Vic Fangio

Q. I wanted to ask you about OLB Nolan Smith and what you saw from him. Sunday seemed like a big step forward for him. (Reuben Frank)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah, he played well. And then late in the game, he had a really nice play when they ran a special play to our left. He sensed it, applied what we’d taught him by the formation, and had a great reaction and a great play. And his speed allowed him to make it.

Q. Was DE Bryce Huff lining up more in a four-point stance than previously? (Jeff McLane)

VIC FANGIO: Possibly on some of the third downs.

Q. And do you think that is a better way for him to take off? (Jeff McLane)

VIC FANGIO: Well, he thinks that. But you can do that on third down and long. Obvious, obvious pass. Doesn’t help you in the run. First, second down.

Q. But was there a concerted effort, though, to give him more ability to do something that he feels comfortable doing or – (Jeff McLane)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah, he’s had that. He’s had the ability to do that in an obvious pass.

Q. Just getting back to OLB Nolan Smith, did you see this coming? Did you feel like he was ready to take a jump forward? (Reuben Frank)

VIC FANGIO: He’s been, I think, one of those guys that’s been improving each and every week a little bit. Some of it’s just from playing more, some of it is learning more, experience. It’s a process. The play he made that we just talked about was a play we were getting ready. I can’t remember who it was in an earlier game, but a play that another team had shown, and we practiced against it a couple weeks ago. And he kind of remembered that and applied it. That’s learning football, you know? And those are things you can’t put a price on.

Q. How did you know DB Cooper DeJean was ready to take that bigger role? (Dave Zangaro)

VIC FANGIO: I didn’t. Just to go back, after we played Atlanta, and that was a Monday night game, practice on that Wednesday was a walk through, had a practice Thursday, and then your normal Friday practice. And then the following week, we had another Wednesday practice that was a walk through, then a Thursday, and then your normal Friday. And then we had the bye week, and we didn’t do anything.

So, you’ve got to practice, and the only way to really get him ready in practice was to put him in there and get him the reps. Because if he’s the backup, you can’t get many reps when reps are at a premium, anyway.

So, it was just, in my opinion, time to put him in there, and let him get all the preparation, and see what he can do.

Q. Head Coach Nick Sirianni said after the game that he made a defensive play call. First of all, what was that call, and are you okay with that? (Jimmy Kempski)

VIC FANGIO: It wasn’t a defensive call. It was just a situational thing where he just said, ‘Hey, be alert for this.’ He didn’t call a defense.

Q. What was the situation then that he – (Jimmy Kempski)

VIC FANGIO: It was just when they had the ball near midfield, and it was 3rd-and-long. He said, ‘Hey, be alert that they may check it down’ or something. ‘They are trying to get in field goal range.’

Q. How is Nick Sirianni’s level of involvement in what you’re doing on game day compare to other head coaches you’ve worked for? (Bo Wulf)

VIC FANGIO: It’s pretty similar.

Q. He said that he made the wrong suggestion, I guess, on that play. What happened on that 3^rd-and-long? (Jimmy Kempski)

VIC FANGIO: They ended up getting more than I would have liked to see them get. But it was inconsequential what he said.

Q. LB Nakobe Dean seems to be struggling in space a little bit. Do you think that’s fair? (John McMullen)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah, I think some of those, particularly with [Browns QB] Deshaun Watson in space, he’s got a long list of guys that have missed him in space. So, it’s a tough duty. I do think he can do better, not bite on the pump fake, et cetera. But those are hard tackles, and it’s definitely an area that he needs to improve on.

Q. Is there a coaching point on the interception opportunity when CB Quinyon Mitchell and S CJ Gardner-Johnson came together? Should one of them have that, or is that just ‘go for the ball’? (Bo Wulf)

VIC FANGIO: The only thing I can assimilate it to – it doesn’t happen a lot – is just that gray area fly ball in between the second baseman and center fielder. Somebody’s got to call it. That might be a little unrealistic, but I do think there is some validity to that. And if the center fielder has it, they’ve got to go get it. But I’m not sure if – every situation is a little different in the timing of it.

Q. You’re using DB Cooper DeJean as a blitzer. Is that a function of his skillset, or is that the scheme there? (Zach Berman)

VIC FANGIO: That would have been the same even if [DB] Avonte [Maddox] was in there.

