Brian Schottenheimer: The Solution is Simple | Press Conference

Brian Schottenheimer: The Solution is Simple | Press Conference

Ready, roll, Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News. Uh CD Lamb, will he uh practice uh today? Uh he should practice today. Uh I just got done with a walkth through and uh he was very involved and so we’ll uh see how he moves around today. Tarpet in the same situation. Yes. What about uh yes, Sam born in the concussion protocol? Um he’s got one test I believe to to get through. One more question if I may. Um we’ve talked a lot about the defensive scheme and it’s changing. Are you surprised that it still not where you want it to be and here we are going into week seven? Um yeah, I would say that um uh uh we’re looking at everything, you know, and again I think you know couple weeks ago was the pass game and the inability to not give up big plays and big passes and that’s gotten better. And then this week we took a step back I would say with the run game. But uh the process doesn’t change, you know, and we’re looking at everything. We’re looking at adjustments that we can make and things that we can tweak to make it better. We’re looking at things that we can coach better. We’re looking at things that we can do from a personnel standpoint to feature some guys. And um whether you win, lose, play well, don’t play well, there’s always going to be tweaks. it Clarence Hill of the LLS Cowboys. Is is that the like plugging a dyke, plugging a hole in the dyke to a certain extent? Uh you say that you fix the big plays then you give up the run, but then there were also big plays against the wide open receivers in the secondary as well. Yeah. You know, and yeah, I mean again it’s it’s you have to break it up into different things. So, you know, when we look at every game, we look at, you know, the pass game. You know, like I said to you guys on Monday, you know, we watched the game very different than we ever have with the defense of staff this week. And we looked at all the normal DND runs and we pointed out the issues and the problems and there were things we did well, but like I’ve talked about, our gap fits weren’t very good, right? Um, you know, they were doing a really good job of coming downhill and we got to take take use our linebackers and safeties to take people off double teams. And then we watch all the first second down passes. uh playaction passes have been a problem for us. We’re not playing with great eyes. That’s real. Well, how do you fix that? Well, you do that with walkthroughs. You do that through practice. You do that through film study. And uh you know, sitting in the meetings this morning, um those are the things that you look at and say, “Okay, well, why are these things happening?” Well, it’s a copycat league. So, when someone beats you on a route off a play action pass, you’re going to see that rightfully so. You’re going to see that route for the next couple weeks. And and we’ve seen that. And um when we’ve had those breakdowns and given them up, it’s literally been different for different reasons. And so um but the solution is very simple. You just keep working. You keep communicating. Uh we had really good meetings with the defense uh this morning uh in the defensive install and things like that. And so um hopefully today’s practice goes well. Yeah. You’ve been working on this scheme since you know um people got here. Can the changes take hold in one week? Is that realistic that they get fixed in one week? Well, again, you can’t, you know, we’re not going to change. I mean, you’re not going to look out there on Sunday afternoon at 3:25 and be like, man, they’re playing 34. You know, like that’s not going to happen. You know, there’s going to be adjustments based on things that we want to do that we think will help us play better and with more confidence. And then there’s going to be things that we do because of the opponent that we’re playing, in this case, Washington. Um, but you know, we’re we’re not, you know, ripping up the playbook and starting over. We’re saying, okay, let’s look at our personnel again. Okay, let’s look at these first, you know, six weeks. What are the areas that we know we need to improve? And you start there. But really, if you try to change everything in a oneweek span or a two week span, it’s it’s not realistic. So, you start with small changes that 10 to 15%. It’s an arbitrary number. It doesn’t really matter. And you start there. Brian Todd from ESPN with uh CD. What do you need to see from him in practice to say, “Okay, he’s he’s back. He’s he’s good to go.” Yeah. If he’s breathing, I’d be I’d feel pretty good. Honestly, yeah. No, I I mean, CD knows how to play football. If uh if he runs around and catches a pass or two, I’m good. Turpin, same kind of Yeah, the same. I mean, again, uh not much different. Um, but the biggest thing, honestly, I I make light of it because we’re excited that they’re trending to play and all that stuff, but the biggest thing is that, you know, there is a ramp up. You know, I mean, can he play 85 plays if we have to? Uh, he probably would want to, but we’ll be smart about what we do with him. And I just want to see really how they move today, but then it’s almost like how they feel tomorrow, Todd. You know, like, hey, yeah, I feel really good. Or, yeah, I’m a little sore. You know, I mean, those are things you’re looking for. But um with all three of those guys, you know, coming back and and trending into practice, we’ll we’ll we’ll know more tomorrow. We talked to you last week about the consulting year that you had, how trying was that year in Jacksonville considering all the stuff that happened and did that play a part in you like maybe I want to take a break just because of how long that season may have been? Uh it was an interesting year. Um man, how much time you guys have? I got I got practice at one. Uh