Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz (8.4.25)
I’ve always wanted to ask you this. It’s more of a general question about your philosophy. You worked for Bill (Belichick) and Nick (Saban) here. You go to Baltimore, and you work for Marvin (Lewis). How do all those philosophies sort of come together to form this the philosophy you’ve kind of come to?
“Yeah, you take a little bit from coaches that you’ve met along the way, not just in schemes, but in ways they handle situations, ways they organize, ways to organize their staff, the way they deal with players. You’re watching like, hey, that was really good, the way Marvin did this, or, hey, the way Bill did that. If I’m ever in that situation, I’ll do the same thing. I think scheme wise, though, probably comes more from success and failure. Failure in the league. You know, and I was telling somebody before, a lot of what we built with the defensive front came when I was in Tennessee and we had the challenge of facing Gary Kubiak’s Texans, which were wide zone and stretch and Peyton Manning, which was wide zone, and those heavy play actions and quick passes, and then Jacksonville, which was heavy, heavy power run game. There’s no greater teacher in this league than failure, right? We spent a lot of time on learning what doesn’t work, and then you sort of refine and, okay, that works. Plus, things sort of roll back, like mobile quarterback. Well, you’ve already had Michael Vick. So, the next time, whenever Lamar Jackson comes, it’s like, well, I know how to get my butt beat by Michael Vick. Let’s try to change some of those things. So, I’d say probably 50-50 in schemes and taking things from different coaches, whether it’s organizationally or dealing with players or dealing with the other coaches, and then also experience in the league playing.”
(Mason) Graham and (Carson) Schwesinger, how have they been doing?
“Yeah, both of those guys are really doing well. I mean, let’s not put them in the Hall of Fame yet. They’re both rookies. But I’ll start with Mase. Mase has really made a tremendous turnaround in his body composition. I don’t know if you guys have noticed it, but it’s been significant from the time he got here after the draft, to the shape he’s in now. His metrics are much improved. He’s running a lot faster and there was an adjustment. He played a read scheme where he was hunkering at the line of scrimmage, so he didn’t get a chance to make a lot of sacks or those tackles for losses, even though he’s really productive in what he did. So, not only was he sort of changing his body composition, but he was learning a whole new way to play defense, which is attack. There’s been some setbacks along the way. But the thing with Mase is he’s taken two steps forward for every one step back he’s taken. So, he’s gaining ground and you’re starting to see him make more plays. I think it was Friday, he had one of the best rushes he’s had in practice. It was a B gap rush, and it was beating the guard with speed. Nothing fancy about it, but that was something that we really hadn’t seen a lot of back in OTAs and in May so I’ve been happy with him. There’s still going to be some adjustment. Anybody that’s going to a new scheme like that, there’s going to be some one step forward, two steps out, two steps forward, one step back. But as long as it’s not one step forward, one step back, he’s making progress and really excited to see him against some other competition and then see him in some games and seeing that translate, we could be a long time talking about Carson because, with Jordan Hicks’ retirement, it really accelerated his timeline of getting him ready. But everything we’ve asked from him, not only has he been able to do, but he’s done a better job than what we expected. He’s got great size, he’s got great quickness, he’s got great speed, he’s got great instincts, and he’s made just as many mistakes as any other rookie, but he has not made any big mistakes. I think you guys have seen some of the physicality that he’s brought to our practices. His communication is much improved. For a college guy coming in, it’s a different communication than in college because a lot of colleges, they look over for the signal. Nobody really says anything here. He’s a rookie. He’s got to command the huddle. He’s got to make calls and do a lot more things like that, and he’s excelled in all those things. Really excited for him and really happy to have both of those guys.”
You guys’ lost Martin Emerson (Jr.) last week to that Achilles injury. What were your hopes for him this year? What’s your plan to replace him? How tough was this for Martin?
“Yeah, Martin means a lot to us and I thought he was really primed for a comeback year. He was in great shape, he was hungry, his attitude was great and unfortunately, he had the injury. We have a veteran like Greg Newsome (II) that’s played inside and outside, but we put a little bit more on Greg, but Greg’s been playing a lot of football for us, so it’s really just going to open up a lot more for nickel competition, for the third outside corner competition. So, there’s good competition there and we need some guys to be able to step in.”
I asked you about the ripple effect of losing Martin Emerson (Jr.), and you just addressed that. So, who is taking the lead on that inside?
“Well, inside we have two veteran players for us. Veteran meaning young vets, Cam (Mitchell) and Myles (Harden), and they’re really just working through, just like everybody else, being consistent, being physical and playing with great effort and somebody, going to end up taking the job and it’s going to be based on the body of work from training camp and preseason and all those other things. But we play a lot of DBs, so we’ll need all those guys as we go.”
