Darius Slay was Jim Schwartz's Means to an End
PHILADELPHIA - All cornerbacks aren't created equal. That was the messaging from Jim Schwartz on Wednesday.
On the surface, it's easy to blame Darius Slay for DK Metcalf's 177-yard performance during Monday's 23-17 loss to Seattle.
If you do that, however, you're missing the point, according to the Eagles defensive coordinator.
“I sort of go back to like, (Patriots coach Bill])Belichick when he faced (Buffalo Bills RB) Thurman Thomas in the Super Bowl,” said Schwartz. “He was like, `look, Thurman Thomas is going to get 100, but we’ve got to stop these other things.’
“And I think we have a pretty good feel for how to play Seattle’s offense. The last three times we’ve faced them we’ve done a decent job of keeping the score down."
On Monday night, Slay served as a tough-minded tool for Schwartz, someone willing to take on a 6-foot-4, 230-pound freight train and come out the other side unscathed from a confidence standpoint.
In a vacuum, you can talk about Sidney Jones playing well in Jacksonville or Rasul Douglas doing the same at times in Carolina but players like that will never even be asked to take on what Slay was tasked with against the Seahawks.
The veteran cornerback’s ability to keep battling through the lumps allowed the Eagles defense to slow down Russell Wilson, Tyler Lockett, Chris Carson, and the rest of the explosive Seattle offense.
“In order to keep Russell from scrambling, in order to handle their running game, in order to handle Lockett and do all those other things, we had to put that hat on Slay," Schwartz said. "And I don’t look at it like he cost us the game, I look at it like he was the reason that we were able to do all those other things.”
A means to an end.
"Without having (Slay) locked up one-on-one and being willing to take that matchup on a Monday night game, we wouldn’t have been able to limit Russell Wilson’s scrambles - and you know when he scrambles he makes big plays with his feet and throwing the ball down the field,” said Schwartz. “You know their run game is potent they got Carson back. Lockett is their leading receiver. He makes a lot of plays.”
The overall picture was painted with the Seahawks converting just 2-of-10 on third downs and another 0-for-2 on fourth down, not too shabby against the fourth-ranked offense in the NFL.
“One of the reasons we were able to have success on third down and to keep the score reasonable and do all those things was because of Slay and him accepting the fact that he wasn’t going to get any help,” Schwartz said.
That skill set is rare and Schwartz went back to his days in Tennessee with Samari Rolle for a comparison.
“Samari would be one-on-one with a guy and just be willing to take that whole thing on. It’s just part of the job description," the DC said. "Not everybody has that skill set. Not everybody can live with that. But those players that can embrace that and don’t get discouraged if they give up a completion, keep bouncing back and going, I have a lot of appreciation for those guys.”
Slay, meanwhile, claimed it was the worst game he’s played in the NFL.
“I truly lost every 50/50 ball,” he said. “... But I say props to (Metcalf), he played his ass off, and I have to get better.”
Don't confuse accountability with the loss of any confidence, however.
When Slay was asked about perhaps lobbying for some help with Metcalf, the swagger that Schwartz championed shined brightly.
“Hell nah, I don’t need no help,” Slay responded. “What kind of question is that?
"Next one.”
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Tuesday and Thursday on "The Middle" with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, and Barrett Brooks on SportsMap Radio and PhillyVoice.com. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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