The Eagles were back to work on Thursday for their second practice of training camp, and we got to hear from defensive coordinator Vic Fangio before the team took the field. He talked about some of the position battles, what he’s seen from the edge rushers, and his thoughts on individual players. He also revealed that Jihaad Campbell will no longer be getting as many reps on the outside.
Here’s what the DC had to say:
On the safety position
Fangio said that he wouldn’t say that the starting safety spot is Marcus Epps’ job
to lose, but said that the veteran has been in with the first team in the nickel group, and it’s Cooper DeJean in the base group.
“But, [Michael] Carter’s doing fine too. It’s competition.”
On Jihaad Campbell
Fangio explained that it’s too early to tell whether Campbell will make any sort of leap heading into his second year, noting that Campbell missed the whole offseason and only had one training camp practice under his belt up to this point. Ultimately, he’s doing fine, but it’s just too early for any kind of deep analysis.
While Campbell had opportunities on the outside last year with Nakobe Dean on the roster, Fangio admitted that some of it was valuable but some was also not great. He explained that those outside reps actually set him back in developing as an inside linebacker.
The DC later said that it remains to be seen how much more they can put on Campbell’s plate, but that they were confident he’ll be able to step up. Fangio also said that the LB’s days of cross-training as an edge rusher are pretty much over, and while there might be a few times they ask him to move to the outside, it won’t be anything long term.
On the DE group
The DC expects Jonathan Greenard to miss most of training camp due to his pec strain, and while he’s a veteran in the league, the Eagles are asking him to do some new things — like dropping back in coverage — and those missed reps could be meaningful. Fangio thinks Greenard is capable of what they’re asking, and the edge rusher is doing a good job in meetings, but it’s not the same as practice experience.
Fangio was also asked about AJ Epenesa and how he helps fill that gap without Greenard. He explained that it remains to be seen, but also gave the DE a huge compliment (by Fangio standards).
“I told AJ [Epenesa] this — I told it to him in front of the whole team, too — for a guy that’s being asked to do a few things that he’s never done before, I thought he did a nice job yesterday with it.”
And as for whether Greenard’s injury also opens the door for Brandon Graham to return to the roster, Fangio pointed to Howie Roseman as the person who can answer that.
He later talked about how he has high expectations for Jalyx Hunt as he heads into his third year, saying that the DE is capable of being an exceptional player.
Staying healthy is the big priority for Nolan Smith this season, with Fangio saying last season was choppy for the DE because he was dealing with some injuries and missed a lot of time. Still, he’s confident in Smith, and said both Smith and Hunt had good days in their first training camp practice.
On Quinyon Mitchell
“He’s got a great work ethic, demeanor, and he just picked up yesterday where he left off last year.”
Other notables
- Fangio said that it’s helpful to be seeing a different offense this season, there’s a lot more moving parts which helps the Eagles defense.
- The DC joked that he’s on the PP plan with Uar Bernard — lots of patience, and lots of persistence. He noted that the first day of practice in the spring was the first time Bernard ever put a helmet on, and now pads will be a whole new thing, so it’s important that he and the team temper their expectations. It’s going to be a process.
- ILB Zack Baun will wear the green dot helmet and be the main signal caller this season — something he had experience doing the first half of last season when Nakobe Dean was injured. Fangio said that if they were to ever ask Baun to do something he’s not familiar with, he’ll fight through until he’s good at it, so he can do anything that’s needed.
- The DC said that Howie Roseman needs to save some money to pay DT Moro Ojomo next year, because he’s someone Fangio wants in this defense.
