D'Andre Swift: Skilled but "soft"

[Cameron Giles]

Woof. Hope nobody started him. Another game with minimal involvement.

Though the involvement was because they were getting killed.

Maybe. But Swift is supposed to be one of the stars of the offense. And if the offense can't get it going early and falls behind, that's partly Swift's fault.

He had 4 carries and they were trailing by 20+. How is it Swift's fault that the offense didn't get going until late?

This is the wrong game to try and confirm a narrative on Swift's usage or effectiveness. Detroit just got outplayed at every level and Swift was a blip on the problems they had today.

[FantasyFreak]

I'm done with Swift. He will not be in my starting lineup again this year. Can't trust him in the playoffs

This was the right call.

[jenkins.math]

Though the involvement was because they were getting killed.

Maybe. But Swift is supposed to be one of the stars of the offense. And if the offense can't get it going early and falls behind, that's partly Swift's fault.

He had 4 carries and they were trailing by 20+. How is it Swift's fault that the offense didn't get going until late?

This is the wrong game to try and confirm a narrative on Swift's usage or effectiveness. Detroit just got outplayed at every level and Swift was a blip on the problems they had today.

Them getting blown out though should mean Swift is on the field more as the pass catching back.

The excuse making for Swift on here is wild. When he doesn’t get it done it seems it is never his fault to some. At what point do we just accept he isn’t what we all hoped he would be?

[Anteaters]

Though the involvement was because they were getting killed.

Although it could be argued they were getting killed partly because he was ineffective in the early going.

Could also argue that his best skill is pass catching, and he wasn't involved in a blowout comeback script.

Hard times for the Swift shareholders. In all the redrafts I had him... I'm already dead.

Man you're quick on the trigger. I immediately edited and came back to see you'd responded to the original.

You're right, he wasn't involved in teh blowout comeback script. And for that, we have to ask why the coach's didn't trust him in that situation.

[Anteaters]

I'm done with Swift. He will not be in my starting lineup again this year. Can't trust him in the playoffs

This was the right call.

++

[Anteaters]

Though the involvement was because they were getting killed.

Maybe. But Swift is supposed to be one of the stars of the offense. And if the offense can't get it going early and falls behind, that's partly Swift's fault.

He had 4 carries and they were trailing by 20+. How is it Swift's fault that the offense didn't get going until late?

This is the wrong game to try and confirm a narrative on Swift's usage or effectiveness. Detroit just got outplayed at every level and Swift was a blip on the problems they had today.

Maybe. OTOH, we now have almost 3 full seasons of performance on which to grade Swift. In 2 of those 3 years, he has failed to reach 1000 total yards -- the one time he made 1000 yards, he barely made it with 1060.

We can carve it up a dozen different ways with a dozen different excuses and reasons for his numbers, but it's hard to say Swift's career hasn't been a huge disappointment to those who drafted him with a high draft pick.

[Cameron Giles]

Maybe. But Swift is supposed to be one of the stars of the offense. And if the offense can't get it going early and falls behind, that's partly Swift's fault.

He had 4 carries and they were trailing by 20+. How is it Swift's fault that the offense didn't get going until late?

This is the wrong game to try and confirm a narrative on Swift's usage or effectiveness. Detroit just got outplayed at every level and Swift was a blip on the problems they had today.

Them getting blown out though should mean Swift is on the field more as the pass catching back.

The excuse making for Swift on here is wild. When he doesn’t get it done it seems it is never his fault to some. At what point do we just accept he isn’t what we all hoped he would be?

This isn't an excuse. They got blown out. They did nothing in the run game. He got 5 targets as a receiver. Did you expect 10 targets? None of their RBs did anything and the passing game only became productive when the game was decided.

There's no arguing Swift has been disappointing this year, but this isn't the game to point at to confirm that. This game was over in the first half.

[Cameron Giles]

Maybe. But Swift is supposed to be one of the stars of the offense. And if the offense can't get it going early and falls behind, that's partly Swift's fault.

He had 4 carries and they were trailing by 20+. How is it Swift's fault that the offense didn't get going until late?

This is the wrong game to try and confirm a narrative on Swift's usage or effectiveness. Detroit just got outplayed at every level and Swift was a blip on the problems they had today.

Maybe. OTOH, we now have almost 3 full seasons of performance on which to grade Swift. In 2 of those 3 years, he has failed to reach 1000 total yards -- the one time he made 1000 yards, he barely made it with 1060.

We can carve it up a dozen different ways with a dozen different excuses and reasons for his numbers, but it's hard to say Swift's career hasn't been a huge disappointment to those who drafted him with a high draft pick.

Sure, that's a completely different train of thought from blaming him for a blowout loss over 4 carries. There are legitimate questions about his dependability, but this game is not the poster child for it.

[Anteaters]

He had 4 carries and they were trailing by 20+. How is it Swift's fault that the offense didn't get going until late?

This is the wrong game to try and confirm a narrative on Swift's usage or effectiveness. Detroit just got outplayed at every level and Swift was a blip on the problems they had today.

Maybe. OTOH, we now have almost 3 full seasons of performance on which to grade Swift. In 2 of those 3 years, he has failed to reach 1000 total yards -- the one time he made 1000 yards, he barely made it with 1060.

