“Well, it starts with our guys up front.”
Stop me if you’ve heard it before. I’m sure you won’t because I’m sure you have. One of the most common narrative crutches for a coach when describing his defensive philosophy, or a general manager detailing his team-building approach, is to put the first onus in the trenches.
Such has always been the case for the Philadelphia Eagles under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, the king of “pressure with four,” curator of the hockey-style line shift, zealot of third and long. When Schwartz first arrived in Philadelphia with HC Doug Pederson in 2016, the Eagles ranked 11th in Football Outsider’s Adjusted Sack Rate at 6.