Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spoke with the media on Monday. As always, he was (mostly) open and honest, so we may as well write about all of his press conferences.
On Adoree’ Jackson..
Fangio: “I think Adoree’ has had a good camp. I think he’s competing well. I think he’s focused with a good mindset and I like where he is at right now.”
#JimmySays: During his last interview, Fangio (a) said that Howie wanted Jackson, (b) claimed he hadn’t even watched film of Jackson, and (c) noted that the first two teams Jackson played for in the NFL didn’t go out of their way to re-sign him when his contract expired. This time around he had nice things to say. Of course, the Eagles then traded for CB Jakorian Bennett.
Has Adoree’ Jackson or Kelee Ringo separated from the other?
Fangio: “It’s close. I think both of them are having a good camp, but it’s close and been happy with both of them and we’ll see.”
#JimmySays: I respect the question and the attempt to push the boundaries on how honest Fangio will be, but I think we found the line, lol.
On Eli Ricks…
Fangio: “He has made some plays the last few days that were good plays. He needs to eliminate the negative ones, too, which I think he’s working hard to do and I see definite improvement from last year to this year.”
#JimmySays: Ricks has gotten hands on a lot of passes this summer, and is playing well at outside corner. I don’t think he’s a major threat to win the starting job, but maybe he’ll have more of a role as a reserve? Of course, he’s hurt by the trade for Bennett as well.
On how Jihaad Campbell is handling the staff putting a lot on his plate…
Fangio: “It’s a harder question with the practice time and reps not being way up there. It’s a fine line that we’re trying to manage. We’re probably a little guilty of putting too much on his plate, but time is coming, days are disappearing.”
#JimmySays: It’s clear that Vic would prefer longer practices to get his players ready for the season.
On what he has seen from Jihaad Campbell when he has gotten reps on the edge as a pass rusher…
Fangio: “Yeah, he needs a lot of work at it. Again, that’s going back to the previous question that’s adding things to his plate right now and in defense of him, he hadn’t been coached up enough to be on the edge and play the way we want to play. So part of that’s him being overloaded, part of that’s us not getting him ready, which is just a product of lack of time and lack of reps.”
#JimmySays: Campbell has gotten to the quarterback as a blitzer from his inside linebacker spot, but on the reps where he has lined up on the edge as a straight pass rusher, he has failed to generate pressure.
On Smael Mondon…
Fangio: “Good stuff. He is having a good camp. He is progressing well. The ILB position has a lot on their plate and he’s sorting through that, but I think he’s making good natural progress at all that.”
#JimmySays: Mondon would be getting so much more attention from us media types if the Eagles were barren of good linebackers. He has looked legitimately good this summer.
On why he likes to mix and match linebackers in practice…
Fangio: “Because if one goes down you don’t want the rest of that game to be the first time those two guys have played together. Same thing with safeties. We eventually will get to that too. You just don’t want to always be ones, twos, threes. You want to mix guys up because you never know when somebody’s going down and now they got to play next to somebody that they’ve never played next to before, even in practice. You want that done in practice.”
#JimmySays: Smart.
Would he ever play three inside linebackers on the field at the same time?
Fangio: “Probably not.”
#JimmySays: The Eagles have five talented linebackers in Zack Baun, Nakobe Dean, Jihaad Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter, and Smael Mondon. I do think there’s some opportunity to get creative with that talent, but Fangio isn’t thinking that way with that group, it seems.
On whether Josh Uche or Azeez Ojulari has stood out in a good/bad way yet (after Vic had said a week ago that they hadn’t)…
Fangio: “Yeah, I think Josh has had some good practices here of late, he’s flashed and had some really good plays. Like a lot of the guys that are new, he just needs to eliminate the negative plays and the negative plays aren’t something that you guys may see or know. It’s just reacting and covering and the way we want to play the run. The nuances of the defense. He has to master those, but overall he’s had a good camp and I see him getting better each and every day and the same thing with Azeez.”
#JimmySays: Uche is very clearly above Ojulari on the edge rusher totem pole. That’s been clear in practice, and now also with Fangio’s praise of Uche and afterthought praise of Ojulari.
On Ogbo Okoronkwo and Ochaun Mathis…
Fangio: “He [Okoronkwo] is definitely, a guy I think has more been a defensive end most of his career. We asked them to drop a little bit here and play a little bit differently maybe than he’s been accustomed to. So he’s fighting through that and learning that stuff. Not just from a mental standpoint but the technique part of it. But overall he’s doing good. Same thing with Mathis. I think he’s a big, strong guy who’s got some pop to him and hopefully we can develop his all around game to where he can be a player.”
#JimmySays: Okoronkwo has at times lined up in a four point stance, low to the ground, almost like Jason Babin used to in Jim Washburn’s wide nine defense. And that kind of makes sense, since he played for Jim Schwartz in Cleveland the last two seasons. He has a good get-off, but the book on him is that he’s not a good run defender, and as Fangio notes, he’s going to have to get used to dropping into coverage on occasion, if need be.
On Ty Robinson…
Fangio: “I think he’s picking things up at a good rookie’s pace. I don’t think that will be an issue for him in the long run. Just kind of see him be a little bit more active and a little bit more decisive in his play, which with the more reps that he gets, I think that will come.”
#JimmySays: When Robinson is full steam ahead, like in 1-on-1’s where there’s no thinking, you can clearly see his speed and power.
Will Andrew Mukuba play in the first preseason game on Thursday?
Fangio: “Probably not.”
#JimmySays: I had Mukuba as the favorite to land the starting safety job opposite Reed Blankenship before camp began, but he is missing a lot of practice time. I would probably not have him as the favorite anymore.
On how Cooper DeJean is performing at safety…
Fangio: “Just the other day we had a route that we struggled with last year in games to pick up and he did it like he’d been a safety his whole life. So yeah, he’ll be a good safety if we need him there.”
#JimmySays: I do wonder what route he is talking about. Talking with Geoff Mosher on the sidelines, we guessed rub routes near the goal line.
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