Browns Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz speaks at the podium on January 4, 2024
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00:00 Yeah, so we can we can we can put that aside real quick.
00:07 Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna itemize. I'm gonna itemize exactly.
00:11 Yeah, that's a if Kevin if Kevin wants to talk about that, that's that's his job.
00:17 My job's put 11 guys on the field, hopefully and play good defense.
00:22 Put it over the course of first 16 games.
00:26 How teams are sort of trying to attack you to counter what you guys have been successful.
00:31 So you know, everybody's a little bit different.
00:34 I would say this.
00:36 You know, in my history, teams that try to change to counter another team are on the wrong track.
00:46 The teams that have probably played the best against us have been teams that have stayed true for themselves and just done what they do best, you know, because that's sort of that's sort of what we do on defense.
00:57 You know, everybody has little adjustments here and some game plan things here.
01:01 And, you know, you have that cat mouse game all around.
01:04 But, you know, if we're forcing a team to completely change course and do something out of character.
01:11 I might be mission accomplished for us, you know, like when we played on Thursday night, we had a really crappy first series of the game, countered some of the things that they were doing.
01:20 And then, you know, and then, you know, really started, you know, playing some good defense after that.
01:26 But there's always that part of the game, you know, but we try to be true to ourselves.
01:31 We try to do what fits our players best and, you know, with little minor adjustments and things like that.
01:37 But we try not to play totally out of character, even when we're playing at home.
01:41 Jim, you talked about Greg.
01:45 You knew he would bounce back after that.
01:47 How do you think he played over this final four and a half?
01:50 Yeah.
01:52 What are we?
01:53 No, no.
01:55 Yeah, 4-0 in that stretch.
01:56 Yeah.
01:57 11 and 5.
01:59 Yeah, I mean, at this point of year, you sort of lose track.
02:03 Yeah, I mean, I'd classify him there.
02:07 I'd say this.
02:08 I'm really proud of our corners.
02:09 We put a lot of pressure on the corners, you know, I mean, you go look at the snaps of cover two and quarters we play.
02:20 We have to be here to bother the NFL in those snaps.
02:23 And those things a lot of times you can do to protect your corners.
02:26 Those guys all relish the one-on-one.
02:29 You can't play corner if, you know, if you're trying to hide.
02:33 And, you know, Greg, he's not trying to hide, you know, probably the opposite.
02:38 Brings us a lot of energy.
02:41 He's always up to challenge.
02:42 He brings his teammates energy, you know, and I think like I'd say this.
02:48 I wouldn't trade our corner room for anybody.
02:53 I think he's coaching a year.
02:58 I mean, I don't think that's even close.
03:00 He's just such a steady hand with the team, you know.
03:04 You guys ever see that movie, Dustin Hoffman, Wag the Dog?
03:10 Remember that when he was like that, like movie producer and things would go bad like with their whole like project that they were having, you know,
03:22 it'd be a disaster, something going on.
03:24 And he just kept going.
03:25 You think this is something, this is nothing.
03:28 One time I was on, you know, one time I was on a shoot in Istanbul and, you know, then this happened and, you know, it just sort of put it in perspective, but, you know, a head coach should be a steadying influence in a team.
03:41 And I don't think anybody exemplifies that better than Kevin, you know, good coaches can, you know, round out the rollercoaster nature, which is the NFL.
03:52 Right.
03:52 You know, like you're going to have highs, you're going to have lows over the course of the season.
03:56 And, you know, you want to be, you want to be the person that can, that can level out those, like, you know, it's like a good hedge fund manager, you know, and I think Kevin's, he's been, he's awesome to work for.
04:12 I got a ton of respect for him.
04:14 And, you know, we, we, we've had a couple spots this year where we haven't played great, but we've already always been able to bounce back.
04:22 And I think players take a lot of confidence in Kevin's confidence and his ability to handle all these different situations.
04:30 You know, a lot's been made of the quarterback position, but you can go down a list of a lot of other situations, particularly injuries that have come and, you know, and, and found ways to, you know, still be successful and have the record.
04:43 You know, we have, it's, it's really been impressive.
04:45 Good.
04:47 I just feel like I get my, you know, not just the quarterback, all the injuries.
