Getty Jim Schwartz during an Eagles vs. Jets game in 2019.
During his time in the league, Jim Schwartz has been known as a man who tells it like he sees it, often times to his regret. Once again, that played out in real time Week 12 even if the coach could be right in his latest commentary.
Before the Seattle Seahawks matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, the former Detroit Lions head coach identified the Seattle wideout and couldn’t help but share his opinion that Metcalf isn’t quite like Calvin Johnson just yet. Metcalf used that comment as fuel to put a beating on the Eagles to the tune of 177 receiving yards during a dominating victory.
the full quote:
“One of the defensive coaches came up to me and made me mad. He was like, ‘I was in Detroit with Megatron, but you’re not there yet.’ In my mind I’m not trying to be Megatron, I’m trying to be me. Had a little chip on my shoulder the whole game.”
Schwartz would know all about how good Johnson could be, considering he coached the game changing wideout for five seasons in his prime and witnessed several of his signature moments up close. Even such, it was a lightning rod moment for many who immediately proclaimed the coach to be a fool for his take.
Lions fans might understand better than anyone else that Schwartz could be right all along no matter how much Metcalf may have been inspired in the moment by his words.
Jim Schwartz’s DK Metcalf Analysis Looks Accurate
Even though Metcalf used the slight as motivation and had an amazing performance, it’s more than likely that Schwartz is right in this instance. Metcalf looks like a physical specimen and the second coming of a player who can dominate at wideout just like Johnson did, but he’s only been in the league for a few seasons and still has much to prove. Johnson was consistently dominating and had performances like the one Metcalf had against the Eagles on the regular. One time, Johnson even went for 329 yards against the Dallas Cowboys in his signature performance on the field. He has Jerry Rice’s single season receiving yardage record to his credit as well. Now, he’s a potential first ballot Hall of Famer as a result of this work.
All of this isn’t to say Metcalf can’t be great in time and eventually be on par with Johnson, but there’s a long way to go before that happens. Schwartz may not be as wrong as most people assume to say that he hasn’t reached Megatron levels just yet during his career. Johnson spent a long time becoming great and paying his dues, and Metcalf will have to do that to gain those levels of respect consistently around the league as well.
DK Metcalf Still Has Bright NFL Future
Indeed, given his physical traits and production, Metcalf deserves the hype and comparisons to Johnson even as he might try to shy away from them. The reason? Not only his playmaking ability, but his body. Coming out of Georgia Tech, Johnson was in a class of his own in terms of speed, size and skill along with muscle mass. That’s not unlike what Metcalf has been working with himself. If there’s been someone who closely compares to what Johnson was, it’s Metcalf, proving again what a rare breed wideouts with their skill level are. Naturally, Metcalf never asked for the Johnson comparison, but it was put on him by teammate Jamal Adams earlier this season, so it will likely persist whether he likes it or not. That’s probably how Schwartz heard it in the first place.
So far in his career, Metcalf is off to a hot start. Entering into the 2020 season, Metcalf had put up 900 yards and 7 scores. In 2020, he has been very impressive as well week in and week out, and his star is only rising.
Obviously, Metcalf’s future is exceedingly bright. It’s alright to acknowledge that and also realize that maybe Schwartz was right in this moment as well. Credit to Metcalf for using his comments as motvation in 2020, but the real challenge will be to see if he can use it as such moving forward to maintain excellence.
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