The Eagles have a short week heading into their Week 4 matchup against the Rams, and DC Vic Fangio spoke with reporters on Wednesday about why they’re a tough team to prepare for, and also gave some insight into the current state of the secondary.
Here’s what else the DC had to say:
On the lack of turnovers
Fangio said that every missed opportunity for a turnover has a story, but they definitely need to get some takeaways to help the offense and to get some stops. He admitted that there were different factors leading to their
low sack numbers, but the DC expects to get some eventually.
“I haven’t felt like our rush has been poor. I mean, they’re throwing it rather quickly a lot of times is part of it.”
He later talked about how they can try and prepare players a little more so they are better able to capitalize on potential takeaways.
“Yeah, obviously you’d like to pull one or two of those in. We’ve just got to keep giving them multiple ball drills. Coaches throwing ball drills is almost a waste because they’re lollipops. We’ve got to get them on the jugs or get a real quarterback throwing them some balls that have some RPMs, maybe like a [Jhoan] Duran fastball rather than a Jamie Moyer.”
On the safety position
Fangio said that the plan all week was to rotate Marcus Epps and Michael Carter, and they practiced it that way. He said those two guys are going to man the position right now , although acknowledged the goal is to always have someone settle into the role. Who is on the field will be based on a rotation, not by situation.
He was also asked about how newly signed DB Kenny Moore might fit into that equation.
“Well, [Kenny Moore]’s a down the line possibility, maybe. He’s really never played safety in his career, so it’d be some heavy lifting for him on the immediate return.”
The DC quickly dismissed the notion that Drew Mukuba was hindered by any kind of injury.
Fangio also was quick with his answers about Cooper DeJean, revealing that he still plans to use DeJean in the slot when they’re in nickel, and said he thinks the DB has been “playing good”.
On Jonathan Greenard’s return
“About what I thought. He got, I don’t know, 18, 19 snaps, I think. Had some good rushes. Some little things were off a little bit, but about what I expected.”
Fangio thinks there will be an upward trend to Greenard’s snap count, and would expect the edge rusher to get closer to 30 snaps on Sunday against the Rams.
On preparing for the Rams
“Yeah, they’re really good. Not counting their San Francisco game in Australia, their last three games going back to the NFC championship game, they’ve gotten 500 yards in all three games against Seattle, the Giants and Denver. Three good defenses. That in and of itself explains to you what the chore is we have. They run it very well. They stay committed to the run and they’ve got a really good play action game off of it that they marry very well to the run game.”
Fangio went on to point out that they’ve got QB Matthew Stafford, who he says is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and has weapons at receiver and tight end, including Puke Macua who is expected to be back. The DC also had a lot of compliments for WR Davante Adams.
“[Davante Adam]’s got size, number one. He’s quick and a really good releaser off the ball. He knows how to body up DBs and get himself an advantage one way or the other. With a quarterback like Stafford, that’s all you need.”
He also disproved the notion that Sean McVay has really change his run scheme the past few years, explaining that he’s really just changed the personnel he’s using in that run scheme – utilizing more three tight ends.
“Yeah, their tight ends are versatile. They’re pretty good receivers, and obviously the blocking and they create extra gaps in there. They’re committed to it and they’re good at it.”
Other notables
- Fangio said that Jalen Carter’s wrist injury hurts his performance, admitting there’s no way playing with a cast won’t hinder a player, but says Carter has done better than the DC thought he would with it.
- He said that it’s possible they could look at rotating LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in and getting him so reps, but Fangio didn’t feel like they needed to against the Bears.
- The DC thought the guys were ready to play mentally and physically, but felt the details were off a little and they weren’t prepared enough for Case Keenum throwing so quickly.
- Fangio admitted that there was a miscommunication between Cooper DeJean and Riq Woolen on the 41-yard TD against the Bears, but didn’t want to blame either of them – at least publicly – and suggested that the two sort it out so it doesn’t happen again. When asked if he was happy with the call on that play, the DC quipped, “No, the result was sh*tty.”
