Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz (12.5.24)
With such a quick turnaround from the last time you played them, what’s the biggest kind of points as you are kind of going back and preparing for this one that you kind of look at? Is it the Cincinnati game, the game they played between, or is it kind of focusing on what they did the last time?
“Well, it’s a combination of all. I mean, it’s not just one game. They have a full body of work from the whole season. So, you’re preparing for that. And then you’re looking at how they tried to attack you the last time, which is most recent. Cincy plays a different scheme than us. So, I don’t know if there’s a lot of carryover, but that’s just the way a game plan goes. Usually, you try to sort of pick similar opponents and see how they try to attack you. I mean, at this time of year, there’s really not a whole lot of secrets. Division opponents, there’s not a whole lot of secrets. Just comes down to who can execute the best, who can tackle well, who can rush well, who can cover well.”
Myles (Garrett) was involved on that one pass rush that resulted in the Greg (Newsome) interception. But by and large, it seemed like he’s a little more quiet than usual. What stood out in that protection plan and do you, after that performance, maybe try to scheme up more stuff for him or you treat him as an anomaly?
“I mean, he’s close a bunch of times. I mean, again, him winning in pass rush just doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be a sack. That’s always a line that we work, try to accentuate him, try to put him in good positions. But we’re also trying to do what’s best to stop an opponent, too. So, you’re always working both sides of that coin.”
It seemed like the 93-yarder was just an amazing play by Bo (Nix), right? Amazing catch and throw or was it something?
“I mean, tip of the hat for that, but that’s a defense that we play a lot, and it’s one of our most successful defenses. I mean, Denzel (Ward) can be, I don’t even say half a step better. Denzel can be a quarter of a step better, but our inside defender should have been deeper on that, too, and make that ball elevate a little bit more just to give Denzel a chance. I mean, we’ve had that play come up a bunch of times and that’s the first time, honestly, that’s the first time we’ve given up a play in that coverage for a long time. It’s a third and long, and when it’s all said and done, that game, I thought came down, for us, it came down to two backed up series because we had them backed up, it was third and long, we forced them to make a check down, they throw incomplete, we get a sack, whatever it is, and we set our offense up with most likely a short field, even though you know, at that altitude you never know what’s going to happen to a punt. But that was a seven-point turnaround. And then the other time we had them backed up, we missed a sack in the end zone for safety. And that drive ended up staying alive and moved down the field and got a field goal. So that’s like a five-point turnaround. So, you’re talking 12 points in the game. And a lot of people look and say, ‘Well, it’s the two pick sixes,’ or whatever. In my mind, and what we’re responsible for defensively, I look at those two plays. If we execute better on both of those and play the exact same way to the rest of the game, I think we have a different result. So, we take a lot of responsibility for that and we have to perform better when we have an opponent backed up.
The Pickens matchup, I know you said before he’s a guy that even when he’s covered, he’s always open. But on top of that, what about just the chippiness aspect of his game and how you think your DBs will handle that in this rematch knowing Grant (Delpit) got the penalty last time and the scuffle with Greg (Newsome II) at the end of the game?
“I mean, yeah, I don’t put that on Greg at all. I mean, Greg’s boxing his man out for a tip ball. I thought he executed that pretty well. But yeah, you have to understand where the line is and don’t put your team in a bad position by getting a penalty. Emotions are going to be high. I mean, it’s Pittsburgh – Cleveland, I mean, we know what that’s about it and whether it’s been George Pickens or however many years of other guys, that’s the way these games play. And we need to play with emotion, we need to play with an edge, but we got to be careful about crossing the line and do nothing that puts our team in a bad position.”
We talked a lot about big plays this year and I know you can’t take those out of the equation. You’ve said, “Hey, if you do take those out of the equation, overall, the defense has played pretty well.” I think you’ve had a dozen plays allowed over 40 yards, nearly 60 over 20. Why have there been so many explosives and what’s been the problem with not being able to eliminate those?
“Well, they’ve been in — probably the problem with not being able to eliminate them is that there hasn’t been a whole lot of commonalities to them. Like this last one was in a deep zone we’ve had given up as one-on-ones in man-to-man coverage. We’ve had a lot of different — if it was one thing, I think you can take steps to replace. We have to concentrate on just doing our job really well and if you let your guard down, it just proves in this league if you let your guard down for one second, you can give up a 96-yard touchdown pass or 94-yard touchdown pass, whatever it is. When it’s all said and done, there may be reasons, but there’s no excuses and we take responsibility for it.”
On the 93-yard touchdown pass again, you had mentioned that you hadn’t given up a lot of completions on that coverage, that inverted two. Without giving them giving too much away, just like what do you like about that coverage? Because it seems like you do.
“Yeah, I don’t really want to talk too much about scheme. I don’t think that benefits us and it potentially can help our opponents.”