As you talked about Carson (Schwesinger), have you ever had a rookie be a green dot in the defense over your career? Then off of that, with Jordan (Hicks) gone, Is it all on Carson to assume that leadership role or have you seen that spread out among a number of guys?
“The leadership stuff will come from playing good and preparing well and earning the respect of his teammates. You know, that’s something that you don’t just – it’s not a switch you hit or it’s not a card you get, hey, now you’re a leader. It comes. I mean, people respect preparation, they respect hard work, they respect communication, respect good play on the field. If he does those things. Leadership will take care of itself.”
Have you ever had a rookie (leading your defense)?
“Oh, yeah, I’ve had multiple rookies. Last one I have was probably Preston Brown in Buffalo, who was a third or fourth round pick and made all the calls and was outstanding. I mean, it’s you know, it’s something those guys can do.”
When we talk to Myles (Garrett), he has his sights set on NFL defensive player of the year and to get.you guys into the super bowl this year. So, to have your best player on the team talking like that, what impact does that have on the whole operation?
“Yeah, congratulations (Mary Kay Cabot) on Bill Nunn (Memorial award). That’s fantastic. I got to meet him back when I was sort of in the scouting world. Legendary guy. But congratulations on that. With Myles, we sort of go as a defense as Myles goes, you braided pack determined by the lead dog, and we play good on defense, but Myles is playing good. So, I think setting that standard means a lot. Defensive player of the year. He’s been that. I think all our guys have been challenged to take another step. If you’re on the practice squad trying to earn a spot on the roster, if you were on the roster trying to earn a playtime or starting spot, you’re a starter trying to elevate to a Pro Bowl status. I really think the next step for Myles is not Defensive Player of the year. He’s been there, done that. Next step for him is MVP candidate. If we’re playing good on defense and he’s at the heart of that, I think he’s in that conversation. He is obviously a marked man in every game. Sees doubles, we move him around, but he still wears number 95, right? He still looks like he does, so it’s easy for opponents to find him. But, by definition of a great player, is when the opponent says, we’re taking this guy out, this guy’s not going to beat us, and he can still have that production and that effectiveness. I think it sets a big standard or big statement. I would say we also have to be better around Myles, right? We have to be able to win one-on-ones in pass rush when he does get doubled, because that’ll help. If we can win those one-on-ones, and the offense says, well, we can’t afford to put so much tension on Myles because this guy is wearing us out, or these other guys are wearing us out, then it opens things up. So, we need that sort of one plus one equals three. The sum is greater than the individual parts, and I think that’s a challenge for us.”
Jimmy (Haslam) talked about Kevin Stefanski last week, and he made a point to emphasize Kevin’s age, only 43, and the idea of still being a young coach to develop. You’ve been around a lot of great coaches in your time. Where do you see Kevin on his professional development curve right now?
“Oh, I don’t worry about that. He’s the head coach. I have so much respect for Kevin. He’s so even keeled. I think everybody has a little different style, right? Like, I’m a little bit more emotional, a little bit more like where you’re, where your emotions on your sleeve. The thing I respect about Kevin is just how even keeled is. If you want teams to play well, you need a lot of different ways to touch it. I think Kevin just that steady, you know, if you’re ever on a sailboat, you don’t look in the immediate front of the sailboat. You keep your eye on the horizon, and you want to stay that true course. I think Kevin just exemplifies that.”
Can you talk about how the defense, it seems, is always ahead in training camp. You’re in your third year in the system with a lot of guys. Can you evaluate it in your own mind? Does this look like the real deal or have you yet to be shown?
“Yeah, well, I think you do see good signs, right? You’re looking for communication and you’re looking for individual effort and you’re looking for things like that. But when it’s all said and done, it’s got to be on the field, and what happens in training camp, that can be good signs and that can sort of lead you in a direction. But until you do it on the field and you do it consistently, that’s all it is. It’s just a good sign. So, we’re focused on trying to improve every day and those things to set us up. Like, again, you can’t start at the end of the journey. You can’t say we want to be a great defense because then you lose the day to day. You got to say, ‘Hey, look, let’s go out and make progress today. Let’s go attack this day and learn from our mistakes. Let’s emphasize our talent, let’s compete.’ If you do those things and you do those things consistently, then you’ll get to where you want to go. But this time of year, we’re really just trying to keep our eyes on what’s there that day and not worry about a whole lot other than that.”
