People always say that about Barry’s O-line. But Barry had 2 studs on the O-line for most of his career in Kevin Glover and Lomas Brown. Glover made 3 pro bowls and Brown made 7 straight pro bowls. Jeff Hartings was very good as well. They were a lot better than given credit for.
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Vision in a running back is like pocket presence in a quarterback. You can get better with practice but you kinda either have it or you don’t.
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The lines Walter Payton ran behind on the other hand……
Yeah but he’s the outlier. Not completely, I’d say about one out of every five guys coming off ACL injuries can play to within 90% of their peak, but that’s still not a percentage I’m willing to bet on (especially in fantasy).
Hopefully Jamo is one of them! We are banking on it by trading up for him.
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I actually think it was pretty savvy by us. Because of when he broke it he can still come back and play this year, which is huge. He might not set the world on fire but that’s OK. Get in there, get some reps, gain some confidence in the knee. To me if he’s able to do that, he should be ready to go in 2023.
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Even if jamo comes back running a 4.3 instead of a 4.2 he’s going to be a problem for other teams. His route running is what’s going to make him special I think.
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When I watch Jamo highlights I feel like Jim Shorts watching Best! The speed is exciting, haha
It wouldn’t have bothered me if I were one of Barry’s lineman. He only went off script when he had to. If there was a hole or a lane he hit it quick.
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Which is exactly why I think Duce is handling it the way he is. He practically told you in the coaches meeting he was going to do it. Paraphasing, “I see it in him. I know it’s there. I’m gonna bring it out of him. I’ve gotta pull it out of him”
I think about how good Swift has been NOT trusting the playcall or the line. Now imagine if Duce can get it to click and unlock that added potential. That’s a “thanks for playing fellas, have a nice night” situation.
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I think that’s part of it, but the bigger part to me is most of these guys have spent the past 10 years being faster, stronger, better than everyone else on the field. It’s so easy for them to ad-lib and make a great play. By the time they reach the NFL that’s a lot of hours of being able to do that sort of thing, it’s a well-honed instinct. And then they have to break it cause it’s not gonna work in the league. Some guys can, some guys can’t.
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It’s the route running that has my hyped for this kid. Speed without route running is nothing. Look at all the failed burners the raiders have drafted over the years.
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I don’t know if any of you do alot of mountain biking. It involves many quick decisions - should I go over this root or around it, to the left of this rock or to the right? When I was just starting out, I was amazed at how the most skilled riders were not necessarily the most athletic ones, or the best climbers, or the fastest, or the ones with the best balance, but they were the ones that always seemed to make the right split second decisions on the best path forward. Someone tried to help me with decision-making (which I kind of sucked at) by saying have no preconceived thoughts, keep your mind open, and let your instinct kick in at the last possible moment. Try as I might, whatever path I took, it usually turned out to be the more difficult one (I exaggerate, but I’ve never been one of the best at it). It truly is a gift. If mountain-biking is any analogy, I think its very hard to learn to have vision. But I would guess it’s directly tied into having patience. For someone as athletic and fast as Swift, who could always get away with being stronger, faster and quicker than others, its probably a skill that is hard to learn.
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Very solid, but not amazing
Wildly overrated, but a solid pass blocker
Solid…maybe around Backus level, imo.
Sanders was under constant pressure. I don’t care about pro bowls so much. Barry made that entire team look better than they were, including the WRs. How good are they if they’re not in single coverage every play? Entire D was stacked against Barry. (I know that does make it harder for the OL as well).
In watching old videos of entire games (not hi lights), you can see that an average play for Barry entailed making 2-5 moves behind the LOS before even having a chance to figure things out. He was a freak.
That’s why Duce keeps telling him he can be the best in the league.
He can be.
He has to trust the scheme, and he has to be able to be patient enough to let the hole develope.
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This is true. however, if you are blocked off from your intuition because you are “thinking about what to do” you are not playing instinctively. Hit the hole, and trust your blockers…THEN use your vision. I actually think Swift has decent vision…he’s just in his head. He’s a really nice talent to have on the team, and probably a top 5-ish RB, if he hits his ceiling especially.
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It also takes the pressure off for every that would be expecting him to come out and dominate.
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True but you also have to have vision to see the hole. Just ask Trent Richardson.
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Does anyone know this: When Swift scored the TD against Atlanta, was Duce getting on him to go inside on that play too, or was it left-over scolding from the previous play? To me, it looked like Swift made the right decision on the TD.
Trent Reznor had a Head Like a Hole.
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