Nothing is ever easy for Lions’ fans. We finally get to host a home playoff game, but we couldn’t have drawn a worse opponent, in the Los Angeles Rams. They have won 7 of their last 8 games, and former Lion QB Matthew Stafford is playing some of the best football in his future Hall of Fame career. The Rams just two years away from winning the Super Bowl, won yesterday on the road against their biggest rival the San Franscisco 49ers, even though Stafford and other Ram stars were being held out of the game for precautionary reasons.
The Rams are the hottest team in the NFC and with Stafford playing at such a high level, the Lions are faced with a mighty challenge. However, the Lions have Dan Campbell as their head coach and the players believe in him. Campbell knows how to lead a team and he knows how to make sure they are ready. As Campbell says, “We’re battle tested. We’re scarred to perfection. And we will be ready.”
Don’t you just love the line “scarred to perfection”?
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As I was watching the end of the Lions’ game yesterday, I was stumped as to why the Lions ended the game with three straight quick passes to receiver Josh Reynolds rather than taking a knee to run out the clock to end the game. Today I found out why.
Per the Detroit News, the team wanted to do right by one of its hardest-working players by helping him earn one, potentially two contractive incentives. Teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown said he was leading the lobby on the sideline, pushing position coach Antwaan Randle-El to keep throwing the ball in the waning seconds.
Reynolds came into the contest needing 36 yards and one touchdown to earn separate $250,000 bonuses. With 17 yards on those final three plays, he earned the first, but wasn’t able to secure the touchdown after drawing a pass interference call in the end zone during the second half.
“That player does all the dirty work he does for us, all the stuff in the run game, all the blocking, all the unselfish play, then we’re going to do whatever it takes to get him something,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “That’s the mindset. That’s all.”
Dan Campbell and the Lions organization get my Orchid of the Day. Just another example as to why the players play so hard for him.
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Speaking of playing hard, or in this case not playing hard, Michigan and MSU men’s basketball teams could not be accused of playing hard yesterday as they both suffered embarrassing road losses to Penn State and Northwestern, respectively.
Michigan held Penn State to 27 points in the first half to take a 10-point lead at the half. Unfortunately, the effort did not continue as Penn State quickly eliminated the lead early in the second half and went on to score 52 points to win 69-63 as Michigan committed 19 turnovers which lead to 23 points for Penn State.
And then there was MSU. After winning five in a row, MSU’s effort against Northwestern was so bad in their 88-74 loss that the Detroit News reported as follows.
“I’m embarrassed,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said afterward, during a press conference in which he slammed the box score on the table, and grimaced as he rubbed his forehead for several minutes, like he was trying to get rid of a migraine. “They kicked our butt in every physical way they could. “They deserved to win, and we deserved to get our ass kicked. And that’s what we did.”
Northwestern outscored MSU 21 vs. 2 in points off turnovers.
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We made it down to Gulf Shores, safely and soundly, but not without a few challenges as Leah came down with Covid two days after Christmas and I caught something else that was not Covid. It made for a long and challenging drive, but we did it and are both nearly fully recovered.
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Quote of the Day: “They’re really annoying, especially in the workplace. They’re like, ‘Nah, I’m not feeling it today, I’m gonna come in at 10.30am.’ Or, like, in emails, I’ll tell them this is all grammatically incorrect, did you not check your spelling? And they’re like, ‘Why would I do that, isn’t that kind of limiting?’” Actress Jodie Foster on working with the younger generation.
Orchid of the Day: Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions, see above story.
Onion of the Day: The football gods, for bringing former Lion QB extraordinaire Matthew Stafford back to Ford Field to face the Lions in the first ever playoff game at Ford Field. It is not funny, and it is sick humor on the part of the football gods.
Question of the Day: Will Michigan football continue to ride their “Michigan against everybody” mantra to the ultimate college football prize, a national championship?
Video of the Day: No one says it better than Bill Bonds
(1) Bill Bonds talks about college football in this classic commentary – YouTube