It looks like Denzel (Ward) has taken his game to even another level, which I didn’t even know if that was possible. And then he’s also aiming for NFL Defensive player of the year. So what are you seeing from Denzel?
“Yeah, I’ve always admired Denzel as a player when I’ve been on other teams, just the way he goes about doing his things is impressive to see up close. I knew some guys that have coached him in the past that said you’re going to love Denzel, and I certainly do. I’ve had some good corners in the past. He’s probably the best corner I’ve had in 30 some years, in my 30 some years in the NFL. The thing I like about Denzel is how consistent he is with his preparation – he never phones in a performance. He’s making a big effort this year to be more physical. He’s such a great shadow guy and he’s working a little bit more now, being a little more physical at the line of scrimmage, giving us a bit more run support and sort of rounding out some other parts of the game when it’s all said and done, the biggest thing is he needs to finish those PBUs with INTs. You know, he was so, so productive in getting PBUs last year, but left a lot of meat on the bone. And a third down stop that’s a PBU, becomes a game changing play when it’s an INT. And that’s probably the biggest thing for him to really make that next step, because there were really opportunities there – he knows that. You know the finishing the plays thing when he does that will be, you know, we’ll be in a really good spot on defense.”
We see him (Denzel Ward) matched up with like Harold (Fannin Jr.), So, he can match up with any size, any speed. How unique is that in the corner for him to basically be able to match up against anyone?
“Well he does it with his own style. I think the biggest thing with him is he doesn’t really change his style for which whether it’s Jerry Jeudy or Tilly (Cedric Tillman) or Harold or maybe even David (Njoku), he gets out there sometimes with him. He just works on his own craft. We’ve used him to match different receivers, play right and left. We’ve switched him and camp a little bit here and there, so I don’t know that it’s unusual in your corner. Over the course of 17 plus games, there’s going to be a lot of different kinds of matchups, I mean, we open with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Yeah, Tennessee basketball guy. Mr. Basketball in Tennessee as a high school player. I mean, like Ja’Marr is not a small receiver, but he’s got quickness of a smaller guy. And T Higg is just so big and it’s just a different style but, you know, he’s going to have challenges right out the gate. So, we’ll get exposure to all that stuff in camp.”
Two of the things you talked about during OTAs and mini camp is improving third round percentage in the takeaways aspect, even where we are in camp right now, how have you seen the guys embody that mentality to improve those areas and then what are they focusing on?
“Yeah, probably the biggest thing with takeaways has been us attacking the ball. I think it’s pretty obvious to anybody’s who’s watched, you see nine guys attacking the ball and number one, that helps us. We’ve gotten some loose balls that way, but also it helps our offensive guys, if we’re attacking the ball and being so productive there it forces them to have better ball security. So, that works hand in hand. In training camp, a lot of times it’s hard to read for interceptions because so many interceptions come from quarterback either throwing before he wanted to or getting hit when he’s thrown or making a mistake, and in training camp when you’re not hitting a quarterback and those guys know they’re not going to hit, they generally don’t make those kind of mistakes. So, that’ll just be more. But we have sort of emphasized a little bit more of a playmaker attitude, taking some calculated risks here and there and hopefully that’ll show up on the field along with the ball disruption attempts that we’ve tried.”
Talking about the defensive line, what have you noticed with Isaiah (McGuire) and Alex (Wright) and how they’ve come along and how much have they embraced that competition on the other side of the line?
“Yeah, we have great competition at defensive end in particular. We have got a lot of guys that have started a lot of games in the NFL. You mentioned Alex, put Cam Thomas out there, who’s had an outstanding camp. Julian (Okwara) out there, who’s had an outstanding camp. KJ (Henry), new to us, he made a play the other day, he’s been physical for us. All those guys are going to play in the NFL and it’s going to make us better. The competition that they bring, because they got to be on their game every day or somebody else is going to be. So, we want to see physicality out of those guys. Those guys you mentioned are both physical players for us. Zay (Isaiah McGuire) had a play in practice the other day where he literally took three blockers and knocked them back into the backfield. It was a tackle for a loss on the play. When we’re doing that, when we’re being disruptive up front, we’re going to get those lost yardage plays. We’re going to be around the quarterback. But if you’re somebody coming out to watch practice, that competition is something to watch because you roll through and we’ll have our end of practice, extra reps. We’ll have guys that are running 13 – I really don’t care what group you’re running in, it’s all about getting reps. But you’re seeing veteran players in those that are out there trying to improve and trying to prove themselves. I think it’s outstanding for us, and I’m excited to watch all those guys playing, rooting for all of them. Like I said, I think all those guys will end up on teams and probably all getting significant playing time this year.”
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