Grade Jim Schwartz - September 2011

I gave him a B. Room for improvement and like he says, we haven’t accomplished anything yet.

Hard not to give him an A, but no A+ yet. I’d say based on his own comments the team isn’t in A+ territory yet.

Now we are respected. I wouldnt have believed it was possible, if I hadnt seen it myself.

A

for the reason Jeff stated above. When we get to the SB then we can consider an A.

Overall great job, playoffs will earn A status.

I would have given him an A-, but he got on the cases of some players that made bad plays (penalties), and I don’t think they will do that again.

Solid road win, I mean come on? I think we will find the Bucs as an over 500 team by the end of the year, and we will look at this win as a big win by end of season.

Same reasons as Sean. If those dumb mistakes seem to vanish – an A will be coming shortly…

I think looking back on where we were after the season of tears to now, the change is remarkable. He has done a great job changing the culture and attitude of the team. I am not giving him the A or A+ yet because of the nagging issues we are still seeing on the team (i.e. stupid penalties, etc) and the fact we haven’t gotten to see this team perform over the course of a whole season. However, if he can clean up the mistakes and make a playoff push (especially the latter), I will be more than happy to up his grade to an A

   From turning this team in the right direction to instilling the right kind of attitude. W’s will increase grade to A+.
   As for the concern over the conservative play calling in the 4th, I believe is was more Mother Nature related than feeling comfortable with the lead. Think of Stafford in mid-throw and both legs seize up bringing him to the ground and the pass goes errant into the hands of the defense. Or we can think of our D-Backs going stride for stride in press coverage only to cramp up when the ball is on the way and be taken out of the play. Those of us who’ve experienced heat cramps know those are just two of many possible scenarios we could have witnessed. Had it been a little closer, I don’t think they would have pressed their luck as early, but being there was a bit of a cushion, so to speak, the coaching staff decided to ere on the side of caution.

Some stupid penalties @Tampa. That partially falls on him.

Still love Coach though. He’s going to lead this team to respectability and maybe more.

I think he’s doing a great job. Considering what he inherited, this team has come a long way. The intensity is a whole different world then what it was.

The only reason i didn’t give an A- is because I thought we were way too conservative in the second half Sunday. I think we should have stayed with what they were doing and had that “Go for the throat” attitude a little longer or at least for one more TD drive before we put on the brakes and ried to run out the clock.

We are going in the right direction, but I will lay some of the blame for the errors in the Bucs game at his feet.

I still do not like going totally conservative when we have the lead in the fourth. If the opponents sell out against the run, burn them with the pass. I think you will see that later in the season, they will trust Stafford and his receivers to make those plays. I don’t think they are there yet.

I believe I gave him an A last time, but I am raising the bar a lot for the Lions this season. All of them.

I like what he has done, and I acknowledge that in past years he has had little to work with, but that also makes it hard to grade him. For me really I will not know until this season and next season. For the first time in a long time the Lions are expected, not by media, not my fans, but by themselves and the coaches, to be a winning team and challenge for the playoffs.

Therefore should they make the playoffs my grade for him goes to B+ / A- material. Should they win a playoff game he gets an A+ for sure.

He and Mayhew took over the most dysfunctional outfit in the league and now we are not only talking playoffs, but out winning road games against teams with winning records the previous years. We have players and attack plans on both offense and defense that you can actually get excited about.

There are a few things that need to get cleaned up like penalties and some playcalling here and there, but Jim also knows that as well. His handling of the post-game (post WINNING game) presser shows he gets it. That’s all I need to know. This team is getting close to where we all have been dreaming it could be….. can you say “NFL Coach of the Year”? Put it in the bank………..

For the simple fact we opened the season on the road with a win against a 10 win team that we had just played last year on the road. This shows the consistency that I have been looking for in a Lions team for some time now. Also, we didn’t need overtime to do it. He starts with an A, but there are screws to be tightened or his grade will drop.

I can’t give him an A until he starts really finishing opponents off. I don’t like going into prevent mode when we’re only ahead by two scores, especially with how good Staff looked most of the game. I’d have liked to see him pull a Brady.

http://blog.betdsi.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/jim-schwartz-detroit-lions1.jpg

A+ if he sends Gos’s ass packing. I’m so sick of seeing that idiot get called for the dumbest penalties week after week. He is a drive killer and Hilliard could be just as good without the mental issues IMO

I think it’s a long season and lots can (and will) happen. But to think that he has coached 33 games since the team had gone 0-16 and we are already talking playoffs, being called “heavy favorites” in games, getting the media’s attention definitely, and selling out games quickly…..how can you NOT give him an A? Obviously, we have room to grow and improve yet. But the road to success has been vastly shortened, thanks to him and the front office. We have talented players with incredible hearts in every position. Let’s see where this can go and have fun with it.

