Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz (10.24.24)
How much different, I know running has always been part of Baltimore’s offensive scheme, but have they adjusted much in terms of the way they’ve integrated Derrick (Henry) in with Lamar (Jackson) and how they’re using them together different than previous years?
“Yeah, I mean they’ve added some dot, pistol and some two-back runs. There’s been different times over the years that they’ve been a little bit more shotgun with the zone read and those kinds of things. But he certainly gives those guys a different dimension in the run game. And I would say it’s because of all the big plays. It’s not the three, four, five-yarders, it’s the 80-yarders and some of those things that we’ve seen on film. Derrick Henry’s a player we know, we went against him last year, and we’re going to play our very best to slow down and contain their running game.”
Certainly, doesn’t look like he’s on the decline at all. Was there ever a point in the last couple years where you thought maybe he was kind of tailing off and then this is a surprise at all that he’s playing as well as he has?
“Well, I mean, I don’t know. I mean, it’s hard to say just from watching. He’s been an outstanding player for a long time in the NFL and he’s got great size, he’s got great straight-line speed, and he’s got a good cast around him, too. They make you defend so much in the run game. You just can’t concentrate on taking a running back out. You have the quarterback keepers that you have to handle, you have the jet sweeps, the (Zay) Flowers that you have to handle, the jailbreak screens to Flowers and the other receivers. You have to defend all 11 on every single play. You just can’t focus on one person.”
Did you get to see, when you were in Tennessee, sort of how Derrick takes care of himself and just sort of his approach to his body?
“Yeah, like a lot of great players, very serious about his craft and his conditioning and those kinds of things. He’s obviously been blessed with some physical skills and some size and things like that, but he’s also been a hard worker and has made the most of it. And I think when you see veteran players that have success late in their careers, it’s not just an accident. It’s because of professionalism and discipline and hard work.”
How have you seen Lamar grow with Todd Monken over the last season, plus?
“Yeah, I mean it’s been pretty much over his career. He’s gone from a run-first quarterback to a pass-first quarterback that can make plays with his feet. Has a lot more quick throws in there. There’s been times in the past that he sort of zeroed in on one receiver, and when you got good players, you want to zero in on one guy. But now he’s spreading the ball around to a lot more people, has that combination of getting it out quick, but he can also make a play when the play breaks down. And he threatens all 53 and a third 120 yards of the field. He’s sideline-to-sideline and he can go north, south in a hurry, also. So, they pretty much open the whole passing game up to him and he can rely on that. But he also has those legs that he can make explosive plays. I think he leads the NFL in explosive runs. You guys got to check my math on some of those.”
The way the game is played nowadays, the NFL game with the rule changes, is it impossible to pitch a shutout nowadays?
“I mean, it’s not impossible, but the game has changed quite a bit. I mean, I’ll go back to my first few years in the league. We would have those defensive goal boards in your meeting room, whatever, ‘25% on third down and hold them to less than this and this.’ And it was always 13 points or less, right? Like that was the goal. It was like two touchdowns, no good. Has to be 13 points or less and that was considered a win way back in the mid-90s, up until like the middle 2000s. And then we started creeping it up. Then it became like 15, and 16, and 17. It’s not so much with rule changes and things like that, even though it is part of it, but just the additions in the running game. Back then there was no such thing as an RPO. If you had a good run defense on a play, there wasn’t an outlet to throw to. The running back got hit in the teeth for a minus four-yard gain. The passing game was a lot different. There weren’t as many picks and shallows to take advantage of man-to-man, all those different things. So, it certainly put a little bit more on the defense; some of the defensive holding, illegal contact, roughing the quarterback. All those things have sort of added into it. But when it’s all said and done, you’re trying to give up less than you score. And whether that’s 32 in a 33-32 game or it’s nine points in a 10-9 game, you just got to keep your eye on that from week to week and win the way that game’s being played.”
You must be pretty happy, I would imagine, with the way the defense played against the (Cincinnati) Bengals heading into this game against this challenging offense.
“Yeah, we weren’t happy at all. I mean, you lose the game, there’s no consolation prizes, there’s no participation trophies, there’s no, ‘You did a good job.’ You didn’t win the game. And just like Tony’s (Grossi) question, I mean, that’s everything that we look at, do enough to win the game and every game played a little bit different. And you look back at that, we gave up two touchdowns and you’re like, ‘Okay, well, if we could have held one of those to a field goal, both of them were on the fringe area. Make a tackle here, get a PBU there, maybe that game changes a little bit.’ I have been encouraged by our run defense the last couple weeks. I mean, all said and done, I mean, you’re not happy with the loss, but I think we held the Bengals to season lows in a lot of categories. We were good on third down, we were good stopping the run, we contained their passing game. So there are some encouraging signs, but, happy, satisfied, none of those things come into play.”
Picking up off of that, Jim, Denzel Ward, is he playing as well as you’ve seen him play?
“I thought he played really good last year for us, too. He’ll start coming down with some of those interceptions. Had his hands on a lot of balls and that play he made last week was just amazing. I mean, didn’t get the interception because the ball hit the ground there. But we put a lot of pressure on our corners in that game. There was a lot of different layers to coverage and there was going to be a lot of one-on-ones depending on where the help was going, and I thought those guys did a good job of battling in there and making the plays and containing some of their plays. We can always play better.”
