Getty Seahawks rookie WR DK Metcalf was the steal of the 2019 NFL Draft — and he was sitting right there for the Eagles to take.
Defensive coordinators don’t usually make headlines unless something bad happens. Like their unit gets torched or their words become bulletin board material. The latter was the case last week after what Jim Schwartz thought was a compliment came off as a slight to Seattle Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf.
Metcalf, channeling his inner Michael Jordan, used Schwartz’s viral “you’re not there yet” comment as motivation to go out and drop 177 yards on the Philadelphia Eagles. The former second-round pick — a guy the Eagles passed on for J.J. Arcega-Whiteside — felt disrespected after the coach told Metcalf he wasn’t as good as Calvin Johnson.
On Wednesday, Schwartz clarified what he told Metcalf and defended it as praise. In fact, he found it “a little bit funny” and thought if anyone should have an issue, it probably should be Johnson himself.
“I can’t believe paying a compliment to a player has become such a big thing,” Schwartz told reporters. “I read his story, knew he had overcome injury, heard he was a hard worker, and said he reminds me a little bit of Calvin and congratulated him after the game. At the time he told me, ‘Hey, thanks, Coach, that means a lot to me.’ So, there it is.”
.@dkm14 brought the 🔥 in his postgame press conference 👀
Metcalf went on record saying the comment put a “chip on his shoulder” and motivated him to light up Schwartz’s defense. Which he did.
“So if anybody wants to take offense to being compared to who I think is one of the greatest players in the history of the National Football League, then, yeah,” Schwartz said. “If you get your motivation that way, then fine, but we’re not going to worry too much about that. I think that the only person in the whole thing that deserves or that has any sort of whatever in that thing would be a guy like Calvin.”
One quick side note: Metcalf has 1,939 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns over his first 27 NFL games. Johnson had 2,087 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns in his first 31 games.
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Schwartz Holds Johnson in ‘High Esteem’
Schwartz couldn’t stop gushing about how much he respects Johnson. The Eagles defensive coordinator holds the future Hall of Famer in the highest regard as the best player he ever coached, the best player he’s ever coached against, and one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL. There aren’t enough adjectives to describe “Megatron” in Schwartz’s lexicon.
“You just have to understand how much esteem I hold Calvin in,” Schwartz said, “and like I said, the greatest honor of my coaching career was coaching that guy day-in and day-out. He’s meant a lot to my kids and family and everything else.”
Calvin Johnson turns 35 today:
🏈 6x Pro Bowler
🏈 3x All-Pro
Megatron was a human highlight reel 🎥
(via @NFL)
For perspective, Schwartz served as Johnson’s head coach in Detroit from 2009-13 when he racked up four Pro Bowl nods and three first-team All-Pro honors in a five-year stretch. His defense had to stop Johnson every single day in practice, a challenge even his best cornerbacks failed to do.
“I had five years up close and personal of every defensive coordinator’s number one job was to stop Calvin Johnson,” Schwartz said, “and ran every tricked up defense known to man and he still made the plays and he was an incredibly hard worker, underreported with him. Great person. And just the honor of my career to coach a guy like Calvin Johnson.”
Eagles List 3 Defensive Players on Injury Report
Meanwhile, Schwartz’s unit was down two players at Wednesday’s practice after defensive tackle Fletcher Cox (neck) and safety Rudy Ford (hamstring) didn’t participate. Cox’s absence was unexpected, although the veteran normally takes routine maintenance days during the week. Ford was out last week and hasn’t played since Week 10 on Nov. 15.
Wednesday Injury Report
The Eagles also listed two players — linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring), tight end Zach Ertz (ankle) — as limited participants at practice. Edwards’ injury seems to be a precautionary one while Ertz was just activated off injured reserve after sitting out the past six weeks.
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Eagles’ Jim Schwartz Clarifies ‘Compliment’ to Seahawks’ DK Metcalf