I was happy when he was hired, knowing his coaching background. He had a few growing pains the first year but I think the Jets game thought him how to be a coach and he’s been top notch ever since.

Besides, I just love the staff he’s put together.

All this is nice but playoffs is where it’s at. Until then it can’t be bumped up to an A

You can suck my Ditka! Yeah that is right, all 2 inches of it. If it was my Calvin’s Johnson it would be much more impressive!

I’m not buying the argument that you don’t get into the A range until you make the playoffs. I look at the hand that Schwartz was dealt when he first arrived and what he’s done with it. It’s unfair to compare him to other coaches that have had – at least until now – a lot more to work with.

Of course, now the Lions have expectations. They looked sharp during the preseason and, at times, dominant in the season opener. They won their game on the road against a good young team that was 10-6 last year. And they weren’t satisfied. Schwartz was furious at the end of that game. And the players were disappointed that they didn’t finish strongly. That’s the exact attitude I want and expect from a winning team. The mentality of this franchise has definitely changed, which is something that only a quality coach could have accomplished.

I didn’t like the conservative play-calling at the end of the game, but I also wonder if the extreme heat didn’t impact what they were trying to do. I am, however, disappointed by the lack of discipline still shown by this team. Judging by Schwartz’s words after the game, he is too. I expect that to change, but until it does that’s the reason for the A-. Against better teams, mental lapses will prove costly.

Considering the product he had to work with when he first got here to where he has brought it. Plus, his no excuses attitude and he is a Iron maiden fan. Love the guy.

Some fols here are giving Jim Schwartz an A just because they are giddy with the team coming together. Since when is putting a competent team on the field any more than the expectation that should be placed on any coach? Yes, we have had some horrible coaches in the past in Detroit., but giving Schwartz an A is not justified by the fact that past coaches deserved an F.

What Schwartz has accomplished to this point is exactly what the Lions have paid him to do, no more and no less. For that he deserves a C grade, not an A. I mark him up to a B because of his ability to create a chemistry with the players and because of how he handles the press.

Until Jim Schwartz wins some games by out-coaching the other guy, and until he takes his team to the playoffs, he will remain at a B in my eyes.

I have to grade him based on past and current performance. All the talk about “Can’t get an A til playoffs/super bowl” is hogwash, tell me how any coach is supposed to get playoffs/super bowl in week 1 of the regular season?

This isn’t a grade on potential, it’s a grade on right now. In 200I our GPA was probably in the 0.2 range. Schwartz has consistently elevated the performance, expectations, and culpability of this team in great strides since he’s been here. And how to you raise a GPA out of the gutter quickly? By getting As.

I’m not giving him an A+ because of some reasons mentioned, everything’s still not perfect, but he absolutely deserves an A grade in my mind.

Get my boy jahvid best some run blocking then we can bump it up

Can’t tell if my grade comes in comparison to past coaches… BUT the thing that I love about Schwartz is that he sticks to his roots. In two years time, he has upgraded his defense to look like the mean, tough defense that he coached in TN a few years back. No more soft defensemen with weak tackling skills.

My only negative thoughts come on clock management towards the ends of the game, even though that is Linehan’s territory. I wish the Lions would not drastically change their strategy when they have a lead with 5-10 min left in the final quarter. Too often have the Lions been leading by 7-14 points in the 4th and reverted to a running, conservative offense only to see their lead diminish. Stick to your gameplan!! Worry about the clock when there is less than 5 minutes.

I believe that until the team sustains wins regardless of the atmosphere this is a fair grade based on the opinions already stated above, but not because of the playoff thought process. He does have a way of getting team chemistry together and working w/ skill sets thats available except for now he has enough to field a team that should and can challenge for the division barring key injuries. Anything less this year keeps him at a B. The game itself is on the players to perform and you cant fault him entirely but its up to the coach to teach consistency.

The team has been going in the right direction for a while now, 5 straight regular season wins, but you can still see the things that plague the team the most still relevant in games (penalties, lack of coverage, etc.) That’s not necessarily my reason for not giving away an A. In my book, he’ll earn an A when we start playing more games like we did against St. Louis last year.

We probably won’t be beating down teams 44-6 every game, but with offense, defense, and special teams playing their asses off, that’s what we should expect this talented team to do every game.

but after reading all your comments, I would if I could, change my grade to a B-.

I am not at all impressed with the play calling in the second half of this last game and that hurt his grade with me. I realize he is not the O coor but he is the O coor’s boss and he needs to call him out in instances like that.

Before anyone bashes me for my grade. Remember, I was ready to have his ass fired last season when we were 2-10. This is a huge jump in faith from me concerning him.