it was uh I learned a lot. I learned a lot about uh things that I believe in, things I don’t believe in. Um I learned a lot about myself as a man, as a leader. Um it was a very trying year and um there were positives that came out of it and that’s what I try to focus on is the positives I took from it. Made some great relationships with some terrific young men and other coaches that I will have relationships with for the rest of my life. And uh that’s what I kind of focus on more than than the football side of it. John Machoto with the athletic with getting CD back with what you’ve seen from George. Does it just go right back to the way it was before or has George shown you anything to where you’re like I want to kind of use him maybe a little bit differently than I did. Well, I think what George has shown us over the last couple weeks is we can move him around. You know, I think really, you know, um you know, it took George a little while for us to be able to move him around. on the one thing that George has proven over these last couple weeks is our ability to move him around, which makes us more uh difficult to defend, you know, because really CD was the guy we’re trying to move around, right? George is kind of at one spot, but you know, George has been terrific with us putting him at different spots and different positions and um I think he kind of likes it because I think it holds his attention and keeps him dialed in and um but I I think it’s a great thing and integrating them both in and you know uh there’s one ball, we know that and uh they’re both really good players so we’ll uh you know see where the defense makes the ball go. And as a Cowboys head coach, there’s a lot of first for a first time Cowboys head coach and uh this will be your first 325 game. Uh probably have to navigate through some sun there. How much you looking forward to that? Yeah. Well, you know, I’ve been here for a little while and uh I’ve heard about it. Uh you know, hey, look, we have we really do I mean, you know, if you guys could see the process and plan that we have in place to to figure it out. I mean, we have satellite imaging. We have pictures of the sun when it’s coming down. And um so there’s a there’s a there’s a big plan in the process, but I think when you look historically at at what’s happened, it really hasn’t affected uh you know many situations and um we plan for it. The opponents plan for it, but uh at the end of the day, it’s uh uh something that we’re aware of and uh it’s very beautiful. It’s majestic almost when the when the the sun comes through there. So Nick Harris, fourstar telegram, uh you have the number one offense in the NFL. you’re adding a piece like CD back into the fold. How much better can the offense get? Well, you know, my focus is the run game. So, unless CD wants to dig out safeties all day long, I think, you know, that’s the area that we’ve been f focused on, Nick, is, you know, cleaning up the run game. Uh CD is going to play his game. We know that. You know, uh GP’s going to play his game. But, uh I don’t say that to be funny. I mean, literally, we have to clean up our run game. We’re we’re not going to win many games rushing for 31 yards at 1.6 average. and um you know so that’s been the big focus and again uh CD helps that because we might get a little bit more shell coverage and things like that but uh our main focus as an offensive staff along with putting together a hell of a game plan has been looking at the run game issues and because we’re getting ready to play a team that knows how to run the football. So, I think they’re first in the league in rushing. Talking about Washington, of course, and um we’re clearly way better than we were uh running the football offensively last year or last week. Kind of along those same lines, are you more hesitant to put CD uh in the back field or is it still keeping that play moving forward? No. Yeah. I mean, I don’t think we’ll start the game with it. Um but no, I like I said, I have no problem with that call. You know, injuries, you hate to see them happen, but they happen. And um yeah, we’ll still use him in a multiple multiple spots. And then one last quick one. Miles Sanders went on season ending IR last week. Is Phil Mafa a guy y’all want to open the practice window for? Uh we’re talking about different things. Um again, Phil’s been, you know, doing good with all his rehab and things like that. And um a lot of things that we like about Phil, but there’s other options out there potentially as well, and we’re keeping all those options open. Tom, Tommy, stcowboys.com. talked a lot recently about parody and how this is kind of a week-toeek league when the margins are kind of so close week in week out. What can you do to create an edge for your team or what have you seen in the past that creates edges for teams and ultimately wins games and the fourth quarter close games down? Yeah, I mean again I think you know I’ve been very uh vocal about the importance of you know the takeaway giveaway ratio. I think that’s very important. Um, I was surprised that, you know, we won the turnover battle last week but still lost the game. That’s disappointing because I generally believe, you know, when you win the turnover battle, you should win the game. And unfortunately, we didn’t do that. And there’s multiple reasons why. But, um, you know, the beauty of it is, you know, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing. Like when when I talk about the the commanders to the guys, I don’t I’m not a coach that talks a lot about, okay, here’s Dan Quinn and here’s Cliff Kingsbury and Joe Wit and I don’t go into all that stuff. Why? Because it’s about us. It’s focusing on us and what we do. Now, the coordinators break into more specifics about, hey, Terry McLaren, he’s really good. Jaden Daniels really good. Don Payne really good, you know. Um, but again, I want our guys focus