Q. You ultimately held them [the Browns] to a field goal on the last drive, but how did you feel in general about the way – you had a very good defensive day. How did you feel in general about the last drive where they got the field goal? (Bob Brookover)

VIC FANGIO: I obviously wish we would have stopped them much earlier. Not happy we gave up the field goal there.

But it was critical to hold them to the field goal once they did get down there. And kudos to our fans helping us there with the noise, and we were stemming, and those two things kind of induced a couple false starts, which helped us.

Q. CB Isaiah Rodgers had to come in for CB Darius Slay. How do you think he held up – (John McMullen)

VIC FANGIO: Fine. He had the one bad play, the 35-yarder he didn’t play correctly. But other than that, I thought he did good.

Q. When you have a bunch of young pieces in the secondary, does it change anything about how you call it? (Dave Zangaro)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah. The makeup of your squad always affects how you call it. That’s not the only place where we have young players, either. Our two inside linebackers are young. [LB Zack] Baun is a veteran, but he never played inside linebacker until he got here. [LB] Nakobe [Dean] is a third-year player, but this is the first year he’s playing. Nolan Smith, we’ve talked about, really the first year he’s playing, et cetera, et cetera.

So yeah, the makeup of your team, you can’t ignore it. You’ve got to try and find the right fit that fits everybody.

Q. How long does that process typically take, trying to make sure that you’re not overloading them or over-complicating it? Is that something that’s always ongoing, or does there become a point where you can trust them to handle the breadth of the defense? (EJ Smith)

VIC FANGIO: It’s ongoing until you get to that point. There’s no magic formula. It’s all individuals. Analytics can’t help you with that one. These are all human beings that learn at different paces and experience things at different paces, and practice is important.

Q. You’ve been around this area for a long time and been to many other different cities. How would you describe this place compared to other places you’ve been in terms of its fan base and the way it goes about things? (Bob Brookover)

VIC FANGIO: They are obviously very, very passionate here. They want and expect to win, no different than any place else. I don’t think it’s as drastically different as some people think it is. It’s just that when it does, things happen, it’s reported. ‘There goes Philly’ or whatever.

I don’t think it’s grossly different to be honest with you.

Q. In DT Jordan Davis’s case, what factored into the drop in his playing time? (Zach Berman)

VIC FANGIO: Well, they were [playing] three wide receivers most of the day, so we’re only playing two of those linemen at a time, probably, and we’re just rolling them.

Q. Speaking of young players, DT Moro Ojomo seems to be showing a little bit of juice. What have you seen from him? (John McMullen)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah, he’s a guy that’s made a good improvement from the start. Works extremely hard on the practice field and in the meetings, and it’s been paying off. He’s got some good athletic ability. He’s on the small side as D-Linemen go, but he does come with the quickness and speed that you would hope a smaller guy would have. And he plays really hard, and he’s done a nice job, and he’s earned his playing time.

Q. Does DB Cooper DeJean’s timeline to the field from injury compare to how long it might take for S Sydney Brown to get there? Or did Sydney’s experience last year in the system help him to get plugged in sooner? (Brooks Kubena)

VIC FANGIO: I don’t know. It’s all individualized. I do think Sydney’s one year of NFL experience, where he did play a lot last year, can speed it up. But we’ve got to be careful and let him get enough prep time, so we don’t put him out there too quick.

Q. On the lack of turnovers, you’ve been around for a long time, is that something that you view more as a variable that’s dependent upon the way the ball is bouncing, or do you think it’s something that is a result of the way you guys are playing defense right now? (Jeff McLane)

VIC FANGIO: Both. It’s a result of a lot of things. Some teams and players have a knack for it. I think it goes back to the youth a little bit. We just have to find a way to get the ball out some more. No doubt about it.

Q. What are the challenges of Giants QB Daniel Jones and the way the Giants use him and his mobility? (Dave Spadaro)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah, they really ran him a pretty good bit in this past game with quarterback designed runs. He pulls it and keeps it on the zone-read stuff more than most quarterbacks. Very athletic, very fast. He’s a tough assignment with his movement and his arm strength. They are throwing the RPOs more than they have in the past, and he’s throwing them. So, I think their offense is definitely a lot better than it was last year, and it’s going to be a tough assignment up there.

Q. How is the offense different with Giants WR Malik Nabers than without him? (Zach Berman)

VIC FANGIO: Well, you put a great receiver in there versus not being in there, it has a big effect. He’s a guy you’ve got to be aware of. He’s a tough matchup. So yeah, it has a great effect.