NFC Notes: D’Andre Swift, Frank Ragnow, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Chicago RB coach Chad Morton reviewed new Bears RB D’Andre Swift and detailed what creative ways they could use him other than just as a traditional back.

“I’ve been watching this guy since college,” Morton said, via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “He’s exciting to watch, man. That guy, he’s got so much ability. He’s fast, he can make guys miss and what we’re excited about now is just opening up the passing game with the backs. He’s got that opportunity to have that one-on-one matchup out of the backfield. We can get him out on empty (formation). We do a lot of empty stuff here, too, so we can move this guy all around. He can win from any spot.”

Lions

After a long season filled with injuries, many were speculating that Lions C Frank Ragnow would contemplate retirement because of his comments following the NFC Title game. Ragnow implied he didn’t think much about retirement and just needed to focus on getting his body right.

“I was frustrated,” Ragnow said, via Justin Rogers of The Detroit News. “It was kind of annoying. All I said was I’m going to need some time to heal up the day after the game. That was my intention and then it took off, which was kind of annoying, but it is what it is.”

“I feel really good. I feel as good as I’ve felt in a while. This has been my best offseason, 100%. I really dove into a lot of things to take care of my body and I feel like I’m clicking right now. The goal is to keep it a steady trajectory into the season.”

Packers

Packers QB coach Tom Clements was impressed with the way QB Jordan Love transitioned from scrambling to using his legs to extend plays while taking shots downfield.

“Early in the season when Jordan scrambled, I’d say 95 percent of the time he ran the ball,” Clements said via the Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. “Second half of the year, that maybe flipped, maybe not 95 percent but a larger percentage he was moving around, looking to throw the ball downfield, which is what you want to do because you can get a lot of big plays in the scramble phase of the game. So rather than just taking off and running, he’s looking and trying to make a play, and that’s where good things can happen.”