in on us. And uh my message to the team this week was, you know, you know, we control our standard. No one else does but us. And if they continue to work and compete every day at a consistent level, there’s my word. You guys know that’s my word. If we can be more consistent, then we’ll play and we’ll find ways to win those games that we have come up a little bit short, whether it’s a tie or a loss. Um but they got to be consistent with their their competition, competitive spirit every day. Do you feel like this is the most parody the league has had in a while? I feel like it’s been this way for a long time, but um because I mean, you know, any given Sunday, the term’s been around a long time, you know, um but uh there’s a lot of parody. So I I could you could make that argument. I don’t know what the stats would tell us, but uh you could make that argument. Jar Jarel, CBS Sports. Brian, you’ve worked I think alongside Dan Quinn a lot in 2022 as a consultant and then we’re obviously the OC across from practice as the DC. What’s it gonna be like calling plays against him in a game for the first time as uh well again you know I love DQ to death uh but I think you know um I think Joe Wit does a hell of a job for them and uh again I’ll get back to Dan but like you know I learned a lot from Joe in my time here. You know you talk about a guy that’s just a really brilliant football coach. uh his uh toughness, the way he demands. Um and the only reason I talk went to Joe is because I think you know my understand he’s calling every play uh and doing a hell of a job. Uh they’re not you know they’re giving up some yards but they’re not giving up a lot of points and um you know just can’t say enough good things about Joe and you know with DQ it’s just you know it’s very natural. I mean he and I go back a long ways back to Hofra. Uh I didn’t go to Hostra like he did but um spent a lot of time together with the Jets and then he went to my alma mater Florida and we stayed in contact and then um you know guy’s a hell of a football coach and uh nothing but love for him. Christie Christy Scales Cowboys radio 1053 fan. uh when you turn on the tape and see 54 Bobby Wagner and uh I know you were with him in Seattle still the same and I and I can’t believe I’m saying this not that you take an 11 time allpro for granted but just the consistency that do you still see that same kind 100% I mean we were actually talking about in the quarterback meeting this morning um the guy just you know his ability to still play this game at such a high level is something that should be written about. It should be talked about. It is incredible. I mean, because he still hasn’t slowed down. He still dissects things. He’s still an incredible blitzer. Um, he just impacts the game so many ways. And, um, a big part of us having success running the football this week is going to be trying to block Bobby. And that’s really hard to do. But um one of my favorite players of all time um I was telling the story um whatever year it was. He’s in year 13, right? So what was it 12 or 13, 13 or 14 draft, whatever. I was with St. Louis and uh we were in the war room and I was the offensive coordinator and we were trying to get up to get Bobby. We love Bobby and wanted to get him get him and Seattle moved right ahead of us in the second round and um and took him and I’ll never forget one of the personnel guys. it was the one of the area scouts grabbing his water and slinging it against the wall. And I was kind of like, man, what’s the big deal? Like, you know, linebacker from Utah State. And now I look back, I’m like, oh, that’s why. So, um, you know, he’s a incredible player, but incredible person, incredible dad. Um, and, uh, heck, I the way he’s playing now, he could still play a couple more years. Joe, Joe White, Dallas Morning News. George Pickins seemingly has a handshake with everyone. Does he have a handshake with you? You know, I try to keep up with these guys on their handshakes, but they’re really confusing and they go fast. So, no. Um, I think they probably feel like I’m a lost hope when it comes to like the dap dap and this and that and they do all those things. Uh, so I kind of leave that to them, but uh my daughter and I have one that’s kind of cool. Yeah. And, uh, I won’t share it with you guys, but uh, I’ll start with that maybe, you know, get one with my wife and then trending toward Gayton asked me to do one and I I messed it up and so you’re like, “No, we’re not doing any more shotty.” Okay. So, I think they a few of them have tried and I haven’t handled it very well. And on that note, with Pickkins, Jerry said yesterday he’s been beyond what you guys expected, not only on the field, off the field, talking about how he’s fit in with the team. I was wondering if you gives me a behind thes scenes look at just how he’s fit with this team and and how important that’s been in his transition here. Um, no story, no antidote, but literally you guys can see how much he loves playing the game of football. It’s very evident. It doesn’t matter the situation, he just loves playing the game. Um, his personality is truly infectious. Uh, we actually sit in meetings a lot, we just laugh about GP. Some of the stuff he says on the on the field, he’ll make like a Well, number one, any pass he catches, he practices a a celebration. So, that’s kind of cool. He’s got a lot He got a lot of choreographed stuff, but uh some of the stuff he’ll do like he caught a ball the other day and uh it was like a one-handed catch and the safety was running over the top and I was asking him about I was like, “Hey man, that was amazing catch.” He goes, “Yeah, insane, right?” And I was like, “Well, yeah, it was insane, but like he just he just loves it.” And so, um what a great teammate, man. Seriously, great teammate. And uh so lucky to have him. Si athletic. Uh Brian Cohesion is talked a lot about when it