How Jim Schwartz Will Utilize Stunts to Maximize Browns Pass Rush
Jim Schwartz is a master at being able to pressure the quarterback with only three to five defenders at a time. He constantly puts his defensive linemen in the position to wreak havoc by using stunts to create mismatches for opposing blockers. He has all of the pieces that he needs in order to mold the Cleveland Browns' defense into of the NFL's premier pass rushing units in 2023 and beyond.
Cleveland's defensive line play was less than ideal in 2022, both in terms of rushing the passer and stopping the run. Joe Woods' defense generated a measly 34 sacks last season, with only 26 of those being by defensive linemen. That number should definitely go up in 2023 and beyond due to the type of scheme that Jim Schwartz deploys. Using stunts along the defensive line is nothing new to the football world, but the unique type of personnel groupings that Schwartz occasionally utilizes with them is.
The Browns added an immense amount of talented defensive linemen this offseason for Jim Schwartz to use in creative ways. Whenever a defensive tackle's job in a stunt is to shoot or slant inside, his main goal is to get penetration. It doesn't matter of they shoot the gap or blindly bullrush into the backfield. Two of Cleveland's newest defensive tackle additions, Dalvin Tomlinson and Siaki Ika, are perfect for this role. These mammoth-sized players are going to penetrate and command constant double teams, clearing the way for the edge rushers to get consistent pressure on the quarterback.
Za'Darius Smith and Ogbonnia Okoronwko are also going to be lethal in this type of defense due to their athleticism and natural pass rushing ability. They are also going to be used in some interesting ways in order to create mismatches for opposing offensive linemen.
Smith has been an effective pass rusher regardless of alignment throughout his NFL career due to his rare combination of size, speed, and strength. He provides Cleveland with arguably the most talented edge rusher that the team has had across from Myles Garrett so far. Jim Schwartz is also undoubtedly going to slide him inside as an interior rusher in his third-down/"Nascar" packages, as well as in these designed stunts. He comes in and provides the Browns with the type of proven, bigger-bodied pass rusher that they've been looking to add for the last month or so.
Okoronkwo can be used all over the formation as a designated rotational pass rusher. He's going to be an important asset on the edge in the team's base Attack-9 or Wide-9 scheme, as well as being able to bump inside to a 3 or 4i technique in Schwartz's "Loop" stunts. He already has experience playing in wider alignments with both the Rams and Texans as well. Okoronkwo should be able to step in and produce from day one along with Za'Darius Smith.
The types of coverages that Jim Schwartz will be deploying on the backend of the defense will also facilitate a more effective pass rush as well. He's most likely going to be featuring a lot of man coverage in cover-1 and cover-3 shells with a deep centerfield safety. He also likes to stay flexible with different variations of trap coverages. They could use Grant Delpit in a "Robber" position, which has been one of his most effective roles over the past two seasons. Using these types of coverages alongside stunts and twists allows the defense to play fast and attack, which is exactly what Jim Schwartz wants to do.
There are two main objectives of defensive line stunts in terms of rushing the passer.
1. Influence or manipulate offensive linemen. Using stunts forces offensive linemen to use perfect technique and patience in a situation where that's incredibly hard to do. The amount of time that it takes different offensive linemen to process what's happening or going on in front of them is a simple, but big part of it. Someone on the offensive line usually makes a mistake, regardless of how talented they are.
2. "Scheme up" open lanes or paths for pass rushers. By manipulating the movement of the offensive line, it's much easier to create open rush lanes for defenders to exploit and pressure the quarterback.
Double "E/T" Stunt
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The Double "E/T" Stunt or "End/Tackle" stunt is a common defensive line maneuver where the defensive ends crash inside, while the defensive tackles loop outside the offensive tackles.
