The Eagles had their final practice of training camp on Wednesday, and defensive coordinator Vu Fangio spoke to reporters before heading over to the field. He talked about battles for the final roster spots and why he enjoyed joint practices last week so much.
Fangio also was asked about Jalen Hurts throwing so many interceptions this camp, and he explained that it was a good thing for the defense, but also isn’t something he’s worried about from the QB.
“[Jalen Hurts is] learning a new offense. He’s
trying things, seeing what’s available and what isn’t available. I don’t think that’s going to carry over [to the regular season].“
Here’s what else the DC had to say:
On final roster decisions
When asked if his mind is made up with the roster spots, he noted that players can still sway decisions on Friday night, but ultimately, it’ll be up to Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni. The DC later noted that two guys who could benefit from the final preseason game are S Maximus Pulley and DB Kapena Gushiken.
“Special teams does play a factor. The last few spots are always a story in and of itself. It might be a guy that’s not ready to play, and you might not think he’s ready to play the entire year, but you want him. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes it’s a guy that you think can help us in a pinch if we need it. As I said, special teams is a big thing. Just numbers, too. There’s minimal numbers you need at every position. You need five or six defensive linemen to make the roster. You need eight to nine outside backers and inside backers to make the roster minimum. The numbers is part of it also.”
Fangio also admitted that the competition at safety between Marcus Epps and Michael Carter is still close. He noted that Carter is doing a good job, but it’s all still new to him and he needs more exposure and reps. Still, the DC does think Carter can eventually do the job. He also liked the depth Andre Sam provides at safety.
“[Andre Sam] knows our defense from the safety position. He’s reliable in that regard. He’s trustworthy, and I think he’s a guy that will have a spot somewhere along the line, but we like him.“
He talked about being happy with the CB depth, saying he was comfortable with Quinyon Mitchell and Tariq Woolen, and he hopes to get Jonathan Jones back from injury soon. The DC said Mac McWilliams has made strides but is dealing with an injury of his own, and noted Kelee Ringo was also making strides. And then, they still have to fill the sixth CB spot.
On Riq Woolen’s training camp
“Overall, good. He’s had his moments where he can get a little sloppy. We need to eliminate those and hopefully once the regular season starts, that will happen. We like him. I like him a lot. I like the player. I like the person. I like being around him and I like coaching him.”
Fangio later spoke about how Woolen has done well with adapting to the Eagles’ style of zone defense, and he’s continuing to get better at it.
On DT Ty Robinson
“Everybody’s a little different, but you see it every year — some guys, they’re struggling, struggling, struggling. Something happens that they’re able to turn the corner a little bit. It just so happened that it was [Ty Robinson] in the first preseason game, and he carried it over to last week. Hopefully, this will continue. Now, he’s got to be able to do it against the frontline players too.”
Fangio later admitted that Robinson has likely solidified a spot among the defensive tackle rotation this season.
On the Eagles-Patriots joint practices
“I thought those two practices against the Patriots were our two most beneficial and valuable practices the entire year, entire camp. Just like I said before, it’s a different style offense, so that was great in and of itself. They have a good group of receivers that was good to go against. Way different offensive scheme than ours, great to go against. Those were two really, really good practices. We had, I think like 80 some plays the first day, 50 [or] 60 maybe the second day with a red zone focus. Fantastic practices.”
On Jalyx Hunt
Fangio was asked about Hunt and whether he’s exceeded expectations when they drafted him, and the DC said that his production is what they expected and hoped for, and now those expectations are even greater.
“Am I surprised? Is this unexpected? That’s who [Jalyn Hunt] is.”
