Vic Fangio

Q. Your defense has done a good job covering tight ends, hasn’t given up a touchdown to one this year. Is there a reason for that? Scheme, personnel? And secondly, facing Commanders TE Zach Ertz, a veteran, thoughts on him? (Ed Kracz)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah, [Commanders TE Zach] Ertz is a really good receiver, as I’m sure you all know. And he is a favorite red zone target of the Commanders this year. He’s a tough guy to cover. Good hands, good size, knows how to body up people, get himself between the ball and the defender. So it will be a tough assignment with him.

Q. How about as far as tight ends go in general? (Ed Kracz)

VIC FANGIO: I just think it’s kind of worked out that way.

Q. Head Coach Nick Sirianni mentioned the 100-hour workweek that you guys would normally put in, and now you’ve got to collapse it into three real working days. Do you have to “dumb down” things, simplify things in terms of your game plan when a week is so short like this one? (Rob Kuestner)

VIC FANGIO: Yes and no. You try and do everything from a preparation standpoint, both as coaches and preparing the players, that you would do in a normal week. You just don’t get the practice reps. You walk through, you’ve got to visualize on the video. But other than that, you try and do everything that you normally do.

Q. What have you and Head Coach Nick Sirianni specifically instituted in practice that you’ve seen a direct result from with the improved tackling over the last month? (Jeff McLane)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah, we’ve emphasized it in practice, which is always good. I had an old coach when I first started in pro ball who said, ‘If you emphasize something, you’ve got a chance to get it.’ That’s what happened there.

Plus we’ve played better overall, and the ball hasn’t been in the open field as much.

Q. What was your biggest concern when you decided to go young in the secondary? And when you do that, do you worry about your veteran players that are being replaced, how they’re going to handle it? (Bob Brookover)

VIC FANGIO: Not really. I mean, you do what you think you have to do to improve the team.

Q. You said somebody told you, ‘If you emphasize it, you’ve got a chance to get it.’ Who told you that? (John McMullen)

VIC FANGIO: A guy by the name of [former NFL and USFL coach] Jim Mora.

Q. OLB Jalyx Hunt, what has he done to earn more playing time? (Zach Berman)

VIC FANGIO: He’s done better in practice, and it’s kind of a result, too, of [DE] Bryce [Huff]. He’s got a big cast on his hand, leaves his thumb totally immobilized. And really, his palm is immobilized. So he’s just got four fingers dangling there with no thumb or palm to help him.

On the less obvious downs, it just makes sense to put a guy in there that’s 100 percent.

Q. Why has he needed a cast? (Jeff McLane)

VIC FANGIO: He’s got something wrong with his wrist.

Q. You have so many new pieces in this secondary. What’s gone into them playing so well as a unit? (Reuben Frank)

VIC FANGIO: I think the secondary coaches, [Safeties Coach] Joe [Kasper] and [Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach] Christian [Parker] and [Cornerbacks Coach] Roy [Anderson], are doing a good job with them. I think those guys, in and of themselves, have done a good job of focusing and learning, and they’re eager and willing. I just think we’ve played better overall across the board.

Q. Commanders QB Jayden Daniels only had five rushing yards in the last game. What did Pittsburgh do well that could be instructive? (Tim McManus)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah, they rushed a lot of guys. When I say a lot, they rushed five a good bit, or four. Pittsburgh is pretty good. You’ve got [Steelers LB T.J.] Watt and [Steelers LB Alex] Highsmith on the outside. They’re good guys. [Steelers DT Cameron] Heyward is still on the inside. They’re a good defense.

Q. What do you make of Commanders QB Jayden Daniels? And the 10 games getting a chance to see him, how much did that help? (Brooks Kubena)

VIC FANGIO: He’s done a great job for them. Kudos to him for what he’s been able to achieve. Kudos to the coaches there that are coaching him because that’s not an easy offense to run. They do a lot of different things.