comes to the offensive line. You guys have had a lot of changes there just because of all the injuries and now you’re starting to get guys back. Uh how do you kind of work through the cohesion with all the different pieces and uh everybody that you are getting back injury? Yeah, I mean the rotation’s very uh well thought out. It’s very detailed how you work work guys and rep guys and um you know with Book coming back you’ll do some different things with TJ and you know play some guard, play some center, do some different things. But um it’s really well thought out side and then you know obviously we’re big on cross trainining anyways. Um but uh you know it’s it’s it’s important you know I think we showed two weeks ago in New York that um you can do it with a lot of new faces. And why is that? because these guys have been excuse me doing a lot of football together since we showed up in Oxnard and uh I think that’s important but um the biggest thing for me is the communication and like I said on Monday our communication wasn’t great last week and it wasn’t the ID the ID was fine. Brock did a good job but we didn’t communicate up and down the line very well. We’re at the standard that we need to and that kind of hurt us and when we had opportunities uh to make good plays in the run game we didn’t because we weren’t communicating. And with the interior guys stepping in, how impressive have they been in particular with Brock and TJ, u you know, both having to play on short. Yeah. Again, I don’t think we’re surprised. I’m not surprised. I can’t talk highly enough about both those guys, but it goes back to my main point that I say all the time, that whole idea and mantra of next man up. It’s real, you know, and it uh it’s part of the game. And um you know, but blown away by those guys’ performance. Yeah. But not surprised, you know, excited for them because again, I think it gives them the confidence about where their careers are going. Let’s talk TJ for a second. Really, they’re both young, but I mean TJ’s a young player. Got a bright, bright future ahead of him. And um if Book’s back this week, TJ’s on the bench, he’ll be ready to go if ever called upon in any spot. Michelle, Michelle Montwa, coach, what is it like being in the building right now? specifically. You said you spent some more time with the defense when the coaches are pointing out, you know, game and stuff. What is the feel in there as you try to educate, but also sharpen? Um, you know, I enjoy it. I mean, I think it’s a it’s really great give and take. Um, you know, I try to help them understand um how they would be attacked and how I would attack them based on their pieces and things like that. I have the insight to know both, you know, the scheme that they do, but also the players and how I would want to use my pieces if I was, you know, if I was Cliff Kingsbury and how I would want to attack, you know, some of our guys. And um I’m being educated on some things, you know, quite honestly, different ways that you can play zone and man and different front variations you can use and all the things that go into it. The thing that reminds me about it is how important communication is on defense and if you don’t communicate because again they have to adjust to the offense. And so you’d be amazed how many times you can take one play and with one front and one coverage if the formation strength changes it changes almost seven people. You know maybe not the four defensive linemen but it changes almost seven people. And when those things are moving fast and going fast on game day, if you’re not communicating well, why you would feel stressed, why you would feel anxious and um they’re going to test us with that this week because they do so much on the ball, uptempo, and um I think that that’s where our communication needs to get better. Uh it needs to be a big emphasis and uh that was something that we were um talking a lot about today in in in the meetings. Babe, babe, radio network 1053. The fan You may not even be aware of this, but tomorrow’s your birthday. Your birthday always falls in football season. For most of your life, you’ve been doing football. Do you do anything at all? Any Does that day mean anything to you? You get anything from home? Uh, not really. Um, we’ll have a little celebration, I’m sure, this weekend. Got a bunch of family coming in town for this game, uh, as we always do because I’m a big family guy. But, um, no, not really. But on the flip side, uh I get uh a get out of jail free card when it’s my wife’s birthday in November because it’s football season. And so, well, no, I use my mom, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law. They kind of go out and Thank you, Joy. Joy, we need to be thinking about this wherever you are. Uh cuz she’s going to want something really nice this year. Um but, uh no, I mean, it’s honestly, you know, it’s uh I celebrate everybody’s birthday. I announce it to the team. We had a couple birthdays today. We actually Jerry’s was Monday. Will Mccclelay born on the same day. I don’t know if you guys knew that. You know, uh Will Britt, one of our uh guys here uh in the analytics, it was his birthday, but uh my birthday’s a little bit I’m a little bit more low-key when it comes to my birthday, especially hitting 52 tomorrow. I mean, like, what’s there to celebrate with that? Like, I’m I’m old, you know. No, it gets it gets it gets worse. You sure it doesn’t get better, Brad? Sure. Damn it. It’s not worse. It’s not worse. All right. Sorry, guys. We’re out. Got to go to practice, guys. See you guys down there. Because you

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer speaks with media on Wednesday before practice to discuss updates on players coming back from injury, what George Pickens has done for the team, what he expects out of the Commanders, and more.

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