Sammy G: MVP

Packers 16 - Lions 13 (OT)

Samkon Gado is:

A) brilliant beyond his 7-game NFL career
B) lucky as hell
C) really, really stupid
D) All of the above

In the fourth of five quarters required for us to win a game at home against a depleted team with an interim coach (am I getting off track already?), following a brilliant goal-line stand, Samkon Gado took a handoff from like 6-8 yards deep in our own end zone. In the midst of his being tackled, he had the wherewithal (see question above) to pitch the ball forward across the goal line to avoid a safety. The refs called it 1) intentional grounding plus 2) a hold on Tausch. The grounding was declined and the hold was accepted, resulting in a safety.

Then they talked it over and, after a few minutes, Mike Carey opened his mic back up and explained that 1) since Gado was outside the tackle box and he threw the ball beyond the line of scrimmage, it wasn't intentional grounding, and furthermore 2) the hold was not in the end zone. Therefore, the safety was pulled off the board.

Sure, it was just two points, but it would've led to us free-kicking it back to Detroit and it would have been very difficult for us to tie it up and force overtime after that. We would've had to (gasp!) go for the win.

But we did win, and Gado did have a helluva' game (I vote A, BTW), and -- did I mention? -- we won. Sure, fine, some non-fan-type sports radio hosts say the win was pointless and that we should've pulled a Texan-like shankatolla to keep our hat in the first-round draft pick ring, but the high rollers in the draft right now are a QB and a Running Back from Southern Cal. We have Brett Favre (oh, yeah, and last year's "first round pick" Aaron Rogers) and Sammy G.

I'm just saying. Would we throw Reggie Bush back if we had the chance to draft him? No. No way. But should we play the rest of the season not to win just in case we could get a shot at him or at Matt Leinart? No.

No way.