It’s been a charitable year for the Staffords... well, even more charitable than usual, that is. They’ve donated $1.5 million to the University of Georgia for social justice initiatives, and Matthew Stafford has also lended his written word to speak out against racial injustices.
Now Matthew has teamed up with his wife Kelly to make a difference locally. According to Kelly’s Instagram, a few weeks ago, the two donated Microsoft Surface tablets, book bags and all sorts of other school supplies to the after-school facility Say Play Detroit.
“We wanted to try and make it more of a level playing field,” Kelly Stafford said. “We wanted them to have everything they needed so they could have the opportunity to succeed.”
Lions running backs coach Kyle Caskey and his wife Kayla held a similar charitable drive earlier in the year. Those two were able to raise enough money—via the Caskey Family Foundation—to supply the Detroit Lions Academy with 41 new Surface tablets for remote learning in the COVID-19 era.
The Staffords have worked closely with Say Play Detroit for years now. In 2015, the two helped raise money to provide the facility with a brand-new, state-of-the-art football field. Per Kelly, there will be more to come.
“This is ongoing. Matthew and I will continue to brainstorm to think of ways we can effect change in our community and hopefully effect change further than that.”
- The Lions’ pass rush win rate skyrocketed after the Jaguars game.... but it’s still one of the lowest in the league:
Lions were at 21.3 percent pass-rush win rate through four games. After that game in Jacksonville, now 32 percent on the season. What a script-flipper. Well, kind of. Lions still 31st overall.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) October 21, 2020
- Lions offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell wants to get T.J. Hockenson more involved in the offense, but would like to see him gain separation more consistently. More on that from The Detroit News.
- Taylor Decker was mic’d up for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. You can watch the entire segment here, or you can watch the best part below:
Well said. pic.twitter.com/1FiLrxd6uF
— Pride of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) October 21, 2020
- There’s a great piece on the friendship between Matthew Stafford and Matt Ryan over at AtlantaFalcons.com.
- Frank Ragnow is the No. 2 center in the NFL per PFF. He’ll be up against one of the best defensive tackles this week in Grady Jarrett:
Grady Jarrett is the only DT that ranks in the top 10 of ESPN’s pass rush win rate and run stop win rate. Stud. https://t.co/RUzjcQ6Yjp pic.twitter.com/E5mx92q1fn
— #BringMeBieniemy (@mattkaroly) October 21, 2020
- The Lions want you to vote:
"You may feel like a small person in this world, but the beautiful thing about a democracy in this country is that every single vote counts." - @KNARFWONGAR
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 21, 2020
This is why we vote #NFLVotes pic.twitter.com/dNOH04NmhN