The Detroit Lions have a reputation of playing to the echo of the whistle, backed by a significant number of roughing the passer, unnecessary roughness and personal foul infractions the past five years.

New coach Jim Caldwell is aiming to erase the perception that the Lions are a dirty team, all while continuing to play a physical brand of football.

"...We're also going to be physical," Caldwell said. "Now, physical doesn't necessarily mean that we're certainly out of bounds in terms of what we're doing from a legal standpoint. We're going to do things the right way, but we're going to be a physical, hard-nosed, rough football team."

Caldwell's mission will need to start along the defensive line, where Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley have established themselves as the league's most feared interior pass-rushing duo, but also its most controversial.

Suh has been named by his peers as the league's most dirty player twice. Fairley has committed seven 15-yard penalties in his brief career, leading the team with four last season.

Caldwell's teams are known for their discipline. The Colts were the least penalized team in the NFL during the three-year stretch he served as the franchise's head coach.

Indianapolis committed just three roughing the passer infractions in those seasons.

In a radio interview with "Mike and Mike" on Friday, Caldwell said one of his goals is to have the Lions be ranked among the league's five least-penalized teams in 2014.

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