We can carve it up a dozen different ways with a dozen different excuses and reasons for his numbers, but it's hard to say Swift's career hasn't been a huge disappointment to those who drafted him with a high draft pick.

Sure, that's a completely different train of thought from blaming him for a blowout loss over 4 carries. There are legitimate questions about his dependability, but this game is not the poster child for it.

Got it. I agree one game is not enough to conclude a player is a disappointment. Maybe we can say this game is the cherry on top of the sundae that is his disappointing career so far.

[jenkins.math]

He had 4 carries and they were trailing by 20+. How is it Swift's fault that the offense didn't get going until late?

This is the wrong game to try and confirm a narrative on Swift's usage or effectiveness. Detroit just got outplayed at every level and Swift was a blip on the problems they had today.

Them getting blown out though should mean Swift is on the field more as the pass catching back.

The excuse making for Swift on here is wild. When he doesn’t get it done it seems it is never his fault to some. At what point do we just accept he isn’t what we all hoped he would be?

This isn't an excuse. They got blown out. They did nothing in the run game. He got 5 targets as a receiver. Did you expect 10 targets? None of their RBs did anything and the passing game only became productive when the game was decided.

There's no arguing Swift has been disappointing this year, but this isn't the game to point at to confirm that. This game was over in the first half.

For a guy many touted as a top 5 dynasty RB, yes I’d expect more than 9 total opportunities in a game script such as this for the pass catching RB.

I’m not sure anybody is blaming Swift for today or using this game as the end all be all evaluation on him, but it’s just yet another disappointing performance that some on here try and minimize for him. He is basically an oft injured COP back with TD upside at this point.

[Jigga94]

Under 10 touches seems to be the gameplan to keep him healthy every week

[ericanadian]

Under 10 touches seems to be the gameplan to keep him healthy every week

I don’t think it’s about keeping him healthy. Campbell doesn’t like something about what he’s doing. The Lions needed the win today as they were a half game out of the playoffs and yet, here we are.

[Cameron Giles]

Them getting blown out though should mean Swift is on the field more as the pass catching back.

The excuse making for Swift on here is wild. When he doesn’t get it done it seems it is never his fault to some. At what point do we just accept he isn’t what we all hoped he would be?

This isn't an excuse. They got blown out. They did nothing in the run game. He got 5 targets as a receiver. Did you expect 10 targets? None of their RBs did anything and the passing game only became productive when the game was decided.

There's no arguing Swift has been disappointing this year, but this isn't the game to point at to confirm that. This game was over in the first half.

For a guy many touted as a top 5 dynasty RB, yes I’d expect more than 9 total opportunities in a game script such as this for the pass catching RB.

I’m not sure anybody is blaming Swift for today or using this game as the end all be all evaluation on him, but it’s just yet another disappointing performance that some on here try and minimize for him. He is basically an oft injured COP back with TD upside at this point.

I get that this game can be seen as just icing on the cake, but it's not the game where I'd summarize Swift's disappointing year. The passing game script still favors WRs over RBs and he still led all RBs in opportunities this week.

Their offense sucked. The usage to get empty calories doesn't matter to me. In a close, competitive game? I'd definitely see the point.

[TimeWillTell]

Can't start him. Can't trade him. Too good to drop.

[cazzie33]

As one of the most fervent supporters of Swift this game absolutely showed they don't feel he is their guy to lean on. He was not a part of the game plan even early when the game was competitive. The Lions fumbled away the chance to go up 14-7 and Swift had maybe two touches at that point. So he doesn't get touches when playing from ahead scenario. He doesn't get touches when playing from behind. He doesn't get touches when the playoffs are on the line. Isn't hard to see they don't feel he's good enough to be on the field any more than Justin Jackson much less Jamaal Williams.

Swift has shoulder taped to stabilize the joint I guess so maybe they know something they're not sharing it's severity. Maybe he can't/won't lower his shoulder to block or run in tough situations in their opinion. That's the only reason to have any optimism that this coaching staff is holding him out to protect him from further injury. Otherwise they just don't trust him to be better option than the other two. Jackson was on the field as much or more on 3rd downs in all flows of the game. That has also been true in other weeks where Swift was supposedly healthy. Williams has been the lead runner to start games and clock killing mode. Obviously he's the short yardage guy over Swift. Hard to see a future for Swift under this regime as lead back like most teams employ unless it's an injury holding him back & they don't want to make it publicly known.
I like Justin Jackson as a talent & smart player that is versatile but he shouldn't be playing ahead of Swift or splitting time almost equally. That's been the case no matter what Swift's injury status has been during the week. There's no urgency to get Swift involved no matter what gamescript..You can only surmise they don't think he's elite or capable of doing better than the other two. He's just an an interchangeable rotational back in their eyes.

Hopefully it's injury holding them back otherwise he's better off leaving which would be a shame because he is the kind of talent that could thrive & elevate the Lions offense. He should be the Lions version of Dalvin Cook who also has injury concerns. Difference is they feature Dalvin when he's dressed, Lions don't with D. Swift. Hell even A.Jones & D. Montgomery who also have talented young backs for competition when healthy get way more usage than Swift. Obviously there's a disconnect between the coaching staff and #32