Vic Fangio talks Eagles cornerback situation, edge depth concerns

The Eagles are back to work as they prepare for the Vikings and defense coordinator Vic Fangio spoke to reporters on Tuesday. He talked about the depth at DE, what went wrong against the Giants, and admits

that the CB position will look a lot like Thursday night if Quinyon Mitchell misses extended time.

At one point he was asked about the run defense, and Fangio pointed to issues with quarterback’s running and scrambling, which makes the overall numbers look worse than they are, but noted the guys need to play better and he needs to call better defenses.

Here’s what else the DC had to say:

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On the EDGE depth

Fangio said that he didn’t have any indication Za’Darius Smith was thinking about retiring, and was surprised when Howie Roseman informed him of that decision.

“But, you always respect guys personal decisions. Guy had a great career, did fine when he was here with us. He was good to be around, and wish him the best. It takes strength to do that, and [I] respect it.”

The DC went on to note that they’ll have to absorb the 20-25 snaps Smith was taking and divvy them up to the rest of the guys. He said they’ll, “Make it work.” While he acknowledged that you’d like to add depth at every position, Fangio said that there are some guys in the building who can step up. He later named Patrick Johnson as someone who could fulfill Smith’s role.

He also admitted that it’s possible the move rookie Jihaad Campbell over to edge, something that is a little easier with Nakobe Dean back healthy and on the field. Fangio went on to talk about how they always knew that Campbell had the versatility to play inside or outside, it’s just up to this point he’s gotten most of his work inside.

On what happened vs. Giants

“I just didn’t coach them up well enough. My calls weren’t good enough. And, we had trouble with ‘em.”

Fangio didn’t agree that the Eagles were the less physical team on Thursday night — although he did admit that was the case on the last drive — and said that ultimately they didn’t rush well enough, they struggled to contain QB Jaxson Dart, had a hard time covering, and the DC’s calls weren’t good enough to cover up those mistakes.

He also noted that he didn’t know that Jalen Carter wasn’t playing until right before the game, around the same time everyone else learned the news. Still, Fangio said that they knew Carter missing the game was a possibility, but it doesn’t really change the game plan because it’s up to the next guy to step up.

On the CB position

“Well, we’ve got to settle in and find somebody out there that we can rely on. And, I think we have the guys that can do that, we just gotta get ‘em playing better.”

The DC said that Adoree’ Jackson will probably get the start in Week 7, and that they were going to replace Kelee Ringo with Jackson on Thursday, but when Quinyon Mitchell went down, they both had to play.

When asked if they expect Mitchell to be able to play on Sunday, Fangio said that it remains to be seen. If the second-year CB ends up missing extended time, the DC mentioned that the cornerback position will look like it did the other night — with Jackson and Ringo. He noted that Mac McWilliams is someone who could get involved in that scenario, as well.

“We’ve been trying to focus [Mac McWilliams] at one point on learning the nickel spot to be the backup nickel, then we shifted our focus to try and get him to learn corner and be a viable option if we had issues out there. So, he’s kind been going back and forth.

He’s doing okay [on the outside].“

On Andrew Mukuba

“He’s just gotta clean up his operation, be sharp, know that every play could be the most important in the game, and I’m confident he’ll be able to do that.