04:51 Yeah.
04:54 Yeah.
04:55 I like our culture that way, you know, and I think, you know, sometimes, sometimes I don't watch a ton of other teams, but sometimes you can see frustration come out of other teams.
05:07 You can see guys throwing helmets.
05:08 You can see guys, you know, scraps on the sideline, coaches and players and players and players and coaches and coaches and, and stuff like that.
05:17 And you haven't seen any of that from our team.
05:19 You know, if the offense turns the ball over, you don't see the defense point a finger at them or throwing helmets.
05:24 And, you know, if the defense gives up a touchdown, you know, those guys, you know, those guys are supportive and, you know, and I think that culture and everything is a sign of coaching also.
05:38 So, yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm really proud to work for Kevin.
05:41 Well, I would say this, like part of part of playing corner is being aggressive with your technique.
05:57 And here, here's the thing with, with some of his penalties, as long as they're not in situations like third down and all.
06:07 Second, an extra long things where you have the offense, you know, really in a, in a Jane, right.
06:13 Second and 20 and you get an ICT five yards, but first down, you know, third down and 12, you get a defensive holding first down.
06:22 And he hasn't had a ton of those, you know, and I think that, you know, you, you gotta push the envelope a little bit when you're a corner because, you know, like you can go the other way.
06:32 You can be so.
06:33 Averse to penalties that you don't cover it, but you never put your hands on people.
06:37 And, you know, I think he's got a pretty good balance there.
06:40 And that's one of the things we preach to guys, you know, we're, we're get off team up front.
06:44 We know we're going to be off sides.
06:45 Sometimes let's not be stupid about it.
06:47 Right.
06:47 Let's not be all sides when it's, you know, when it's third and two, let's not be off sides when it's backed up.
06:54 Let's not be all sides after a penalty or, you know, one of those things.
06:57 And it's the same with corners.
06:58 They got to be able to pick and choose their spots a little bit.
07:02 You know, they're on an Island a lot.
07:04 Like I said, we don't protect those guys a lot.
07:06 You put a lot on them and there's some good wide receivers and good quarterbacks in this league.
07:11 I don't know if I'd classify them all.
07:18 You know, I think anytime that you have either DH or an ICT for the most part, it's it's where you, you lost early, right?
07:30 You lost early and you're trying to catch up.
07:32 So, you know, it's your feet aren't in the greatest position.
07:35 You cover with feet, even though there's hands involved in it.
07:38 But, you know, generally they're on.
07:41 I'm just talking about MJ.
07:42 I'm talking about all across the league, you know, same thing with offensive.
07:46 Oh, you know, guys don't hold it.
07:48 They're good position, you know, and it's the same thing with DH or ICT and things like that.
07:54 ICT sometimes, you know, you can just be frontal on guys and, you know, you get collisions.
08:02 And sometimes, you know, they're sort of iffy calls, but, you know, I don't know, I've had a ton of those.
08:06 But, you know, I would I would emphasize again, like the pressure we put on those guys.
08:13 And, you know, there's not a lot of help.
08:15 There's not a lot of easy downs for those guys.
08:17 There's not a lot of place to hide.
08:19 Everybody can see them on every single play.
08:21 It takes a mentality to do that.
08:23 It takes a skill set to do that.
08:24 And MJ has that.
08:26 He's had a great year this year as, you know, I mean, it's been it's been impressive to watch.
08:34 Pro Bowl didn't agree, but, you know, we're really glad to have him.
08:37 We're glad to have him and Benzel, Newsom and everybody.
08:40 [ Inaudible ]
08:59 Well, first of all, I'm really happy here.
09:02 I talked about Kevin.
09:03 I haven't really talked about Andrew Barry or the Haslums, but I love this organization.
09:08 I love the city of Cleveland.
09:10 That was such a such a great atmosphere.
09:12 31 years in the NFL.
09:14 That was probably that was one of my top five atmospheres, you know, that Thursday night.
09:19 We need to share that with players.
09:21 You know, we got a lot of energy for them.
09:23 We need to give them a little energy, pay them back.
09:25 Not many chances you have to be able to clinch at home.
09:28 So, you know, all that.
09:30 But I'd say this, like in any job that you do, you always aspire to the top of that profession.
