$.01--Through the first eight weeks of the NFL season, the Los Angeles Rams were the toast of the town. Sean McVay’s Rams were 7-1, leading the league in scoring with a potent offense led by Matthew Stafford and making enough plays on defense to keep the games from threatening to be losses.

Between then and now, the Rams popularly and enthusiastically went all-in on winning the next Super Bowl. GM Les Snead went out and traded for future Hall of Fame EDGE Von Miller, then snatched up high-profile WR Odell Beckham Jr. after his divorce from the Browns was finalized. Just print those Super Bowl tickets for a home date in SoFi Stadium, right?

A funny thing happened on the way to the coronation of the Rams as the best team in the league. They haven’t won since. Three games, three losses. Sunday’s defeat in Green Bay was perhaps the most deflating. The final score was 36-28 but it was 36-10 after Stafford threw a pick-six for the third game in a row. The Packers had their way in the trenches on both sides of the ball, showing they were the more physical, stronger and tenacious team.

There are a few things that have led to the radical fall from grace. Losing top WR Robert Woods to a knee injury the day after signing OBJ was a massive blow. Beckham played well on Sunday but he’s not capable of the breadth of duties Woods performed so well for McVay’s intricate offense. Stafford is getting beaten up behind a line that isn’t great and a run game that doesn’t merit respect from opposing defenses. All the injuries Stafford racked up in relative anonymity in Detroit are resurfacing and those folks who just chalked all his issues to simply playing for the Lions are being proven boldly ignorant. And that’s just the offense, the Rams unit that is playing better.

The defense is not holding up well against better opponents. They’ve given up 95 points in those three losses (including the 3 Stafford pick-sixes) and can’t get off the field on third downs. The schedule got harder and the Rams got softer, period.

There is still time for the Rams to rediscover their manly vigor, but it’s not going to be easy. Of the teams with non-losing records after Week 12, only the 49ers have a lower strength of schedule in victories. Against teams that have six or more wins right now, the Rams are 2-4 but 0-4 since Week 3.

$.02--Thanksgiving is a special football day. There is no tradition like gathering around the tube with your family and watching the Detroit Lions in the Turkey Day matinee.

As is their yearly custom, the Lions lost. As is their 2021 custom, the Lions lost on a last-second field goal thanks in no small part to clock mismanagement from rookie head coach Dan Campbell. Chicago’s Cairo Santos nailed the game-winner after the Bears had trailed the entire fourth quarter.

I’ve generally been a fan and a supporter of Campbell. He’s done a very good job at developing talent and trying to install a positive but tough culture, something his predecessor actively rallied against. But Campbell’s offensive decision-making as the playcaller has been stunningly bad.

There is plenty of blame to go around here for the Lions' unacceptable offensive performance on Thanksgiving. The patchwork line didn't block well, D'Andre Swift was too passive before leaving with a shoulder injury, penalties of all types stymied some success, all of that is true. But the playcalling and play design just aren't good enough.

That's been true on a weekly basis in 2021, but it was magnified under the national spotlight against the Bears. One sequence in particular was infuriating.

The Lions got 1st-and-10 at the Bears 29-yard line after some nice runs by Jamaal Williams and a couple of good, timely throws from Jared Goff. Here is the sequence from the NFL's official scoring; it's too painful to type it out and relive the agony.

Two pre-snap penalties, a valid holding call and then three absolute give-up play calls. Note the short pass to Williams on second down. Every single Bears defender sniffed out that play as soon as the Lions stepped to the line. It had no hope. In a situation like that, Goff as the quarterback either needs to kill that play and option to something else or call a timeout. If he doesn't have that ability — and based on comments from press conferences he might not — because the coaches don't trust him or empower him with it, Goff shouldn't be on the field. That's an epic fail of offensive scheme and coaching.

Sadly, it was far from the only instance in this game where the offensive talent, as modest as it may be, was held back by Anthony Lynn's play designs and Dan Campbell's playcalling. This team badly needs a fresh, modern offensive mind to revamp the fundamental roots of an offense that is way too predictable and conservative.

A portion of this cent previously appeared on Lions Wire

 $.03--Part of the deal of covering the Lions is that I almost never see the late-afternoon Thanksgiving game from Dallas. As most of Michigan does, we watch the end of the Lions game, then we eat. And drink. And given the current state of the Lions, drink some more.

