Jim Schwartz: “We're going to live and die being aggressive”

Jim Schwartz held his weekly press conference this morning, and was asked about his aggressive philosophy.

Are the big plays given up part of being aggressive?

“Sometimes when you have that philosophy you can set yourself up for big plays. I don't think that had to do with it at all in this game. Their biggest runs were avoidable, and probably their biggest pass was avoidable.”

About that Steve Smith touchdown...

“That situation, there's 16 seconds left... we don't want to let them kick a FG. We played them man to man with 2 deep, Jaylen Watkins is a young player but he made a rookie mistake. We should be over the top. I know he wants that back.”

"I'll take the questions about being aggressive over soft zone." Schwartz noted that with Justin Tucker's range there was little reason to just give up ground on a soft zone.

"We're going to live and die being aggressive.”

On Jalen Mills criticizing the play call

He joked “I'm going to take the ear piece out of Hicks’ helmet and put it in Mills’ so that he can approve the plays.”

“I love that kid. He's a competitor. He's given up some plays and made some and he never lets that effect him.”

On Rodney McLeod’s play on the Kenneth Dixon touchdown run

“Another guy I had a conversation with, spent my whole day having conversions.”

“Rodney did the wrong thing for the right reason. He was trying to not give up the big play and he gave it up. There's a big difference between being a safety and a risky.”

Schwartz said he would rather have a safety who “pulls the trigger” to early a few times than a guy who never does it at all. “You don't want a safety that is aim aim aim and doesn't pull the trigger. You got to pull the trigger when it comes.”

On the return of Bennie Logan

“We missed him the last time we played the Giants.”

“The plays I have been most impressed with him have been down field, he's hustled.” Singled out the fumble in the Bengals game.

“When you're a 300 pound guy, effort is a big thing, when you're making plays down the field that's just as valuable as making a sack.”

On the short week, which he has a lot of experience with from his time in Detroit

“Scheming is a little easier since it's a team we've already played.” Noted that while some of the personnel is different, it’s still the same playbooks, still the same coaches, still Eli Manning under center.

“The difficulty is in the execution, we need to brainwash ourselves... players and coaches are very regimented. It's Friday right now. Tomorrow is Saturday, and then it’s game day.”

Schwartz noted that the team gets the benefit of having a mini-bye, though coming at the end of the season isn’t as helpful.

On the decision to go for 2 points

“I like [Doug Pederson’s] aggressiveness, I like his decision to go for 2. That sends a message to the team, to the city. I really respect that. The most important thing in this league is scoring points.”

On playing young players for development over prioritizing winning

Schwartz said he understood the argument for getting young players playing time at the possible expense of winning, and that in those situations a coaching staff and front office might not be on the same page.

“I'm going to do whatever the head coach tells me to. Our only agenda every week is to win.”