Coach Schwartz Talks Browns Defense – Experienced Players and Coaches Keeping Defense Cohesive and Focused on Task at Hand

Photo by Al Kornspan

Win, Loss, Win, Loss, Bye, beat best team in NFL……..

In the words of Chumbawamba, “I get knocked down, but I get up again.”

And so far that is what the Browns season has felt like.

But after this victory against the top ranked team in the NFL last Sunday, things just feel different.

It seems like the Cleveland Browns are poised to make a run like we have not seen in Cleveland since the late 1980s.

The pieces of the puzzle seem to be in place.  

So how did this happen for this amazing, possibly historic Browns defense.

According to Cleveland Browns Defensive Coordinator, Jim Schwartz, at Thursday’s press conference, the cohesion and team chemistry that has been developed has been an important piece of the puzzle in having a high level of performance success because it has helped the team overcome the adversity they have faced early in the season.

“But I’ve said this before, your team culture is defined by what you’re like when you’re at your worst, when things are the hardest,” said Schwartz. “And I think that it’s easy when things are going well for things to go good. But we’ve had a couple of setbacks, and I like the way we responded. We had a setback against Baltimore, lost a game, and then had a big challenge coming in. Players responded the way we wanted them to, the way they expected to, and we came out with a win.”

So with a high level of cohesion, how does Coach Schwartz keep the defense from not becoming overconfident.

At Thursday’s press conference, Coach Schwartz noted that the Browns have various coaches and players that have reached a high level of success before and their experience is valuable in helping the team stay grounded and focused.

“It’s a long season, and we’re going to have to survive a lot of highs and lows throughout the season. We have some experienced players. We have some experienced coaches that have been there, that know that. And I think that’s one of the things that keeps us grounded.”

Schwartz then explained that he tries to help the defense focus on being good in each game they play in.

“We’re trying to be good each and every game, find a way to give ourselves a chance to win every Sunday and try to be consistent. It’s the NFL, you’re not always going to have a great performance every week, but we need to find a way to minimize our poor performances, minimize our poor plays, and accentuate our positives and keep our eyes on that destination. Sometimes you can react and overreact to short-term things. You can paddle the canoe too hard on one side and then you’re adjusting and pretty soon you’re just weaving and you’re constantly trying to course correct instead of keeping your eye on that point in the distance and sort of keeping yourself on the right course.”

With the Browns high level of cohesion and focus, it is likely we will see a successful performance against the Colts on Sunday.