Lions plan to use Suh, Fairley as defensive ends, citing Liam Neeson as "inspiration"

ALLEN PARK, Mich. - Gunther Cunningham is a fan of surprises.

But not even he could keep this one hidden.

The Lions defensive coordinator talked Saturday about a new wrinkle he'll be adding to the defense this season.

He plans to occasionally move defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley to the outside of the defensive line. The move will give defenses a different, much more powerful look up front.

"It started in the OTAs. Some of the coaches wanted to wait. I said, 'Let's start,'" he explained.

The inspiration for the package's name came from some in-home entertainment at the Cunningham household.

"I call it Grey. There's a great movie out called "(The) Grey. If you watch it, you'll know what I mean."

Liam Neeson stars in the film, which portrays a group of people stranded in freezing temperatures, and fending for their lives. They fight off ravenous wolves one-by-one, until Neeson's character fights his own battle.

"The wolves kind of trick him. That's kind of what we're doing."

Cunningham said the players have been all for the package. He said the great teams in football history have "made a living off of it."

Nick Fairley remained secretive about the frontline plans, until he was convinced Cunningham had formally let the cat out of the bag.

"It'll be good for me to get outside for a couple snaps. Our guys now who come off the end come with speed and power. A guy like me comes in, it's gonna be all power moves. No speed to it," Fairley said.

The former Auburn defensive tackle said there were some play calls that warranted him to play outside in college.

If Cunningham sticks to the plan the movie calls for, he may be out of luck. Neeson's character (Spoiler Alert!) gets the last laugh. After the film's credits, Neeson is seen emerging from a pack of dead wolves. In the end, he had the last surprise.

One good thing for Cunningham: he's coaching Lions, not wolves.

Brad Galli is a Sports Reporter for WXYZ. Follow Brad on Twitter: @BradGalli .