Bart Scott’s on a mission. Since scraping his way onto the Ravens' roster after going undrafted out of Southern Illinois in 2002, Scott has seen his profile rise from scrub reserve, to Ray Lewis’ underappreciated ILB complement, to the most sought-after linebacker in this offseason’s free-agent class.

Now, after signing a five-year, $40-million contract with the Jets that reunited him with head coach Rex Ryan, his coordinator in Baltimore, Scott’s going full throttle to prove he’s worth every penny.

With spring ball in the rearview mirror and training camp less than a month away, Scott sat down with PFW to discuss everything from the adjustment to his new role as defensive centerpiece, to what’s in store for Gang Green’s defense, to how his new LB corps has the ability to be considered one of the best in NFL history.
 
PFW: How did OTAs and minicamp treat you?

Scott: It was relatively smooth. We had a great start in terms of bringing in a new philosophy and showing how we want to go about practice. I think it really gave guys an introduction of what to expect about the new personality in charge and the type of tempo to expect during the season.

PFW: Speaking of personality, Rex Ryan has been pretty outspoken in the media. Are you surprised at all by his talk?

Scott: Rex isn’t a guy who is going to duck a question or brush it under the rug. He’s a straight shooter, and he’s the same way with his players. He’s not going to sugarcoat anything. If something is wrong out there he’s going to bring it to the forefront, and once it’s over, it’s over. That’s just his personality, he’s not going to back down.

PFW: You’re known as a tough, physical player. Since spring ball is conducted without pads, was it frustrating to be going half-speed?

Scott: That time is necessary for the body to heal. When you have a tough season, you pay a price and it takes a toll on your body. You look forward to it when the bullets are real and bullets are live, but you embrace the transition of trying to get in shape.

PFW: Even so, you’ve already established yourself as a vocal presence with the Jets. Is that your natural manner, or have you taken it upon yourself to be a leader in your new setting?

Scott: That’s just the way I am. That’s what I’ve done every day in practice regardless of the situation. That’s my game. It’s nothing new for me. In Baltimore, there were a number of vocal leaders on that team even though it wasn’t apparent in public. You had Ed Reed, you had Terrell Suggs, I’d like to say myself. Haloti Ngata, when he would speak, guys would listen, because he didn’t talk that much. It was kind of a mix by committee. What happens is reporters only want to speak to certain guys.

PFW: Who else has been stepping to the forefront, especially at other defensive positions?

Scott: Kris Jenkins has always been a dominant player, and whenever you have a dominant player people are going to look to him. How can you not respect a guy like Shaun Ellis, who has been on this club a long time and has been a playmaker in this league? As I’ve quickly learned, he’s a tempo-setter and guys look to him as kind of a nasty player who will do the dirty work and get it done. For me, I’ve been around Marques Douglas and I know what a playmaker he is. He’s a guy that will never get the respect, never get the accolades, but when you look at his body of work, he has some impressive numbers.

PFW: In recent seasons, the Jets’ defense hasn’t lived up to expectations given the stockpile of talent it has. Do you have any idea of why that was, and what is needed to make it one of the league’s premier units?

Scott: It’s tough to speak for beforehand because I wasn’t there. But what I can say is that we have some unique schemes that will take the targets off of people. What happens is as the year progresses, offenses will start to see what has been successful with a defense and catch on to it. You can’t do that. Looking at some of their tapes, it looks like they ran the same defense throughout the whole year. Jenkins was always in a zero, you knew where he was going to be and how the line was going to stack up, and teams would set up to attack it. That’s why it’s important to have multiple schemes and the ability to change up personnel. You have to always continue to evolve throughout the year.

PFW: Ryan’s defense has the reputation of being very blitz-happy. Is that accurate?

Scott: A lot of people think that we blitz a lot, but when you break it down and see how many people are actually rushing, it’s usually not more than four. So if only four people are rushing, how is it a blitz? It’s all about switching up your rushes and not having a blueprint. If you’re constantly changing things up, how are teams going to get a read on you and expect you to be in certain places at certain times? You can’t.

PFW: Just like you had a great inside 'backer to play alongside with the Ravens in Ray Lewis, you have another now in David Harris. Can we expect to see the same role for you in New York as you had in Baltimore?

Scott: I actually see my role expanding because David is a younger player who has his own different set of skills. He’s able to cover the tight end, he’ll cover backs out of the backfield. We didn’t really put that responsibility on Ray to cover tight ends and do certain things, and I think teams adjusted to that and got the understanding that I was going to be the blitzer. I think that, along with Trevor Pryce being hurt, was the reason that we went from that 60-sack year (in 2006) to not getting back up to those totals again. But now, when we have a player like David, we can mix things up and be a lot more interchangeable.

PFW: When I look at the Jets’ LB corps, I find it interesting how you, being the most accomplished professional, went undrafted, whereas there are three other linebackers in Calvin Pace, Bryan Thomas and Vernon Gholston who were first-rounders and have disappointed often. Any rationale for that?

Scott: For me, it was about always feeling like I had that chip on my shoulder. Fans didn’t know who I was when I walked by in training camp. They would look down at the card and try to find my number so they could find my name and call it out to ask for an autograph or call to ask me to get somebody else’s. I don’t know what it was like to be a first-rounder, that wasn’t my path. But I also believe that they have things that motivate them as well. Every athlete has to find what motivates him to take it to the next level.

PFW: How good can this LB corps be?

Scott: When I see all the talent that we have, it gets me excited about our potential because those guys were first-rounders for a reason. With that being said, we look great on paper. We need to go out there and materialize that on the football field. That’s what our goal should be, not being the best linebackers individually, but to collectively be the most dominant group. When they do those NFL Network shows about the best LB corps ever put together, we want to be there. This corps should be together for awhile. If we start clicking we could start to make a lot of noise.

PFW: Could it be better than Baltimore’s?

Scott: That’s tough to say because you had one of the greatest players to ever play the position. Then you had Adalius Thomas (from 2000-06). I was kind of like the dark horse. Could we be that? Yeah, we could be that. But we have to earn that. I think it would be disrespectful to that unit in Baltimore for us to say we’re there already. It’s going to take us communicating without talking, knowing each other’s tendencies. I need to know exactly what Calvin is thinking on the outside, to know exactly what David is thinking next to me so I can trust them. (Editor’s note: This interview took place four days before Pace was suspended the first four games of the season for violating the league’s banned-substance policy).

PFW: So what’s in store for you until training camp? Going to rest up at all? Any vacations planned?

Scott: I just got done with three sessions with my trainer in the last two days. All the vacations that I take — if we’re out of the playoffs — are in January, February and March. I always ask people, why would you want to work hard and peak, and then take a vacation right before you’re starting up? When a boxer is getting ready for a fight, he doesn’t train up to four weeks before the fight, then takes time off. He trains completely through. You want to be able to hit camp running so you don’t have to worry about your conditioning, you can just go right to the Xs and Os and execute. … A lot of guys peak early and take this time to go vacation and things like that, and what you’re doing is you’re losing ground so whatever mountain you built up, you’re chipping away at it. Even if you left in better shape than me, I’m going to be working five weeks straight, and you’re partying, drinking, doing the red carpets and things like that. I’m catching you and then I’m going to be passing you.

Kickoff is coming! Be sure to buy copies of the Pro Football Weekly/Yahoo! Sports 2009 NFL preview magazine, as well as the Pro Football Weekly/Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football Guide 2009, both of which are, now available at bookstores, newsstands and retail outlets where magazines are sold. Or order your copies online at PFWStore.com.