Sports Radio Interviews

Jim Schwartz Continues Rebuilding the Lions

Heading into his second year with the Detroit Lions, Jim Schwartz and the Lions finally have something to look forward to after having successful drafts both this year and last year.  Along with high draft picks comes hefty expectations from both the fans and the organization itself, and has allowed them to bring in a group of young, talented players led by Matt Stafford and Ndamukong Suh.  For once there seems to be a sense of purpose and stability surrounding the organization.  This season marks the first time this millennium that the Lions have returned their head coach and both coordinators in consecutive seasons.  Contrary to years past, the Lions have a franchise quarterback in Matt Stafford that they fully believe has the potential to turn into one of the elite NFL quarterbacks.

Last season, Stafford showed some common rookie flaws throwing seven more interceptions than his thirteen TD passes, showed a tendency to telegraph his passes and misread defensive coverages.  But along with that, he showed that his arm is the real deal and signs of being a true leader for the team for years to come.  One of the goals for the Lions has been to surround Stafford and Calvin Johnson with some talented playmakers, as well as adding depth to the defensive side of the ball.  They went out this offseason and signed receiver Nate Burleson to a five-year deal, traded for tight end Tony Scheffler to help ease Brandon Pettigrew back from his ACL injury, and drafted Jahvid Best for depth at the running back position as Kevin Smith recovers from an ACL injury as well.  Coach Schwartz should have a better defense up front, but their secondary and linebackers aren’t professional caliber.  They drafted Ndamukong Suh, who will instantly demand double teams up front, and newly signed Kyle Vanden Bosch and Turk McBride will help Suh upfront.  If the defensive front can play well and is able to take on multiple blockers to prevent them from getting to the second and third levels of their defense, that can help ease the lack of quality players and depth among their linebackers and secondary.  The bad news for the Lions is that they are in the same division as the Packers and Vikings, who are both in the conversation to make it to the Super Bowl, but the good news is that they should improve on that horrible 2-14 record.  The Lions won’t be great this season but they won’t be brown-bag-bad like they have in years past.

Jim Schwartz joined WDFN in Detroit to talk about the difference between this year and last year, his thoughts on getting Matt Stafford some offensive weapons, and on how the team will move forward with their defense being ranked towards the bottom for the last few years.

His thoughts on the difference between this year and last year:

“Last year I was trying to find the directions to Ford Field and busy assigning parking spots, you know, really just learning the players, learning the organization, and this year has been a totally different focus.  The players know me, I know them, and we knew where we were last year and made the decision to go forward with some players and not to go forward with others.  I think that we have had a really productive offseason from a lot of different standpoints but mainly because that dynamic of a new coach and new coaching staff is out the window now.  Now players can worry about just making progress in the scheme, making progress as players and we can make progress with getting players that fit the schemes and with what we want to do.  I think we made really good strides there.”

His thoughts on getting Matt Stafford some offensive weapons:

“Well the two teams in the Super Bowl last year both had really good quarterbacks and they both had a lot of offensive weapons.  A team like the Colts, who has been one of the best teams in the league over the last eight or ten years, they’ve drafted two running backs in the first round, they drafted a tight end in the first round, they drafted two wide receivers in the first round, they know what they have in the QB and they want to keep pieces in place around them.  A lot of people look at offensive lines and Drew Brees and Peyton Manning very rarely got sacked last year and both were in the Super Bowl.  I dare people who knew many guys or have been able to name many guys that were playing on those offensive lines.  What they did is put weapons around their quarterback and gave the quarterback options to get rid of the ball quick and not necessarily have to make big throw to get a gainer.  They can throw a short pass and look good running down the field.  Nate Burleson, Jahvid Best, Tony Scheffler combined with Kevin Smith getting off of his ACL injury and Brandon Pettigrew off of his ACL injury and then one of the best football players in the National Football League in Calvin Johnson, that will definitely help Matt Stafford.”

His thoughts on Matt Stafford looking like a different player during OTA’s and mini-camp:

“Well last year he was a rookie.  He didn’t get here until the middle of May last year, he had one rookie mini-camp after the draft and then he got here in the middle of May.  There are so many different things to being a rookie, not knowing what you are getting into and not knowing the process before and last year he was competing for a starting spot.  He was learning the playbook; he was competing for a starting spot.  Most of training camp Calvin Johnson didn’t even practice because of a thumb issue, he didn’t have a chance to gain rapport.  This year he was our best participant in the offseason program, he was the starting quarterback and he wasn’t worried about anything other than getting better as a quarterback and getting more comfortable with the guys around him.  So there is a confidence in having that.  There is a confidence that comes from having been through the league a time in knowing what you are getting into and knowing the players in the league a little bit better.  Matt has got a lot of confidence and a lot of talent but I think that any player gets better from year 1 to year 2 just because those other things are out of the equation.”

How the team will move forward with their defense being ranked towards the bottom for the last few years:

“Well I think we made a commitment to being strong upfront, started with signing Kyle Vanden Bosch and continued with trading for Corey Williams, actually Corey Williams came first and then the signing of Kyle Vanden Bosch and then went to the draft thing with Ndamukong Suh.  Those are three very good players right there and then that combined with the players that we had last year.  There may have been players last year that started for us that are backups.  Some guys that maybe started last year that don’t even make the team and I think that tells you what a transition that we have made on the defensive line.  My experience in the NFL is that if you are strong upfront you can cover some holes in some other places.  If you can get pressure on the quarterback without having to blitz you can help your corners a little bit more, you can help your linebackers a little bit more if those guys are eating up blocks and keeping those linebackers free.  I agree with you I still think we have some work to do, linebackers we still have some work to do, defensive backs we have some good, young players there but I think the strength of our defense needs to be upfront and if we can keep that going and keep replenishing those guys upfront then we will have some continuity and we can talk about being one of the best defenses in the NFL over a period of time rather than the worst.”

Jim Schwartz on WDFN in Detroit with Ermanni

Tags: 2010 NFL Football, Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions, doormat of NFL, former Titans defensive coordinator, Jim Schartz, Matt Stafford, Ndamukong Suh, NFC North, the city of Detroit hopes for the best