Some people continue to question why Connor Barwin is playing DE in the new scheme. He is a talented, versatile athlete who would make a lot of sense at SAM. And that’s just where the Eagles might have used him 15 years ago. Football has changed and the SAM position is the defensive equivalent of Fullback. With all the 3-WR sets, something has to give. FB is the spot on offense and SAM on defense.

Barwin is a good player. You want him on the field. Putting him at SAM would be a waste in this defense. You could play him there in some downs and then at DE in others, but that’s not ideal. You have him reporting to a pair of position coaches at that point and trying to do a lot of different things on gameday. The beauty of what Jim Schwartz does is that he tries to keep things simple. He wants LBs to be LBs and DL to be DL.

Schwartz has a group of DEs that now have LB experience. Brandon Graham, Barwin and even Marcus Smith can be used to drop into coverage on the occasional zone blitz. They can do a reasonable job in coverage for the odd play here and there. For the most part, they’ll just be attacking off the edge.

The key to Schwartz’s defense is the DL. He needs a minimum of 5 or 6 legitimately good players up front. The Eagles had Vinny Curry, Graham, Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan. Add in Barwin and you’ve got 5 good DL. The hope is that one or two more will emerge from Marcus Smith, Mike Martin, Taylor Hart, Destiny Vaeao, Beau Allen, Alex McAllister and the rest of the backups. Barwin has real value as a DL in this scheme.

I wonder if Schwartz sees Barwin and is reminded of one of his favorite former players, Kyle Vanden Bosch. Here is a cool story on how Schwartz recruited Vanden Bosch to sign with the Lions.

For a football team that has been left standing out in the cold for the past decade or so, Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz was taking quite a chance standing in a driveway at 11 p.m. on a chilly Thursday night.

Schwartz was in Tennessee, visiting the home of former Titans’ defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, the Lions’ primary target in free agency.

Because NFL rules stipulate a team can’t make contact with players until midnight, Schwartz flew down to Nashville and drove to Vanden Bosch’s house without the player’s knowledge.

“I was shocked,” Vanden Bosch said. “I was kind of gearing up all day, waiting for 11 o’clock (Central time) and wondering what was going to happen.

“Coach Schwartz called me at 11:01 p.m. and said ‘I’m a block from your house, can you give me a minute?’ He said, ‘I could be anywhere (in the country) right now, but I’m coming to talk to you because you’re the guy I want.’ That meant a lot to me and set the tone for getting the deal done this morning.”

And here is a bit more on them.

Three years later Vanden Bosch, Schwartz and the Lions pulled off a 10-6 season and advanced to the playoffs as an NFC Wild Card team.

“Having played for coach Schwartz in Tennessee I knew what he was capable of,” said Vanden Bosch. “He’s not only a great X’s and O’s guy. He relates well to players. He motivates players. He challenges the leaders of the team and gives them a lot of responsibility. I knew he was the right man for that challenge and I was honored that he picked me to be part of that turnaround.”

Schwartz was the defensive coordinator in Tennessee when they signed Vanden Bosch back in 2005. Vanden Bosch had 35.5 sacks and 12 FFs in the 4 years that he played DE for Schwartz with the Titans. When Schwartz took over the awful Lions, he knew he needed help on and off the field. That’s why he went so hard after Vanden Bosch as a free agent in 2010.

Vanden Bosch was a good DE. He was an incredibly hard worker on and off the field. He made a ton of hustle plays in his career. And he worked extremely hard in the weight room and on the practice field to make the most of his ability. Vanden Bosch did his part to help the community. He was a strong leader that other players respected.

Does any of that sound familiar?

Vanden Bosch was 6-4, 278 at one point in his career. I’m not sure he kept on all that weight. Barwin was 6-4, 256 when he came into the league. I’m guessing he’s still in that same range. Maybe he will bulk up in the 260-pound range this year. I think Vanden Bosch is the better pure pass rusher and is a bit quicker off the ball, but Barwin is more versatile and a better overall athlete.

Vanden Bosch strip sack

Barwin isn’t an explosive pass rusher. He does have good quickness, but he is at his best when using his strength to get blockers off balance. That’s when you see those highlight plays were Barwin tosses OL around.

Shot 4 – Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham combine to collapse the pocket (Vine by @fduffy3) https://t.co/FE1D6zZ8t7 — RoadToVictory (@chadwiechert) April 16, 2016

That video is exactly what Schwartz wants. The two DEs drive their blockers back into the QB and the DTs are there in the middle so the QB has nowhere to go but down.

Barwin had 14.5 sacks in 2014. That is an anomaly. He isn’t a dominant pass rusher. That year Barwin happened to be the right guy at the right time on several plays that boosted his sack total. I do think Barwin can be an 8-sack guy in Schwartz’s scheme. The Wide 9 loves pass rushers who have a good combination of speed, quickness and strength. And guys with high motors are more likely to flourish. You don’t need a ton of pass rush moves. You don’t need an elite burst. The angles of the alignment give the pass rusher some favorable situations.

I think some people are underrating Barwin as a pass rusher. He does have some skills and good athleticism. He’s also smart.

Morgan Moses got caught over-setting and lunging by Connor Barwin. By over-setting like that… pic.twitter.com/8qu5mNZWYp — Robbie Duncan (@DeadeyeDunkan) December 29, 2015

Ereck Flowers leans forward, loses his balance, and gets beat by Connor Barwin. Ball is tipped and gets picked off. pic.twitter.com/WXgEWFJZXW — Ethan Young (@NFLDrafter) January 3, 2016

Keep in mind that Barwin was doing this while spending at least half of his time focusing on how to play LB. This year he will strictly be working with the DL coach, focusing on details of how to be the best pass rusher he can. Sometimes the little things can be the difference between hitting the QB and just getting some pressure. DL coach Chris Wilson has a lot to work with in Barwin.

And the Wide 9 just might fit Barwin better than many realize. How about one more shot of him out wide and then knocking the crap out of a blocker?

Chip Kelly back in studio this week. Coming tomorrow on the site @ConnorBarwin98 https://t.co/uWbmIP7P31 — Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) November 13, 2015

So much fun to watch.

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