Lions: Notebook

Lions LB Larry Foote says he's playing against Vikings

John Niyo / The Detroit News

Allen Park -- Larry Foote missed a second day of practice Thursday resting a sore knee, but he said he expects to play Sunday when the Lions face the Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome.

Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham does, too, though he also expects his veteran middle linebacker and captain to play better.

Foote was signed as a free agent in May after getting released by Pittsburgh, where he spent his first seven NFL seasons, winning two Super Bowl titles. He had a productive start with his new team, including an impressive showing in the home opener against the Vikings, when Foote had a game-high 10 tackles and a sack.

But his play has slipped a bit the last couple weeks, and it hasn't gone unnoticed.

"Larry Foote made a bunch of mistakes in the last game," Cunningham said. "And I'm really struggling coaching that guy because he gives us so much leadership. He makes plays, but he breaks down sometimes.

"He was in the same system for seven years. Every day, he heard those words. Now he's hearing these new things in the heat of battle every single day. I told him (Wednesday) morning 'Larry, you got to let it go. You have to help me get rid of this stuff.'"

Linebacker issues

While Foote is expected to play against Minnesota, weakside linebacker Ernie Sims won't. He'll likely miss at least a couple games because of a Grade 2 hamstring strain suffered in the second half of last week's loss at Seattle. Rookie DeAndre Levy will make his third start of the season Sunday in Sims' place.

With two starters out and another, Julian Peterson , practicing at end Thursday -- sticking to his season-long routine -- Levy and second-year backup Jordon Dizon were the most experienced linebackers in position-group drills. That meant a more vocal role for the soft-spoken Levy in practice.

Asked if he was as loud as Foote, he laughed, "You try to be. You can't be out there timid. I mean, he talks a lot, but you've gotta do what you gotta do."

Who's the starter?

Halfway through the regular season, Detroit has used eight different starting lineups on defense. It'll be nine after Sunday's game at Minnesota. But don't expect Cunningham to scale back his play calls -- something Detroit did a year ago as injuries mounted in an 0-16 season.

"We had a situation in our staff meeting, yesterday, where that came up and somebody said, 'You're going to have to cut down the game plan because ' -- and I snapped," Cunningham said. "I said that's b.s.. We're not going to have to do anything. We're going to coach the young guys just like the old guys and the veterans that (have been) starting."

And that hasn't changed, even with a rash of injuries on the defensive line last month -- only Grady Jackson (rest) sat out practice Thursday -- and a couple season-ending injuries in the secondary.

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