Detroit Lions Weblog

DE Bill Swancutt Emerges as a Contibutor

George Sipple, of the Detroit Free Press, contributed an article in today’s paper about DE Bill Swancutt , a late round draft pick in the 2005 draft, who has emerged as a productive contributor for the Lion’s 2006 Defensive Line rotation. Swancutt, a former Pac-Ten defensive player of the year, is a maximum effort, overachiever. Swancutt is the type of player that a rebuilding team like the Lions needs to unexpectedly contribute if the team is ever going to rectify it’s dismal situation.

If Kalimba Edwards exhibited the heart and effort of Swancutt, he’d likely be an All-Pro. Up to this point in the pre-season, Edwards has been a mild disappointment. Especially considering the tutelage of Rod Marinelli whose guiding influence should figure heavily into the continued development of Edwards. On the other hand, Swancutt is a player that no one expects a lot from who is continually rising to the challenge and exceeding expectations. That being said, Edwards can be still a major difference-maker with all of his athletic ability, while Swancutt has nowhere near the athletic ability to match Edwards’s.

It is interesting that thus far RB Artose Pinner, purportedly the odd man out in the Lion’s RB personnel, has been the most effective Lion’s runner during the pre-season. It would seem that Pinner is not as expendable as the Lions may have originally figured. The Running Back competition should be highly contested until the very last days of the pre-season.