The Eagles defense looked wholly unprepared on Sunday against the Buccaneers and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio spoke to reporters on Tuesday about what happened, what their plan is to curb the missed tackles, and about individual players like Bryce Huff, Jalen Carter, and Sydney Brown.
Here’s what the DC had to say:
On what went wrong against the Bucs
Fangio explained that the Saints started off throwing a lot, and doing so quickly, and they weren’t in the position to stop them, noting they were in a lot more man those first few plays.
“They came out throwing, obviously, and throwing quick. We weren’t close enough. We played a lot more man in those first three series than we usually do, or we were in some tight matchup zones, and we just didn’t play it good enough.
Their pass offense was better than our pass defense.”
When asked how the defense could look so good against the Saints and then fall so badly just a week later, the DC agreed that was a good question. He reiterated that the Bucs were throwing really quick, and after they got behind the chains, things snowballed.
Fangio said they tried to communicate adjustments early, and to get tighter, but gave credit to Tampa Bay for throwing the ball better than the Eagles could defend it. As for why that was the case, the DC admitted that he probably needs to coach better and get the guys ready during the week for adjustments they need to make.
On missed tackles
“A lot of times, we left our feet too early. Sometimes, we didn’t wrap up well enough.
We missed 15 tackles by our count, and that’s way too many.”
Fangio went on to say that fixing that is something they’ll emphasize through film study, practice drills, and better technique. He also acknowledged that if they would have made some of those missed tackles, they wouldn’t have given up some of the explosive plays that highlighted their struggles in coverage.
Later, he was asked about C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s technique and what the safety needs to improve on.
“Well, he needs to tackle better. That would be first and foremost. Then be sharp in his execution — of knowing his assignments and executing them.”
On Bryce Huff’s production and development
“I think he’s improving. When I say improving against the run, that’s something that he hadn’t really been asked to do in the past.
And that’s been an adjustment for him. I’m seeing some improvement there. We don’t ask him to drop very often, but when he does, I’m seeing some improvement there.
So he’s working hard at it. He’s as frustrated with it as any of us are, but confident he’ll get it going.”
On getting Sydney Brown back
“We’re excited to get him coming back. We all have to have some patience, which I know isn’t a big virtue amongst any of us at this time of the year. The guy hadn’t played any football since his injury, I believe was the first week of January last year.
Here we are, in October, and his OTAs and training camp are going to have to be squished together fast, which he is ready to do mentally and emotionally.
But we have to be careful ourselves to not overdo it with him. Overdo it from a physical standpoint and an expectation standpoint.”
Fangio went on to say that from watching Brown’s film, he could tell the DB is a good football player that brings energy, and is a good tackler. The DC is excited to get a chance to work with him when he returns.
He expects that they’ll open the 21-day practice window for Brown soon, and could get him back at practice when they return from the bye week. Fangio emphasized that was the initial timeline, and while he hasn’t heard anything different, it hasn’t been confirmed.
Brown is someone that they could consider at slot, but after missing so much time, the DC wants to get him trained at one spot to start.
On Jalen Carter’s workload
“It’s an individual thing. I’m used to – in a lot of places, where defensive lineman can play that much. To me, it’s an individual thing.
And it’s also how the reps are falling in a game. In some of the games, the New Orleans game, we had a fair amount of three-and-outs or five-play drives. That wasn’t the case the other day, obviously, and then the heat factored in.
So rather than being a hard number, circumstances do affect it. But I do think guys are capable of playing.”
Other notables
Fangio learned after Reed Blankenship left the game due to illness, that the safety actually woke up sick, with what he thought was some kind of food poisoning. The DC admitted that the heat compounded things requiring him to eventually leave the game.
He talked about watching the defensive film with head coach Nick Sirianni after a game, and noted that they do that all the time. It’s valuable because then Sirianni knows what’s happening, what the guys are being coached to do, and what’s being expected.
Fangio disagreed with Tom Brady’s assessment during the broadcast that they weren’t comfortable playing press coverage. The DC explained that the players, particularly the corners, have the ability to press based on formation, and they have the ability to press in almost all of their calls. It’s the player’s decision by matchup and receiver split, but he acknowledged that they had more opportunities last Sunday and can press more moving forward.
He said that Cooper DeJean is getting close to being ready to be the slot corner. Fangio noted that Avonte Maddox has played fine in “some areas,” but obviously there are some plays he’d like to have back.
Fangio also had some kind words for safety Tristan McCollum who came in for Reed Blankenship on Sunday. He explained that McCollum had some really nice practices last week when Gardner-Johnson was nursing a foot injury — McCollum got a full set of practice reps, and the DC was encouraged by what he saw.
“[McCollum] had some errors there, but overall, I’m encouraged by his play and where he can be eventually as an NFL safety.”