So I didn’t see one minute in real-time of the Cowboys vs. Raiders. Based on what I’ve read and heard, it seems I missed one heck of an extravagant display of penalty flag throwing from referee Shawn Hochuli and his officiating crew. Truly, I don’t know much else about what happened other than the celebration of officiating overreach.

How bad was it?

There were 28 accepted penalties in the game, the most in one game since 2016. Each team was flagged 14 times. I did catch “highlights” of Dallas DBs being flagged for pass interference on underthrows, the growing scourge of the NFL passing offenses. The last one set up the Raiders’ game-winning field goal…but not until after three more penalties were called.

Presnap penalties are one thing. Or in this game’s case, 15 things. The judgment calls--pass interference, holding--are far more discretionary. And Hochuli’s crew discerned that a national TV audience loaded up on boxed wine and tryptophan wanted to watch them throw flags. The teams must understand how the game is being called and adapt, and that’s not something that appeared to happen here based on the scathing criticism both coaching staffs took from their local media after the game.

The officiating overshadows an important win for the Raiders, who improved to 6-5 and snapped a 3-game win streak.

$.04--The New York Giants celebrated the unceremonial firing of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett by turning in a great defensive performance in the team’s 13-7 win over the rival Philadelphia Eagles.

Canning Garrett did little to spark the underachieving Giants offense. New York managed just 264 total yards, 17 first downs and had almost no success running the ball. Saquon Barkley gained 32 yards on one carry but gained just nine on his other 12 attempts. The longest pass play was a 20-yard connection from Daniel Jones to Evan Engram. But they managed one touchdown and two field goals (plus a missed FG), and that was a lot more effective than what the Eagles pulled off.

Philadelphia drove into Giants territory six times. They scored once. Jalen Hurts, who had been playing better than his detractors would ever like to acknowledge, had a terrible game. His first half: two 3-and-outs with zero yards gained interspersed with two red-zone INTs. Hurts ran effectively but had a miserable time against good coverage from the New York defense, which notched a season-high 11 PDs in the game. New York barely pressured Hurts and it worked.

Any positive bounce from the win is tempered by the Sunday morning pregame reports that indicate the Giants will part ways with GM Dave Gettleman after the season. Then again, many Giants fans are probably happier about that than the victory over their NFC East rival. The early indications that they want to keep following Joe Judge down the Patriot Way path should send shudders of horror to anyone who cares whatsoever about Big Blue. Take it from someone who has covered the Lions and Texans; it’s a freaking dead end.

$.05--The Iron Bowl was one of the most oddly compelling displays of bad offensive football of the year. Alabama prevailed over Auburn, 24-22, in four overtimes.

Over half the points in the final tally were scored in overtime. The first four quarters ended in a 10-10 tie, tied very late by Alabama in one that Auburn fans will be lamenting for a long time. The Tigers held a 10-3 lead and a first down with just under two minutes to play. All they needed to do was run the ball three times and bleed the clock down to almost nothing. But RB Tank Bigsby got greedy and couldn’t resist gaining 2-3 extra yards and going out of bounds instead of just going down. The second-down decision proved disastrous. It spared Alabama a timeout and at least 30 precious seconds. The Crimson Tide got 92 seconds to drive 97 yards instead of just 62 seconds. It took 89 seconds for Bryce Young to find Ja’Corey Brooks in the end zone, including an Auburn timeout to try and stop the yardage bleeding.

Alabama caught several breaks late in the game, the Bigsby big bad one included. The officials waved off a facemask penalty because the Alabama player had his hand in the earhole and not the facemask itself (that’s still a penalty). Auburn QB TJ Finley could barely walk with a lower leg injury for the final third of the game, and he’s the Tigers’ backup. In a game where Alabama needed every bounce to go their way to come back and win, they got every single one of them. Auburn had caught those earlier, but their limited offense couldn’t make Alabama pay.

In general, it’s smart to not overreact to rivalry game outcomes from a national judgment perspective. Against Auburn, there’s no person outside of Paul Finebaum’s living room who would say Alabama was one of the four best teams in the country. But that’s the Iron Bowl and why it’s such a compelling game for those who have never set foot in SEC country. The records don’t matter. Give the Crimson Tide credit for winning a game they had no business winning, a game where Nick Saban did not have a good coaching game until the final minutes. What they did on Saturday will get them annihilated against Georgia next weekend, but Georgia isn’t Auburn. I still think the Bulldogs cruise, but don’t presume that what happened in the Iron Bowl is indicative of what Alabama can do.

