Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz (12.11.25)
Jim (Schwartz), the run defense on Sunday, what was going on there and what needs to be rectified, facing the number two rushing offense in the NFL this week?
“Yeah, the run defense was really two plays. It was a 65-yarder, our longest play the whole year, where we looked like Keystone Cops on that one – we ran into each other on two different times, knocked each other off – just a really bad play for us. And then the 33-yarder, I think it was 33, which was a blitz, and we got cut out of the gap, and when you get cut out of a blitz, there’s nobody that can make you right, and we paid the price for that one. You know, when it was all said and done, the rest of the runs was something like, I think like 2.6 yards a carry. So, the biggest point there is you can’t let your guard down. It’s like being a boxer and you’re winning on points, but you get knocked out – not a good result. And for us, when you’re on offense and you run up 500 yards of offense, but you throw four interceptions, you can’t say, ‘well, we were great except for the four interceptions’. And that’s the way defense is, too. And not only a big emphasis on the run game…these guys can run the ball – I mean, they ran up almost 300 yards rushing on Philly (Eagles), so it’s enough to get your attention. It’s December football, it’ll be cold in the game, and run defense is going to be important. We need to play all our plays the way we played most of our plays, and we can’t let our guard down for one second or we pay the consequences.”
You already played Detroit (Lions) this year. Is this the facsimile?
“Yeah, there’s a lot of similarities in scheme, but also a little bit in personnel and the way they use some of their guys. The two backs, obviously Detroit has (Jahmyr) Gibbs and (David) Montgomery sort of an outside, inside kind of threat. (DeAndre) Swift gives them a lot of things that Gibbs gives them, and I know I’m going to butcher this kid’s name, (Kyle) Monangai – that guy gives you a hammer, sort of like Montgomery. I’ll tell you what, I got a lot of respect for that kid. He is a hard runner. He was a late round draft pick, not the biggest guy in the round, but there’s nothing to hit on him – he’s shaped a lot like (Ashton) Jeanty, and that gives them that good one, two punch. A lot of similar kind of play action stuff, they’re a heavy run, play action team. All their wide receivers will block the same way that Detroit’s will, and all their guys are good run after the catch guys. So yeah, there’s more similarities than just scheme, they’re trying to place personnel the same way. Tight ends are good, it’s really a solid group across the board, a lot of guys that can make plays. And the biggest thing is the run game, and then Caleb Williams sort of making plays off schedule. We face Lamar Jackson a couple times a year, we faced Justin Fields – we’re going to have to have every bit as much hands on deck to stop quarterback scrambles as we do with those guys because Caleb, he looks like Fran Tarkenton out there sometimes – he’s got eyes in the back of his head. I saw a stat somewhere that he has like 30 some unblocked blitzers or rushers and he’s taken zero sacks on those guys. So, he just has the ability to see them coming somehow, eyes in the back of his head make guys miss and then expand and extend plays. And when he does, he threatens the entire field. He can throw across his body 50 yards down the field, and he can dot an ‘I’ when he does it. So, it’s not just taking the run game away from them, but it’s taking the scrambles to throw, and that stuff puts a lot of pressure on your defense. So, good play action team, good run team, and quarterback that can make plays off schedule and a lot of wide receivers and tight ends that can run after the catch. Tough scheme. Great challenge for us.”
Do you think that the (Tennessee) Titans put out a formula for how to mitigate Myles (Garrett)? I mean, are the (Chicago) Bears going to try to do the same things to keep Myles from getting that sack record?
“I think the biggest thing in that game was just running the ball. I mean, it’s hard to get a sack when it’s a run play. And even though, I keep beating on my same horse, whatever, beating on the same drum, whatever the expression is there – Myles had those tackles for losses in the run game. You know, what’s the difference? I mean, it’s a little bit like the 65-yard run, give up a 65-yard pass – same result. Probably gets a little less attention, but defensively, a run is a strike to your physicality and your mentality and things like that. So, I was not displeased with the way we played the pass for the most part that game. I mean, they threw for about 100 yards, and a lot of that was play action, a lot of it was production from behind the line scrimmage – they were throwing it quick. So, I put it more on us that if we allow teams to rush…and they threw out that thing of, ‘if you get rid of the two runs, it was like two-point’, I think 2.6, 2.7, something like that, per carry, which looks good. But still they were able to maintain the run game, and we got to make it where people can’t maintain the run game and then force them to drop back longer. So, I think we control that more than the other teams do.”
(Ben) Johnson, they ran so many trick plays when he was with Detroit. Does he carry that over to Chicago?
“Yeah, I mean, they still have them, maybe a little bit less so, but you still have to be ready for them. They got reverses, they got double reverse, they got two quarterbacks in the game, they got Wildcat, they have that same little stumble where the quarterback came out from under center that they ran last year. They ran the same thing this year. So, that’s just part of it. With a lot of stuff that they do with a lot of the motions, double motions, and shifts and bringing guys behind the ball. That stuff that’s becoming ever more prevalent and the NFL, but it puts a big emphasis on where your eyes are and eye discipline. And if you take a bad step, they can make you pay for it. Well, it’s the same thing with trick play kind of things. If you take your eyes off of it at the wrong time, it’s going to make you look bad. So, it’s just more of an emphasis on doing your job, watching what you’re supposed to watch at, being disciplined with your eyes and then playing the physicality once you make that decision, once you read your key.”
The big difference in their offense is that they don’t get 70% completions like Detroit does. What accounts for that? Is it just a young quarterback?
“No, I think it’s more where their passes are going. They’re pushing the ball down the field a lot. There’s a lot of deep passes, passes over 15, which just by definition you’re not going to complete as many of those. And like some of the scrambles and things like that, they’re not super high percentage. I mean, they’re high reward if you can make them, but they’re not super high percentage. He doesn’t build up stats. I mean, they have their RPOs and they have their short passes, but, like, it’s run and play actions that really push the ball down the field, and I think you probably see that a little bit more in the completion percentage, but maybe less so with the yards per attempt and things like that.”
You finish a game without Denzel (Ward) and we talked to him yesterday and he said he’s still trying to get that calf right. Do you change a lot schematically if you don’t have?
“Well, yet to be seen. And I always let Kevin (Stefanski) speak on injuries and things like that. When we’ve lost guys at different times in the year this year, we really haven’t changed anything mid game. Yet to be seen if it will be changed before the game.”
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