Jim Schwartz Still Has Some Questions About Cornerback

PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Eagles' defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz spoke to the media on the second week of OTAs at the NovaCare Complex, and the obvious point of concern is where he feels the cornerbacks are at this time.

It seems as if Schwartz himself doens't fully know.

"Well, we'll find out during the season, for sure," Schwartz said. "[The season is] the final determination in every move that we make and everything that we do – from preparation, to drafting, to signing free agents, to new coaching schemes. That's the great thing about this sport. It all comes to light during the season. I think it's probably a little too early to evaluate right now. We're still working through a lot of different stuff. It's certainly a position of importance for us. We understand where we were last year and how it affected our defense, and we need to be better at our corner position, for sure."

Draft picks Sidney Jones, who may not be available until at least October recovering from a ruptured left Achilles tendon, and Rasul Douglas could make impacts.

As for Jones being able to contribute this year, Schwartz said, "You always have to hedge short-term and long-term in this business. That's a difficult balance, not only for coaches, but for the organization. He's a really good player, and the opportunity to get a really good player is really important to us. So, I'm happy to have him. Whenever he gets back, we'll be happy to get him on the field."

As for having a say in the selection of both and what they could possibly do when both healthy, Schwartz replied, "Coaches certainly have a role. It's not as detailed as the scouts. The scouts have seen these guys for years. Our West Coast scout had seen Sidney Jones since he was a freshman, starting as a true freshman. Same thing with our scouts from West Virginia and everything else. But coaches have a unique role. We get to go to Senior Bowl."

"We saw Rasul Douglas at the Senior Bowl. We go to the combine [and] we get to have individual meetings with those guys. I think it's a little bit easier for coaches than scouts because we get to evaluate the guy when the whole book of information is in. We already know what he ran in his 40; we've already done an interview; all the games are in. It's difficult when you're a scout and on the road. You have to make a decision and evaluate a player. You don't know what he's going to run in his 40. All the information is. He hasn't played whatever that conference championship game or that bowl game that ends up being really good or really bad. But every NFL team coaches have some varying role. We certainly had a role in here. We liked both of those guys. We're happy to have both of those guys."