$.06--Michigan is headed to the Big Ten Championship game for the very first time. As weird as that might seem, it’s the Wolverines’ debut in Indianapolis because Michigan and coach Jim Harbaugh finally cleared the high hurdle that has been the rival Ohio State Buckeyes.

Harbaugh deserves the congratulations. For the first time in his life, he outcoached a worthy adversary in a big game. To say he was due is like saying we’re all tired of the “buy two GMCs for Christmas” ads. Harbaugh one-upped Ohio State counterpart Ryan Day with a smart, physical game plan that he never deviated from. Day’s Buckeyes couldn’t take the punches on either line of scrimmage, and the Wolverines threw more than enough body blows to take down their wobbly rival.

It was a savvy plan from Harbaugh and his assistants executed very well by their players. Ohio State had the better skill-position talent and perimeter players, so the Wolverines turned it into a between-the-hashes slugfest. And in that area, the Buckeyes could not compete. Having potential No. 1 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson attacking downhill, with fast-rising standout David Ojabo on the other side of the defensive front, was way too much for Ohio State to handle.

It was Harbaugh’s first win over his bitter rival, marking the Wolverines’ first triumph since 2010 and just the second in the last 20 years. It had been so long that the stands flooded onto the Big House field. My wife and mother-in-law were at the game and it took them over an hour to exit the stadium, it was absolute pandemonium. The cathartic win lifts a massive monkey off Harbaugh’s back, and it gives Michigan a very good chance to win their way into the College Football Playoff. Beat Iowa next week in the Big Ten Championship, and Michigan should expect to win that one, and they’re one of the final four.

It’s been a long time coming for Harbaugh and Michigan. Enjoy it, Wolverines fans.

$.07--The college coaching carousel is quickly spinning major amounts of cash at a lot of the usual suspects and a few newfound ones too. That’s what happens when Florida, LSU, USC, Virginia Tech, Washington and other top-shelf programs all make changes at the same time.

No bigger domino is falling on the board than USC luring Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma. Numerous reports on Sunday indicate it’s a done deal, and the price tag is likely to have seven zeros per year. Riley is young (38), offensively-minded, energetic and able to recruit nationally out of Norman. It will be significantly easier for Riley to sell recruits on playing in Los Angeles in a sleepwalking conference just waiting to be seized. USC won the bidding war over LSU and (likely) others. Riley jumping off the Sooner Schooner before it rolls to the SEC in a couple of years makes the Oklahoma job an unexpected and interesting opening.

The Sooners are far back in the queue to land the big-name coaches, though their cache likely fast-passes them up the line. LSU still hasn’t found a replacement for Ed Orgeron. Florida found its man in Louisiana’s Billy Napier, who has maxed out what he can do with the Ragin’ Cajuns. Louisiana has won 10 or more games three years in a row and developed some NFL talents in Lafayette, which isn’t exactly the easiest place to convince non-Louisianans to dedicate the five prime years of their youthful vitality. I like the hire. Taking a chance on a younger guy climbing the ladder with impressive track results is a lot more inspiring than hiring a guy who has fizzled out at two other power schools already (looking at you, whoever hires Dan Mullen--and someone will). Expect to see Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell prominently mentioned. Just in the process of writing this very cent, the name of Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury has been linked to Oklahoma.

The pressure to hold onto the up-and-coming coaches has caused some inflation at the next tier. Wake Forest ponied up to keep Dave Clawson from leaving for greener pastures. Minnesota did the same with P.J. Fleck, though I’m not sure other programs were clamoring for Fleck. Michigan State, which should be more nationally prominent, did the same by giving generational wealth to Mel Tucker so he wouldn’t listen to LSU or Florida.

Without any inside knowledge on who is looking where, I expect to see the names of Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule and his offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, heavily listed in speculation for the openings. I’m sure someone will throw Urban Meyer’s name into the mix somewhere, probably at the narcissistic Meyer’s own behest. Gus Malzahn from UCF (and Auburn) and Chip Kelly at UCLA are two other names that aren’t necessarily available but aren’t necessarily unavailable either.

$.08--NFL Quickies

--Kirk Cousins didn’t have a terrible game in the Vikings loss to the 49ers, but this is a bad (but very funny) gaffe in crunch time:

Those two teams are the current 6 and 7 seeds in the NFC, by the way. The Vikings are 5-6 after losing to the 6-5 49ers.