Did you feel like they were, I mean, last week you sort of, I don’t want to say called them out, but you mentioned that you thought there was another level they could play at. Did you feel like you got the response out of them that you were looking for?
“Yeah, I mean, I didn’t do that for a response. I mean, our expectations are high with that group. And it wasn’t calling somebody out or anything else. It was just facts. We have a lot of confidence in our corners. We think they’re the best corner group in the NFL, time to start playing that way. It wasn’t like it was a message or we called people out or anything like that. You get kids and they come back with ‘Cs’ on their report card, and you expect more from them. It’s not that you’re calling them out or anything else. You’re just raising their standard and trying to live up to that standard.”
At this point in a season and the trade deadline is coming, do you have to address any of those things with your players that might be on edge wondering if they’re going to be traded or next?
“No, that’s really not my role. And our job is the next opponent. Our job is us, and executing our schemes, and playing with good fundamentals, and tackling, and rushing the passer, and covering. We have enough with those things and Lamar Jackson, and Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers, and Mark Andrews, and Isaiah Likely and I’m sure that I’m missing some in there, (Rashod) Bateman. Yeah, I mean, there’s a long list in there that things that require our attention other than that.”
All those guys right there, just now, their weapons that they have on offense. But Mark Andrews just getting involved here recently, like, how much of a challenge is he to go against, just his experience that he has before?
“Yeah, he’s just one of those savvy guys. Has a way of getting open, he can be physical in the route, he can also use some route craft to get open, he’s good at trying to beat guys’ leverage. We saw a similar guy a few weeks ago in Zach Ertz. Andrews maybe has a little bit more heaviness to him, but yeah, he’s been a good player for a long time for them. And then also complemented by Likely, who’s made a lot of big plays. They run the ball so well, that opens up those tight ends in the play action game. So, it’s just not one of these games. I mean, there’s some games you can go up and you say, “Hey, if we stop the run, we win the game. Or if we stop the pass, we win the game.” Whatever it is. With these guys, you can’t say that. You say, “Hey, we take Lamar’s legs away, we win the game.” Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true, you know, “Hey, we stop Derrick Henry, we win the game.” They got plenty of other ways to run the football. They got a lot of playmakers and things like that. We just got to play good overall team defense, and we got to play with our style, and we got to be physical. It’s going to be that kind of game.”
We know complementary football is the big thing, but is it impractical for a defensive coordinator behind closed doors to tell his troops, “We got to win this game?”
“No, I don’t know, I mean, you say things like that before. I mean, we’ve had times where it’s two great defenses and you challenge the guys and say, “Hey, look, best defense is going to win this game.” And it’s no disrespect to your offense, but that’s the way it goes. I’m sure offensive coaches do the same thing. You got two explosive offenses, and you say, like, “Hey, we gotta outscore this offense.” There’s a lot of different ways you can challenge your guys during the week and over the course of the season and things like that and we take a lot of pride in our performance. I think we’re starting to see some positive signs from our group and we’re starting to leave some of the inconsistencies behind. We’re still not there yet. You’re always battling and trying to deal with whether it’s injuries, or different schemes or different things. It’s always a sort of a moving target over the course of the year, but we expect to be able to carry our team and it’s just a prideful part of playing defense. When it’s all said and done, you can’t win if you don’t give up points, I mean, if you don’t score any points. But you’re not going to lose if you don’t score any points, I mean, if you don’t give up any points. Did I say that right? Yeah, yeah, I’m sure I screwed that one up. But, I mean, it’s just what you got to do.”
You have more control over that than the offense. The offense could say “They can’t beat us if we score 100 points.” But you could say they can’t beat us if we score…
“They can’t beat us if they score zero. I mean, is that impractical? Maybe. But we’ll certainly strive for it.
Jim, I think it’s been three games without a sack for Myles (Garrett). I know sacks aren’t everything, but are you still seeing him have the same impact he normally does or what do you see going on there?
“Yeah, I mean, (Joe) Burrow was throwing it quick. The fact that we got three sacks, I mean so much of their passing game is, ‘Don’t take a sack.’ But again, I think Myles had four TFLs or three TFLs. You’d have to check my — I mean, you guys know me. I throw out stats sometimes that don’t — but again, okay, so it’s first down and you get a tackle for a three-yard loss on a run play. It’s a pass play and you get a sack for a three-yard loss. One of them is held up as the high standard for a defensive lineman, the other one can get sort of ignored. It was a third down in that game, they were trying to get him field goal range to, I think at that point make it a three-score game. They tried to run the ball and Myles made a tackle-for-a-loss in the run game that forced them to punt and that was a huge play because I think the opponent got the ball right around midfield about four times. We gave up seven points in those four. But that was a huge stop in the game. It wasn’t a sack, but the play stopped the gain. So, whatever you got to do to be able to make plays, ball coming out quick, not a lot of times you can do anything about that. Getting doubled, not a lot of times you can do things about that. But you can always find ways to be an impact player, and Myles has continued to do that.”