Play analysis:
When performing defensive line stunts, it's very important to pay attention to the names of the stunt. In this case, the letter "E" comes before "T" in the name, so that meant that the defensive end fires inside to the B gap first. The defensive tackle attacks second, so he has to wait for the defensive end to cross his face before scraping off of him and looping outside. The defensive end's job is to try and pull the offensive tackle inside or force him to turn his shoulders, in order to give the looping defensive tackle more room to work with outside.
Goal:
The goal of this particular stunt is to take advantage of weak offensive tackle units. A bad offensive tackle will lock onto the defensive end and flow inside with him, rather than staying square, being patient, and passing him off to the guard. If this is the case, then those defensive tackles will be wreaking havoc and forcing the quarterback to frantically bounce around the pocket.
Single "E/T" Stunt
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The Single "E/T" Stunt is pretty self-explanatory. It's the exact same ideology and movement as the Double "E/T" Stunt, except it's just isolated to one side of the formation.
Play Analysis:
The defensive end fires inside and attacks either the B gap, or the outside shoulder of the offensive guard. Whether this is executed on the strong or weak side of the formation is determined by the Defensive Coordinator pre-snap. Most of the time it's on the weak side because it's more effective when there's no tight end. The strong side defensive tackle and defensive end would just rush like any other defensive play.
Goal:
The goal is to isolate and attack the weaker of a team's two offensive tackles.
Strong Side "T/Loop" Stunt
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The Strong Side "T/Loop" Stunt is effective if a team has athletic defensive tackles. The strong side defensive tackle fires inside for penetration, while the weak side tackle loops around to attack the opposite B gap.
Play Analysis:
The strongside defensive tackle will fire into either the inside shoulder of the offensive guard or into the A gap. The weakside defensive tackle has to wait until the strongside tackle crosses his face, and then loops around and scrapes off of him into the B gap. Both defensive ends stay wide and take normal paths to the quarterback.
Goal:
The main goal of this stunt is to try and force the center and guard to make a mistake. If they both end up trying to block that penetrating defensive tackle, then the looping defensive tackle has a free path to the quarterback.
There's also a secondary goal or advantage of this particular stunt as well. This play also completely isolates the strongside offensive tackle as well (The RT in the diagram). This would put the offensive tackle on an "island" with ample space against a player like Myles Garrett, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, or Za'Darius Smith.
Double "T/E" Stunt
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The Double "T/E" Stunt or Double "Tackle/End" Stunt is one of Jim Schwartz's favorite defensive line games to use because it has the potential to cause the most destruction.
Play Analysis:
Both defensive tackles take hard, outside paths into either the B gaps or inside shoulder of the offensive tackles first (since "T" comes before "E" in this stunt). Their main goal is to try to widen the pocket by driving the offensive tackles outside. The defensive ends take two to three steps upfield to influence the offensive tackle's initial pass set, then scrape inside off the hip of the defensive tackle. They're trying to do anything they can to beat the offensive guards. Whether that's bull rushing them back into the quarterback, push-pulling, etc.
Goal:
The main goal of this stunt is simple. Forcing less athletic offensive guards to block more athletic defensive ends. This stunt fully embodies Schwartz's ideology of exploiting the athletic gap between offensive and defensive linemen.
Strongside 5-Man "T/Loop"
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The Strongside 5-Man "T/Loop" is a stunt that Jim Schwartz used quite a bit when he was with the Eagles and Bills.
Play Analysis:
This particular stunt involves five players along the defensive line. This can either be a sub-package with five defensive linemen, or a linebacker that walks down and "bumps" the defensive line over pre-snap. The two defensive tackles slant to the weak or strong side, whichever way the play calls for. The other defensive end or tackle loops around them into the opposite B gap, while the edge players stay wide and rush the quarterback on a normal path.
Goal:
The goal is to create an open lane for the looping defensive tackle or end to run through. If executed properly, that "looper" should get into the backfield with very little contact, more often than not. This is because the offensive tackle has to focus on blocking the defensive end, while the offensive guard usually takes the slanting defensive tackle inside. This is the play that could utilize Za'Darius Smith as the "looper" due to his ability to blast through gaps.
