Thoughts for the Day, December 6, 2024: I didn't see that coming.
It may have been their most surprising win during the Dan Campbell era
I did not expect the Lions would win last night. I felt the injuries going into the game were too much to overcome. When Alim McNeill, the anchor of the defensive line went down in the first half I knew Green Bay was coming back. When the injury to safety Brian Branch occurred in the second half, I felt there was no way the Lions could keep up.
Somehow the Lions overcame it all. I underestimated the will of the players and the extraordinary effort of the coaching staff. The Lions finished the game on defense with four players who were not even on the roster on Sunday. Yet somehow these players contributed and made key plays down the stretch.
The Lions gameplan was outstanding. Coach Dan Campbell told the offense it was their game to step up and carry the load, which they did. That combined with Gambling Dan’s willingness to keep drives alive by going for it on fourth down and succeeding four of five times was the difference in the game. When Campbell went for it on fourth down with 40 seconds to go and the Lions were well within field goal range, even the Lions’ most faithful fans were questioning the call.
Campbell had faith in his offense to get the job done, which they did despite Jared Goff stumbling and falling as he handed the ball off to David Montgomery. Goff had both knees on the ground when he extended his reach to get the ball to Montgomery who gained seven yards for the first down. From there it was run the clock down to two seconds for Jake Bates to kick the game winning field goal.
If this had been a college game, the Lions would not have made the fourth down conversion because the play would have been blown dead when Goff’s knees hit the ground prior to handing the ball off to Montgomery.
Jared Goff had a perfect description of Gambling Dan. “I think he’s done a really good job of deciding when to go for it on fourth down. Certainly, because it worked, everyone is going to say, ‘Great call,’ and if it didn’t work, you guys would be crushing him. That’s the game he plays and that’s why he’s the guy with the big stones and we trust him. He kind of challenged the offense really early in the week, challenged myself, ‘Hey, it’s your turn to hold your weight and carry the load, For me, that’s like the greatest feeling ever. You’re like, ‘Let’s effing go and let’s make this thing happen.’” This is my Quote of the Day.
With the victory, the Lions clinched a playoff spot. Now they have 10 days to rest until they take on the Buffalo Bills who may be playing the best football in the NFL.
____________________________________________________________
Don’t rule him out
From Bridge Michigan, Detroit’s Democratic Mayor Mike Duggan is running for governor of Michigan — as an independent, an unexpected political pivot that one former state official called a "potentially seismic event” for the 2026 race. Or as another politician said “independent candidates are very good at one thing, and that is losing elections.”
During his announcement Duggan said, “There have been a lot of people who feel left out of both parties, feel like they don’t have a place where they belong, and being limited in two parties, I’ve watched what’s happened in Lansing, and it has gotten worse and worse. The partisan environment is more and more toxic.”
This is going to be fun to watch. No matter who else opposes him, Duggan will be the biggest named candidate. He has over 600 days to pull this off. It will require money and the ability to pull votes from both parties. The whole nation will watch to see how this goes. If he is successful, it might become a roadmap for others to follow.
Duggan is used to challenges such as this. For people who doubt his ability to pull this off, they must have forgotten that he won his first term as a write-in candidate. A white man winning a write-in campaign in a city where 80% of the voters were people of color was unheard of in this country. Yet Duggan pulled it off and continued to thrive in his next two elections.
___________________________________________________________________________
Transparency or lack thereof
Sometimes I get tired of complaining about the lack of transparency in our state government. I get tired of broken promises. I get tired of the Democrats promising it during their campaigns and not doing anything about it once the campaign is over. I get tired of the excuses. It has been a topic of this blog for over four years. Rather than me bitching about it, I am going to share excerpts from the Detroit News editorial on Thursday.
Lawmakers in Lansing have been talking about transparency and ethics reform for so long you'd think they were negotiating a nuclear arms agreement. It shouldn't be this complicated. Citizens want financial disclosure and access to public information. Give it to them.
During this lame duck legislative session, the Legislature should take up reforms to broaden the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and strengthen financial disclosure requirements for elected officials and candidates.
Legislation to fix the second item sits in the state House awaiting consideration. Democratic Speaker of the House Joe Tate said last year that the initial ethics laws that were passed were "not the end of the conversation."
He should prove that by taking up the issue now. Legislation to expand FOIA passed the Senate overwhelmingly in June, and it’s likely the House would follow suit if Tate would allow a vote...
Michigan is one of only two states with legislators and a governor exempt from public requests for government records. In 2015, it was ranked the worst state in the country by the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity for its systems to deter corruption. Not much has changed…
Michigan taxpayers deserve access to information about who lawmakers are meeting with and their communications with lobbyists or state departments…
They also deserve full financial disclosure from lawmakers and the state’s top officeholders, including the governor.
One can only hope the Democrats do the right thing and get this passed before the end of the current legislative session. After that it will be too late. Unfortunately, hope is never a good strategy.
__________________________________________________________
Carry the Load/Challenge Accepted
With the Lions’ defense decimated by injury, head coach Campbell challenged the Lions offense to carry the load and carry the load.. Campbell knew if the Lions’ offense could keep the Packers’ offense off the field, the Lions had a path to victory. The challenge was accepted. Here are some interesting stats from the game showing how the Lions’ offense did their job.
· The Lions tied an NFL record by having six players catching at least five passes each. This had only been done one other time in NFL history.
· The Lions had 27 first downs compared to the Packers 17
· The Lions converted 7 0f 15 third downs compared to the Packers 1 for 5.
· The Lions converted 4 of 5 fourth downs while the Packers never attempted any.
· The Lions had 76 offensive plays compared to the Packer 45.
· All of this led to the Lions dominating the time of possession 36 minutes to 24 minutes.
Challenge accepted.
____________________________________________________________________________
Orchid of the Day
The Lions announced Thursday that Goff is the team's nominee for this year's Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, designed to recognize "players who excel on-the-field and demonstrate a steadfast commitment to creating a positive impact beyond the game."
It's the second time Goff, who often donates his time and money to philanthropic causes, has been nominated to win what the NFL calls its most prestigious award.
“Once again, I am humbled to receive this nomination," Goff said in a release. "My work off the field is deeply connected to my desire and responsibility to give back to my communities. To be a source of inspiration with the influence that I have is something I take seriously. Myself, my platform, and our partners remain committed to exemplifying the great values this recognition and award represents." Goff gets my Orchid of the Day
Quote of the Day: See above
Orchid of the Day: See above
Onion of the Day: I want to give it to the NFL for putting Thursday Night Football on the streaming service Amazon Prime rather than the typical stations that carry the NFL games. I know that streaming is the way of the future and that the NFL and Amazon Prime are trying to set the stage where they can start charging more for individual games based on their importance. Even so, I don’t like it, but I don’t want to come across as a grumpy old man is behind the times, therefore I will not give the NFL my Onion of the Day
Question of the Day: Will Mike Duggan win the governorship as an independent?
Video of the Day: For those who didn’t see the game because they couldn’t stay up that late or didn’t have Amazon Prime, here is my gift to you.
Jake Bates delivers WALK OFF win over the Green Bay Packers | Lions vs. Packers Week 14 Highlights
Feel free to share my blog with others. To receive the blog in your email, please use the subscribe/sign-up button which is located at the bottom of the blog below the Video of the Day or send an email to me at thomasdbiggs@gmail.com and I will start the process for you.