Jim Schwartz On Sam Bradford: 'Not Most Mobile Guy In World'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Jim Schwartz doesn't exactly sound scared of Sam Bradford and the Minnesota Vikings' offense.
"You look at the success, their numbers aren't going to boggle you offensively with executions of turnover," Schwartz said about the Vikings on Thursday, addressing the media for the first time since the Eagles' defense allowed 493 total yards in a 27-20 loss to the Redskins. "I think they have one turnover, is that right? Just one. There's no interceptions and that goes a long way."
The Vikings are 5-0 and Bradford has yet to throw an interception, but offensively, the Vikings are 30th in the NFL averaging just 302.6 yards per game. With star running back Adrian Peterson and Pro Bowl offensive tackle Matt Kalil both on injured reserve, the Vikings are the league's worst rushing offense, averaging just 70.6 yards per game on the ground.
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"You look at their stats across the board, they are not rushing for a very big average, I don't know if you would expect losing Adrian Peterson," Schwartz continued. "But the quarterback is completing a lot of passes, a real high completion percentage. You know, they are not afraid to take a check down. They haven't made very many mistakes and I think that has led and as well as their defense is playing, that's been a good formula for those guys. I think a lot goes into that. We've got to find ways to take their security blankets away, make them be more aggressive in attacking the defense, and then also it would help, you make them play from behind, all those things will go together and they haven't done that this year. They have done a good job of playing from ahead and takeaways mean a big thing."
Schwartz knows the Eagles, who have 14 sacks on the season, have to get after the immobile Bradford.
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"You know, the one that we had in that game, as poorly as we played against the Redskins, that one big play takeaway kept us in the ballgame," Schwartz said. "We need to find a way to get more of those, not just takeaways but some lost yardage plays and being after the quarterback. He's not the most mobile guy in the world, everybody understands that, so I think there's some opportunities for us to be able to stay after him."
Eagles 30-year-old defensive end Connor Barwin has just nine tackles and 1.0 sack on the season. Schwartz says he may limit his snap count to keep him fresh.
"I think he played — like a lot of our other guys, didn't play his best game this last game," Schwartz said on Thursday. "He's a guy that can probably benefit from lesser reps, and have maybe more production from lesser reps. We've been talking about that.
"It's just tough in game situations, when you're not doing well, everyone starts pressing and you start trying to do too much," Schwartz said. "Maybe that includes playing too many reps. Connor's a good player when he's fresh, and going."
