And that's what they want to be known for." -- Defensive line coach Kris Kocurek on the mindset of the front four.

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