The Eagles were back on the practice field Monday as they prepare for the final days of training camp and the final preseason game. There’s still a lot to evaluate, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said that some of the position competitions won’t be decided until after their third preseason game. Fangio spoke before Monday’s practice and talked about the CB2 job, what he’s seen from Jihaad Campbell, and explained why Nolan Smith has lined up primarily on the left side.
Here’s what the DC had
to say:
On the CB2 job
Fangio admitted that they don’t have any answers for the second cornerback position, noting that the competition is about even right now. The DC mentioned that Jakorian Bennett just got to Philly last week, and they need to give him an opportunity to compete for the job, too.
“Usually, it does become pretty obvious to everybody as to who is going to win the job — that hasn’t happened yet. I think they’ve all done a good job in their own way — had good moments, not so good moments, so we haven’t reached that conclusion yet.”
Earlier in camp, Fangio said that they planned to get Cooper DeJean some work at outside corner, and while that hadn’t happened up to this point, DeJean was expected to get reps there on Monday. Still, Fangio said there’s no plan right now for DeJean to move to the outside full time, and it would require someone developing at the nickel position and someone not developing at the corner position in order for that to be the case.
The DC also confirmed that Mac McWilliams is another guy competing for the CB2 role. He later noted that McWilliams had an injury that kept him out of practice for about a week, and that’s affected him a little. Fangio is hoping that he shakes that off this week, because the DC thinks he has more to show than he has thus far.
On Patrick Johnson
“Patrick was a guy we were disappointed to lose last year when we did. He’s a reliable player that knows how to play and we’re glad to have him back. He does well when he gets his reps.”
On Jihaad Campbell
“He’s been getting better and better each and every week. Like I say, he still has his hiccups, but I do think he’s getting better and better. And, [Zach] Baun’s gonna practice today for the first time in a long time, and [Jihaad Campbell will] get in there with Baun — [Jeremiah] Trotter will too —, and that will settle him down a little bit too, hopefully.”
Other notables
- Fangio explained that every play is it’s own entity, but Andrew Mukuba’s interception was a good play — but pointed out it also wasn’t a great play on the Browns’ part, either. Same thing with the fumble recovery, but Fangio said some guys have a knack for being able to make other teams pay for their mistakes, and Mukuba still had to be in position to make those plays, and he executed.
- He talked about Azeez Ojulari and mentioned a good play he had in the rush on Saturday, and said the OLB is coming along.
- The DC noted that Brandon Johnson suffered a groin injury against the Browns, so he won’t be practicing for a few days, but the DB had a good week leading up to the second preseason game. Still, Fangio noted that before Johnson got hurt, he also got beat a couple of times.
- Fangio was pleased that DT Byron Young was ablet o get the number of reps that he did Saturday against the Browns, because he missed a week or so of camp due to injury, and he’s someone else who is getting better and better. The DC was pleased with Young’s play overall.
- He explained why Nolan Smith has been lined up predominantly on the left side — compared to Jalyx Hunt who has moved side-to-side — citing a left shoulder injury. Fangio noted that the inside arm gets the brunt of the action, so they’ve tried tried to take that off his left shoulder.
