The Eagles’ DC evaluates some of the individual performances from Week 1, and also talks about improvement areas.
The Eagles are all back to work as they prepare for the Falcons on Monday night, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spoke to reporters on Wednesday, giving one last review on the defense’s performance in Week 1, and how some positions are shaking out.
Here’s what the DC had to say:
On starting ILB role
Fangio was asked about the starting job whether or not Devin White is able to play in Week 2, but without hesitation, he noted, “Nakobe’s the starter.” The DC later said that they obviously spoke to White about the decision, pointing out that more-veteran LB is still a good player — he tweaked his ankle last week, but he’s still a part of it.
“I just think from the start of training camp to the end, [Nakobe Dean] won the job.”
On the secondary
“I thought [Quinyon Mitchell] played good. They caught some balls on him, in front of him, made a great play on the deep ball they threw early in the game on him. I thought he played well.”
He explained that Mitchell got the start on the outside, with Avonte Maddox in the slot, because with Isaiah Rodgers out, that was the best combination for the Packers’ offense — with Green Bay having good outside receivers, they wanted that matchup with Mitchell.
Fangio said that they have confidence in Kelee Ringo, and they’ll see how the position shapes out over the course of the season, but whether it’s Rogers or Ringo on the field, it won’t change the way they call the game.
On the missed tackles
“We just need to improve on our approaches and not be so wild. Some of the missed tackles were due to the leaky run defense that let good backs get in the open field or a good wide receiver on that one run, and it’s hard to tackle good players in the open field. We can’t let a guy carrying the ball be in that big of an open field.”
On Bryce Huff’s usage
The DC said Huff is improving against the run, and as far as Brandon Graham getting more first down reps than Huff, Fangio explained that BG is still a good player and he’s not in Philly on some sort of ceremonial last season. He noted that all of those guys had about the same number of snaps, so they were really rotating through.
He said he wasn’t quite sure if that’s how things will staying as the season goes on, and it could be something they use in addition to having someone more anchored on the field. When asked what Huff would have to do to play more, Fangio was honest, “You know, just separate himself from the other guys.”
On red zone defense
Fangio acknowledged that red zone defense is something they’ve always placed a heavy emphasis on because of how important it is to the game. It surfaced early for them against the Packers due to the offense’s turnovers, but they practice it a lot.
“We played good down there. We played tough. You have to be able to play the run down there. I know our run defense wasn’t up to par. Other places in the field down there it was.
It was a big part of that game. After everything that happened after three series, we were up 7-6 instead of down 14-0 or 10-0. It was huge. It really was.”
On individual performances
Zack Baun
Fangio thought Baun pretty good on Friday night. He explained why he thought Baun could move to inside linebacker, citing New Orleans on a few occasions, lining him up on the inside. It was enough for the DC to think he could have success there.
Cooper DeJean
“We gotta just keep practicing [DeJean] a bunch, get him comfortable. He basically missed all of training camp except the Minnesota week, so he’s behind, but we’re trying to catch him up.”
Fangio also admitted that there’s a possibility that at some point, the best combination will be DeJean in the slot and Mitchell on the outside.
Reed Blankenship
“He’s [Reed Blankenship] a smart player. He plays with a calmness that is important in the safety position. You need a guy that’s able to quarterback the secondary, and many times that involves the linebackers, too, and he does a good job of that.
I just think he’s a confident, smart, instinctive player, and you need guys like that.”
Other notables
- Fangio was asked if they had to adjust anything due to the slippery field conditions, but while he said that they had to assess some things — both teams did —, he didn’t let it affect the way he called the game.
- The DC admitted that they didn’t pass rush good enough overall in the game, and while the field conditions contributed to that, it’s an area they can improve.
- He expects Kirk Cousins to start for the Falcons on Monday night, saying they believe he’s healthy enough to play.
- When asked what kind of insight he’s given the offensive staff about Falcons safety Jeffrey Simmons, Fangio noted that they hadn’t asked him about it yet.
