Did D’Andre Swift footage on Hard Knocks reveal a ‘big problem’ for Detroit Lions?

On Tuesday night, Episode 2 of Hard Knocks Training Camp with the Detroit Lions aired on HBO and you probably noticed that there was a big focus on RB D’Andre Swift.

During the episode, Lions’ assistant head coach and running backs coach Duce Staley was shown in a meeting room speaking to the other coaches and he emphatically vowed that he would get greatness out of Swift.

“I need him to know,” Staley said, “one-on-one, no matter if he’s running a route or has the ball in hands, no one can guard him or tackle him.”

“And I’m going to try my hardest to get that (expletive) out of him,” Staley said. “I ain’t gonna try, I’m gonna (bleeping) get it out of him because he can be so special.”

Jared Goff and D'Andre Swift Underrated?

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Did D’Andre Swift footage on Hard Knocks reveal a ‘big’ problem for Detroit Lions?

According to Carlos Monarrez (we know, we know) of the Detroit Free Press, the fact that Staley said he is going to have to pull the best out of D’Andre Swift is a ‘big’ problem.

“Staley saying he’s going to pull greatness out of Swift is a big problem and possibly an uncomfortable truth about Swift’s ceiling as a player,” Monarrez wrote.

“You’ll be hard-pressed to find a  player who ever decided it was time to be great, time to be one of the best, because someone drilled it into them,” Monarrez continued. “Yes, good coaches instill confidence, they inspire and instruct. But they don’t change the fundamental nature of a person, especially that of a third-year pro athlete.”

“Many coaches make players better, but no coach ever forced a player to be great. Greatness, or even the desire to be great, is inborn. It is an inherent trait that needs no coaxing from an external entity.”

“But for the Lions to allow “Hard Knocks” to air this much of a sustained narrative about Swift and how much his position coach is imploring him to be much better says an awful lot.”

In my opinion, the Lions allowing Hard Knocks to air so much footage about Duce Staley trying to coach up D’Andre Swift was not negative and it did not reveal anything other than the fact that Staley wants Swift to reach his absolute ceiling. Carlos, that is exactly what a good coach is supposed to do and you can bet Staley does the same thing with the other players he coaches.

Nation, do you agree with Carlos Monarrez about D’Andre Swift?