Rod Marinelli was mostly right Monday when he said "football is about execution. It's not so much what play is being called." Still, a day later, it's tough to understand the thinking behind some of the Lions' playcalling.

First, their decision to not try and run the ball against a defense shredded by Earnest Graham a week earlier is puzzling. The Lions have been most successful this year when they establish some semblance of a ground game. Kevin Jones was coming off three straight solid performances, and even if his foot was hurting — I don't believe it was any worse than normal entering the game; if so why wasn't Tatum Bell active? — four carries is not enough.

Marinelli said Monday the Lions had an advantage with their receivers. "That's what we do," he said. But they did that group and quarterback Jon Kitna a disservice by not giving it more room to operate. Kitna is a fine passer and even better leader, but 25 games into his Lions career it's safe to say he (like most quarterbacks) is turnover prone when he's asked to one-dimensionally win games.

Just as baffling as the Lions' aversion to running the football was offensive coordinator Mike Martz's call for an end-around to Shaun McDonald with the Lions driving through the air early in the third quarter. Detroit was down just 10 points at the time and Kitna was in the midst of a string of 10 straight completions, but the play ended with McDonald fumbling after a 15-yard loss. The play never stood a chance, and Arizona scored on the next series to put the game away.

"Hindsight I wish that play never happened, but it was the right call for the time and it just didn't work out for us," Kitna said Sunday.

Marinelli is right. At the end of the day, execution matters most. If McDonald gets a block, if Kitna doesn't commit four turnovers, the Lions (6-3) don't lose 31-21. But just as offense, defense and special teams work hand-in-hand, play-calling is bunk buddies with execution. The Lions came up short in both areas Sunday.