JOK (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) would be the guy covering that middle zone if he were playing, correct?
“Yeah, might be reasons, but there’s no excuses, Tony (Grossi).”
Would the outcome have been different with him back there?
“Yeah, I mean, but he’s not playing for us. So again, no excuses.”
There were times that MJ (Martin Emerson Jr.) seems to have gotten behind his guy in some of those big plays. When you are trying to clean that up, what does the process look like at practice and taking that film, making sure it doesn’t happen again?
“I think a lot of the plays that he’s given up has been more at the line of scrimmage as opposed to down the field and it puts him in a bad position for down the field. And it’s just a matter of finishing at the play, you get good receivers in this league. A.J. Brown, that the one that comes to mind, and every week there’s a dude, right? Every week there’s a dude. One bad step can cost you down the field. And we just need to do a better job of technique and being consistent with that technique because a little bit like our defense, MJ has played really well at times. But he’s had a couple plays here and there that is, for a corner, you never want to be able to give up. You want to win your one-on-ones and make those plays down the field. We got a lot of confidence in him. He’s going to be a big part of how we win this game. So, he’s got a good body of work and he’s working hard to be consistent.”
Why wouldn’t you play him off the man more if he gets beat at the line of scrimmage a lot?
“Well, he has been at times. I mean, when they were driving for that field goal, you know where he was? He was off. And then you’re probably asking me like, “Okay, well, why don’t you get up and press that?” So, when it all comes down to it, whether you’re off or you’re up, it’s blitz or whether it’s zone, work hard play with good technique and let the defense work and play hard and play with some emotion.”
Denzel is the Walter Payton (Man of the Year Award) nominee for this team this year. How good has he been for you on the field and then also locker room captain, all that kind of stuff?
“Yeah, you can’t help but be impressed by Denzel. You guys probably know him well from his career and his roots here. He’s a valuable member of our team, he’s a valuable member of our defense and he’s just I’d say a valuable member of the organization because that goes beyond the team and he’s a valuable member of the community, just an all-around good guy. And the interception that he made in that game, I was telling him the other day, I think that might be one of my top two interceptions in 32 years in the NFL. Like stretching out that much on that deep ball and making that play that far down the field. When I was in Tennessee, a very similar place, Samari Rolle, who was a great ball tracker, he covered like a wide receiver when that ball went in the air, and he had one that I remember that was similar. We talked about before with Denzel, like, just a matter of time before he starts making some of those. Those were two big plays on, unfortunately, our two backed up series sort of negated those plays. But him getting his hand on the one ball by playing tight coverage, and Greg Newsome intercepting it or just him tracking that deep ball, that was just really well executed and there’s not many people in the league that can make that play, but Denzel can. So proud of him in a lot of ways. Not just on the field, but off the field. He does so much for the community and we’re all proud of him.”
When he is breaking up passes and like you said, tracking the ball and flying downfield to make those plays. I mean, it seems like he’s taken his game up to a whole new level this year.
“Yeah, he’s played really, really well when he’s been out there, and he has such tremendous close ability. I mean, like when Tony (Grossi) was talking about like playing off, like he can play off and then stick his foot in the ground and close up ground so fast, probably more than any corner that I’ve had in 32 years. And he’s just competitive and he hasn’t made all those plays. I mean, he gave up that play to Pickens the last time, tight coverage, a lot of hand fighting and pushing and Pickens was able to come down with that. And CeeDee Lamb came up with one in the first game. So, when you’re a corner, I mean it’s — I used to tell guys all the time, I have to change my analogies because my eras pass with the players. But I used to always say it’s like covering Michael Jordan, right? You can play great defense and he’s probably still going to score 20. But if you don’t play good defense, he’s going to score 40, or he’s going to hang 50 on you and stuff like that. When the guy hits a fadeaway, a fadeaway 20-foot jumper when you’re right in his face and it just hits nothing but net, you just go on to the next play and you battle, and I think Denzel’s done a good job with that. He hasn’t let one play sort of carry over. He’s got his hands on a lot of football. I don’t know what his metrics say when all that stuff came, but he’s got a lot of past breakups, and we’re starting to see some of those plays turn into interceptions for him.”
It’s only been one game since you played them, but they backed off on the Justin Fields package against Cincinnati. You think that’s coming back for you?
“Yeah, I mean, I think they were scheming some stuff up for short yardage, which we were ready for. And I thought our guys did a good job in short yardage. I thought that was a big part of getting that win on Thursday night. But I think some of it also tone had to do with the field conditions running some of those quarterback runs and making guys have to defend a lot of different stuff and change direction and stuff like that. I think it was more, n my mind it was more of reaction. I can’t speak for Arthur Smith or any of those guys. But whether they decide to use it or not, it’s our job to be ready for it.”