He’s only thrown two interceptions, which is unreal, really. He’s done a great job.

Q. Piggybacking off of that, we’ve seen so many rookie quarterbacks have issues when they first get in the league. Why do you think he’s bucked the trend and had success early, just by looking at the tape? (Chris Franklin)

VIC FANGIO: He’s a really good player, highly talented. I think they’re running an offense that he’s very comfortable in, and he’s got a lot of good players around him. I think it’s an accumulation of all that.

Q. When you look at CB Quinyon Mitchell’s season so far, obviously he’s been really good. Are there certain areas, though, that you think he can get better, and what are they? (Dave Zangaro)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah, just getting better at everything a little bit. I don’t think he’s shown a gross weakness somewhere that needs a fast and urgent repair, but he can get better at a lot of things, incrementally.

Q. What has pleased you the most about the way DT Jalen Carter is performing? (Jeff McLane)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah, he’s gotten better and better every week, which to me is a good thing. He’s playing better with his hands, using his hands, and being a better technician. And that’s translating into good play because of his talent.

Q. You mentioned the offense with Washington. Commanders Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury had Cardinals QB Kyler Murray before, so some dual-threat ability there. Have you seen a lot of change with Commanders QB Jayden Daniels from what he used to do? (John McMullen)

VIC FANGIO: No, he’s had these types of guys before, like you said with [Cardinals QB Kyler] Murray. And I think this offense fits this quarterback. I think that’s one of the reasons he’s had such early success.

Q. You mentioned former NFL and USFL coach Jim Mora. How much of that has influenced the way you coach? (Brooks Kubena)

VIC FANGIO: Well, a lot. A lot. Jim is, to me, one of the most underrated great coaches in the league because he just never did much in the playoffs. Never quite had the overall team to go far, but a damn good coach and a guy that I’ve always looked up to.

Q. Getting back to CB Quinyon Mitchell, it seems like when he’s gone against Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase and Giants WR Malik Nabers, they haven’t thrown it in his direction much. Why do you think that is? And do you think that might change with Commanders WR Terry McLaurin, who typically lines up on his side? (Martin Frank)s

VIC FANGIO: Well, sometimes with those players that you mentioned, we were giving extra attention there, too. So that was a part of it.

Q. What does it do for the defense when you get linebacker play in the way LB Zack Baun is playing? (Zach Berman)

VIC FANGIO: Well, I think I said in here a while back, it’s hard to play good defense in the NFL without good linebacker play. And that is 100 percent true, and those two guys are playing well.

Q. About the veteran secondary guys again, has DB Avonte Maddox really handled what happened to him well? CB Quinyon Mitchell, earlier in camp, talked about how he was helping him play the slot – (Bob Brookover)

VIC FANGIO: He has. He’s a great teammate for everyone, good pro, and he’s ready to go if needed.

Q. In the zone read stuff that the Commanders do with Commanders QB Jayden Daniels, you guys haven’t really seen a lot of that this season. What are the keys for the defenders that are unblocked, or for you guys – (Jeff McLane)

VIC FANGIO: Yeah, we’ve got to be assignment sound, make sure we always have a guy available to play that quarterback if he pulls it. He’ll pull it sometimes with blockers. He’ll pull it sometimes with just himself there if you overplay the run. You’ve got to be assignment sound.

Q. LB Zack Baun gives you a lot of credit for helping him become the player that he is this year. What is it that you saw in him that gave you the belief in him? (Ed Kracz)

VIC FANGIO: I don’t know. When I evaluate players, there’s no check box, things you check off. You just watch the tape, watch the movement patterns, watch the player play.

And [Executive Vice President/General Manager] Howie [Roseman] brought him up to me first, but he had a vision for him as a backup outside linebacker/special teams demon. And after I watched it, I said no, I think he’s an inside linebacker. Luckily it hit.

Q. What made you think that? (Jeff Neiburg)

VIC FANGIO: Just watching him play and watching his movement patterns.