Ndamukong Suh can't help himself, and the Lions, if truth be told, wouldn't want him any other way.
He got his hands on rookie quarterback Andy Dalton in the first quarter Friday and by the time the play was over, the ball had been released and Dalton, with his helmet spinning on the turf, was on the ground.
And Suh, for all his good intentions, was hit with a roughing the passer penalty and, if the league deems it was a blow to the head (which it didn't appear to be), a possible fine.
"He's trying his very best," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "But that's one of those situations where you have to know that the ball is gone. We kept a couple of drives alive with penalties and we have to do a better job of that, but we don't want to slow the guy down."
Suh's penalty and an unnecessary roughness call on middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch set up the Bengals' only score, a 27-yard field goal by Mike Nugent.
"They (officials) put it on the defensive player to know that the ball is gone," Schwartz said. "Ndamukong was on the quarterback when the quarterback still had the ball. But he got rid of it and you just have to be able to feel that. It's a difficult situation sometimes."
Suh, who had two quarterback hurries but no tackles, did not speak to the media.
"I think whenever you are starting off a new season, you will have penalties and you will have untimely things," said Tulloch, who had two tackles in limited duty. "But for the most part I think we held ourselves together."
Celebration delayed
Nate Burleson was ready to dance, but he had to wait for video replay to confirm what he already knew — that he dragged both feet in bounds on his 7-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
"If everybody knows me, they know I already have a celebration planned so when I got up, I was waiting for him to give me the touchdown signal and he didn't give it," Burleson said of the official. "I asked him, 'What happened? Was I out?' He said, 'Yeah, one of your feet was out.' So I just walked to the sideline.
"Then I saw the instant replay and obviously I knew I was in. He caught me off guard. I can't get my celebration in but I knew I had my feet drag right. I'm glad that the camera angle got it right."
As for the touchdown celebration — stay tuned.
"Next week, definitely," he said. "I'm like a little kid out here. I do have it planned so hopefully next week I'll get in the end zone and I'll show you what I was working on."
Highlights and lowlights
No. 3 quarterback Drew Stanton competed 7 of 15 passes for 110 yards. He also earned a nasty cut on his right elbow on his final play from scrimmage. On that play he was forced out of the pocket, and with a would-be tackler draped over him, he flung a pass across his body and across the field to fullback Jerome Felton for a 16-yard gain.
No. 4 quarterback Zac Robinson finished that drive off with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Nate Hughes.
… In the kicking battle, Jason Hanson booted a 37-yard field goal and Dave Rayner a 44-yarder.
… Defensive end Willie Young was active with four tackles. His pressure on quarterback Jordan Palmer in the fourth led to an interception by safety Ricardo Silva. Silva had five tackles.
… Nickel back Brandon McDonald and linebacker Bobby Carpenter had six tackles each.
… Cornerback Chris Houston had an interception and one well-timed pass deflection in the end zone.
Extra points
Here is a list of Lions who did not suit up: Titus Young (hamstring), Mikel Leshoure (Achilles), Alphonso Smith (foot), Jason Fox (foot), Jeff Backus (pectoral), Brandon Pettigrew (ankle), Andre Fluellen (hand), Maurice Morris (hand), cornerback Aaron Berry (groin), safety Randy Phillips (shoulder) and Nick Fairley (foot). Tony Ugoh, who left camp earlier in the week, has not returned.
… Johnson, who had mild ankle soreness Wednesday and Thursday, was in uniform.
… Suh, in USA Today, talking about the mission for both the defensive line and himself in 2011: "It's gone from the point of, 'You've earned the respect and (now it's to) earn fear.' I want to build on what I had last year individually, and as a team and a defensive line, we want people to respect us, and I felt we earned that last year. But we want people to fear us."
Johnson dissed
Cris Carter certainly knows how to stir up the citizenry around here.
It was bad enough all those years he was catching passes and helping the Vikings beat the Lions, but he nearly incited a verbal riot on the sports talk shows Friday when he did not list Calvin Johnson among his list of the six top receivers in the game today.
"Calvin Johnson, he's very, very good at Madden and Tecmo Bowl or whatever they're playing now," Carter said during a segment on ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" radio program. "But on film, when I watch film, and I break down the film, he's not to the point of these guys yet. That doesn't mean he can't play. He just not there yet."
Carter listed his top six as Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Greg Jennings, Reggie Wayne, DeSean Jackson and Roddy White.
In the course of the debate, Carter said that the Lions quarterback's struggles over the years couldn't be used as an excuse.
"We're trying to determine greatness," Carter said. "Calvin Johnson, you don't have to double-team him to take him out of the game. Now, I made eight Pro Bowls. I made it with five different quarterbacks. They weren't always great. So I don't want to hear the excuse that I'm not playing with a great quarterback.
"Larry Fitzgerald the last couple years, he hasn't played with a great quarterback, but he still gets the numbers. He still gets open. He still makes plays week in and week out. … Now, (Calvin Johnson) is a good player. He's just not great yet."
To be accurate, only one team had any success playing single coverage on Johnson last season. That was the New York Jets, with cornerback Darrelle Rivas. Johnson was limited to one catch.
Johnson made two catches for 37 yards and a touchdown in Friday's preseason game against the Bengals.