--Baker Mayfield and Saquon Barkley were the first two picks in the 2018 NFL draft. Only one of them is a quarterback:

--Buffalo had its “get right” game by blowing an injury-ravaged Saints team off the field in the Thursday nightcap. The Bills defense did what they should, attacking a bad Saints offense that was missing everyone of importance that doesn’t play on the line.

--If you were watching the Broncos beat the Chargers and wondering if a lineman pulling a runner forward is a penalty, yes it is. But it’s never called. Per Football Zebras, it hasn’t been penalized in a game since 1991.

--Statement win from the Patriots over the Titans, the sixth triumph in a row for Bill Belichick’s team. The Titans had two RBs, neither of which is Derrick Henry, run for over 100 yards, but Ryan Tannehill threw for just 93 with both A.J. Brown and Julio Jones on IR. You don’t win games by running the ball, and nobody knows that better than Belichick.

--The Jets came from behind to beat the Texans in the battle for the No. 2 overall draft slot. Well, the Texans came out on top in that battle. Houston sits at No. 2 with its 2-9 record, followed by the 2-9 Jaguars. The 3-8 Jets hold the next two picks, their own and Seattle’s (for Jamal Adams).

$.09--College/draft quickies

--On the coaching carousel front, some school would be wise to interview Skip Holtz. The son of Lou Holtz, Skip is out at Louisiana Tech after one bad season. Holtz built a consistent CUSA contender and churned out NFL talent in Ruston; find that on a map, I dare you. Holtz deserves another shot. Maybe Virginia Tech?

--My alma mater, Ohio University, finished with its worst season in almost 20 years. The sudden retirement of Frank Solich this offseason and being net losers in the transfer portal dropped the Bobcats to a putrid 3-9 under replacement Tim Albin. Some perspective is needed: 3-9 would have been the second-best record in my six years (1990-95) in Athens. We’re all hoping those dark days stay in the shadows.

--Oklahoma State deserves a CFP berth if they win next weekend. Give me a one-loss OK State team over a 2-loss Alabama squad, especially if Georgia rolls the Crimson Tide by double-digits. Bedlam was a great display of resilience by the Cowboys against a good team in a rivalry game. Now if Alabama wins Saturday, the spot rightfully belongs to them.

--UTSA got run off the road of their unbeaten season with the Mean Green of North Texas playing the role of the coyote. The ACME gadgets worked. Still a hell of a season for the Roadrunners.

--Every FBS-level team notched at least one win on the year. But there are some asterisks. Florida International went 1-11 and only beat FCS-level Long Island University. UConn (barely) beat FCS-level Yale for its only win. UMass notched its one victory over UConn. And Arizona stole its one win on the season by beating Cal 10-3 in a game where the Golden Bears were missing 24 players, including their starting QB, due to COVID-19.

$.10--My family and I did something this week we hadn’t done in almost two full years. We went and attended a live, professional sporting event.

Wednesday night saw Team Risdon descend upon the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids to catch the NBA G-League game between the host Gold and the Motor City Cruise. It was just the second home game for the Gold, who replaced the old team in Grand Rapids (the Drive) that moved to Detroit and became the Cruise. We were frequent attendees to those old Drive games and missed our G-league fix.

It was great to be back. We’ve done a couple of Hope College women’s basketball games this year, but this was the first time the participants were paid professionals. G-league games are a different kind of fun. The play is better than college, as is the officiating. Lance Stephenson and Nik Stauskas are the top players for the Gold, a Denver Nuggets affiliate. There were times in the game where you were reminded that these guys used to be NBA starters. There were also times when you realized why they’re playing in front of 1,800 folks in a sterile, acoustically dreadful multipurpose building that will host a cat show and a Grateful Dead-themed flea market between home dates.

G-league means fun promotions and energy during dead times on the floor. My daughter caught a t-shirt, which get tossed out by Gold staffers after every made three-pointer. There were some sweet dunks, savvy defensive ploys, sharpshooting 3s and definite competitive energy. We had missed it.

I was taken aback by how great it felt to be part of a crowd, a communal cheering experience. It was awesome to high-five a stranger after a sweet play. We buzzed about the game and the experience on the ride home, my basketball-mad kids joyfully involved in the conversation. It made for an excellent tipoff for our family holiday weekend.