Recent revelations that the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, which has been one of the city’s premier jewels, is making major changes, after a massive corruption scandal that took its former chief financial officer William Smith to jail for embezzling $44.3 million is good news. 

The internal financial controls the conservancy is putting in place, including periodic independent audits, is necessary, considering this public body has been the recipient of millions of dollars in taxpayer money as well as private funding over the years. 

No one should provide an excuse for how the conservancy was running its finances under Smith. Yes, Smith was the culprit but the blame should also be placed on everyone who had collective and overall fiduciary responsibility of the organization. The nonprofit should recognize they dropped the ball as a whole and then move forward in a way that instills public trust so it continues to draw support to beautify the riverfront. 

The reduction of its board seat to 30 members from 50 is a good sign. Organizations with that many board members sometimes are bogged down in unnecessary bureaucracy which slows swift decision-making and can lead to less engagement from those who oversee the agency. Some members may feel sidelined because the major decisions often are made by an executive committee. 

The Detroit Lions’ offense has sputtered all season, and one of the biggest culprits has been inconsistent play from their offensive line. It’s why Detroit’s running has sputtered at times, and it’s why Jared Goff is currently on pace for 34 sacks—the most since his first year in Detroit back in 2021.

Some struggles were expected. This offseason, the Lions lost All-Pro center Frank Ragnow to retirement and Pro Bowl guard Kevin Zeitler in free agency. They opted to start rookie Tate Ratledge at right guard, second-year Christian Mahogany at left guard (now replaced by Kayode Awosika due to injury), and veteran Graham Glasgow is back at center, a position he hasn’t regularly started at since 2022.

Against the Philadelphia Eagles, the offensive line continued its struggles. Goff was hurried and inaccurate all night, while the Lions only mustered a measly 3.5 yards per carry on the ground.

Despite the recent troubles, coach Dan Campbell believes it’s going to get better as the Lions attempt to make a playoff push in the final seven weeks of the season.

“I believe in these guys, man. I do.” Campbell said. “I just think the more they play together and they mesh, and we just do things that we do well.”

There have been games in which the Lions’ offensive line has seemingly settled in. They’ve held the opponent sackless in four of 10 games this season, and the run game has topped 150 yards in four contests so far.

Campbell believes there’s more he can do to lean into the unit’s strengths—something he thinks he could’ve done a better job of in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles.

“Every game’s different. There’s a couple of things I wish yesterday maybe I do differently, and just the way that we go about attacking those guys. Just a little bit that I think maybe can help our guys, too. There again, I just think – there’s a lot of things I think about that are always going around in my head, man. A number of different ways, ‘Well, we can do this, we can do this, we can try this.’”

Next up is the New York Giants. While they are just 2-9 on the season, they do boast a defensive line that could challenge the Lions’ front. That includes the likes of Brian Bruns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence, and Abdul Carter.

Still, Campbell remains confident in Detroit’s front.

“I just go back to, man, I just believe in these guys. I think that they’re good enough, they know how to play together, we’ve just got to be a little more consistent in areas.”