09:37 And I'm no different there.
09:39 [ Inaudible ]
09:50 Denzel.
09:50 Yeah, we're a better defenseman.
09:52 Denzel's on the field and healthy.
09:54 You know, he's one of the best corners I've coached in those in those 31 years.
10:00 You know, and he's had a battle.
10:03 You know, he went through a month where he either wasn't playing or, you know, was playing and he wasn't 100%.
10:11 But he's rounding out in the better physical condition as we get, you know, closer to this end of the season and postseason.
10:18 And we need him.
10:18 You know, not only his coverage, but I think what's a little bit a little bit underrated about Denzel this year is up until the shoulder injury had been the tackling.
10:31 He made some big hits for us, made some big third down stops, came up and stuck some screen passes, limited run after the catch, you know, all those things.
10:40 And, you know, it hadn't always looked great over the last month, but now he's getting better.
10:45 And, you know, I think that's been a part of his game that he was very serious about improvement.
10:50 I think it showed and I think it will show as as we go forward.
10:54 He's got that experience.
10:59 You know, he's another one, you know, we talked about Newsome, we talked about MJ, you know, but Denzel's never met a one on one matchup that he didn't relish, that he didn't want to win.
11:12 And we have confidence in those guys.
11:14 They have confidence in themselves.
11:16 They are the tip of the spear when it comes to our defense.
11:21 We talk a lot about our D-line is our engine.
11:24 There are people that give us the energy and the pace of which we play.
11:28 But, you know, if a defensive lineman is out of their gap or misses a play, nobody really notices it, right?
11:35 You know, I mean, it can get over it can get overlooked because the linebacker goes up, fills a gap or makes a tackle.
11:41 But if a corner fails on the play, everybody sees it.
11:45 It takes it takes a different mentality to live with that.
11:48 Denzel's got Denzel's got that playoff press.
11:52 You know, he's a pleasure to coach.
11:56 He gives us great leadership.
11:57 I mean.
11:58 Yeah, you know, like early in the season, you know, we were pretty healthy at that position and all of a sudden it started hitting.
12:16 You know, we we lost Rodney McLeod.
12:18 We lost, you know, Grant.
12:20 We lost Juan.
12:21 And, you know, those guys who had different roles, Ronnie was inactive, even though he played in the opener.
12:27 You know, because Juan couldn't play in the opener, went in and played really well for us.
12:31 But, you know, those guys, those guys like were ready when their time came.
12:37 Ronnie made improvements over the course of the year.
12:39 D-Bell made really good improvements over the course of the year.
12:42 Was a special teams player, but kept working.
12:46 And, you know, and those guys and Harmon, you know, I think that, you know, it's nothing like having your starters, right?
12:55 Having Grant, having Juan, you know, those guys out there, but it's life in the NFL.
13:00 You're not always going to have those.
13:02 And those guys were ready when their number was called.
13:05 We saw Ronnie making some plays in the preseason and he's continued that.
13:09 The thing I've been most proud about both of those guys, they've been so assignment sound.
13:14 And, you know, Ronnie's a rookie and, you know, D-Bell's still a young player.
13:20 That's mainly been a special team role.
13:22 You know, and a lot of times when those guys come in, you know, you're sort of fighting assignment sound and, you know, being in the right spots.
13:31 But, you know, like, you know, they've been in the right spots.
13:35 They've had very few missed assignments.
13:37 They played like veterans.
13:38 And, you know, at this point of year, there are no rookies.
13:41 And Ronnie has really lived that, you know, in the perfect spot by the coverage.
13:47 And, you know, that interception and that score, number one, it brought the house down.
13:52 But, you know, it really like.
13:54 You know, I don't know how much of a game it was after that, right?
13:58 I think that was, you know, like, you know, I hear some people talk about the dagger and things like that, even though that was early in the game.
14:04 Like, you know, that that was that that was really a dagger.
14:08 And he's that kind of playmaker.
14:10 All those guys have been impressive.
14:12 Looks like, you know, we got one back for some snaps.
14:15 You know, get those guys.
14:18 You know, he's been able to play multiple positions.
14:22 Yeah, a lot of good things about this guy.
14:25 OK. All right, guys.
14:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]