Vic Fangio

Q. I’ve got a three-part S Marcus Epps question. Do you think he’s going to be ready for Monday? Is he in contention to start? If he is, at one point he was your third safety, what did you like about him? (Jimmy Kempski)

Vic Fangio: Yes, to the first two. Three, he’s an experienced safety. He’s got good instincts, got good feel for the game. We’ll have to get a feel and a barometer about where he is at missing the last four or five weeks, whatever it was, where he couldn’t practice anyway.

Q. What was your evaluation of S Sydney Brown’s first start? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: It was a lot like the rest of us. Some good, some bad.

Q. When you watch it back, what were the biggest issues with the run defense? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: Biggest issues were, one, they run the ball very well. I didn’t do a good enough job of preparing our squad for the quality and the diversity of their run game. We didn’t play the run and the blocks the way we had been playing.

Q. DT Jalen Carter didn’t really look like himself. What’s your read on what was going on there? (Tim McManus)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, it was a lot like the rest of us. Some good, some not good. I think we were all guilty of that.

Q. He suggested after the game that the shoulder, or some sort of injury, is plaguing him right now. Is that a factor? There were several times when he kind of took roundabout ways on defense. Is he trying to avoid contact there or is that just him kind of freelancing? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: He does have a shoulder issue. He has been playing with it. Late in the game, he had a great play with it, but it’s definitely something there.

Q. With LB Jihaad Campbell, you had so many defensive snaps not being able to get him on the field. Is there something other to that or just that? (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: No, probably should have gotten him in there for a few. That’d be my fault there. But, obviously with the run game, the way it was happening, that’s been a strength of the [LB] Nakobe’s [Dean]. We wanted to leave him in there.

Q. Is that your plan going forward to try to find him some snaps? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, probably.

Q. What dictates when you put him in? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: Kind of how the game’s going.

Q. With DT Jalen Carter dealing with the shoulder, is it possible that DT Ty Robinson might factor more into the rotation there? (EJ Smith)

Vic Fangio: Possible.

Q. The run defense as a whole, it seemed Bears T Darnell Wright would kind of wash things down. Is that something technique-wise or is it more about their run, sort of the motions and things like that? (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: Probably everything you’re saying. I don’t remember the plays in particular you’re talking about, but we just didn’t play it well enough, both from a technique standpoint and I didn’t coach it well enough.

Q. What are the correcting points from your view? (Brooks Kubena)

Vic Fangio: We’ve got to play with better technique. We’ve got to fit things better. I’ve got to coach it better.

Q. What kind of challenges, speed and the run defense, do the Chargers [present]? I mean, they have a pretty good running game as well. (Martin Frank)

Vic Fangio: They do. They’ve rushed for 200 yards on two teams this year. [Chargers Offensive Coordinator] Greg [Roman]’s always done a good job running the ball schematically. They have a big tight end, big fullback, pretty big O line, good backs. They run it very, very [well.]

Q. How do you go about preparing for the possibility of Chargers QB Justin Herbert versus the possibility of not Herbert? (Jeff Neiburg)

Vic Fangio: We’ll have to prepare for both quarterbacks. Probably knowing that if Herbert plays, he’ll be in the pistol a lot and in the gun. Yeah, we’ll have to be ready for both.

Q. With DT Jalen Carter with what he’s doing, can he get through the amount of snaps he used to? (Brooks Kubena)

Vic Fangio: We’ll see. We’ll see how it goes.

Q. In knowing Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman the way you do, what’s the key in facing that type of offense, that type of team? (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: Well, we’ve got to play the run well enough to where they just don’t run it a bunch. They run it, and like most teams that run it well, they have a good play action game, and not give up the shots in the play action passing game, which they do a good job of.

Q. Now that you’ve had OLB Jaelan Phillips back for a decent amount, how do you think he’s fitting into this group? (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: Very well. He likes being here. The other players like him being here. He’s a good dude and we’re thrilled to have him.

Q. What stood out on OLB Jalyx Hunt’s interception? (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: He just had a feel late in the down that it was going to be a screen, stopped his rush and went up and got it.

Q. What are your thoughts on the possibility of getting former Eagles CB Darius Slay back? (Tim McManus)

Vic Fangio: That’s a hot question for [Executive Vice President/General Manager] Howie [Roseman] there.

Q. That cornerback two role. Overall, CB Darius Slay or not, how do you think CB Adoree’ Jackson has settled in? To where you’re comfortable not looking at maybe CB Kelee Ringo or CB Jakorian Bennett at this point? (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, at this point I would say so.

Q. Your defense played 87 snaps, 33 more than the offense and we’ve seen a lot of that over the last few weeks. How do you adjust to that and then how do you get your players not to become too cognizant of how they’ve had to carry more of the load with the offense not producing? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, I mean, we have no control over how and when we get on the field. We can only control how we get off the field. We didn’t do a good enough job of that in this past game. We had been in the previous games, and we’ve got to get back to where we’re playing better defense.

Q. When you do play that number of snaps, does it change how you go about the rotations? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: It does. It can, especially upfront.

Q. A couple of the down performances were on short weeks. Do you find any through line there? (Tim McManus)

Vic Fangio: I don’t know. Obviously, the statement you made is correct, but the other team’s playing on those same short weeks, too.

Q. I know you’re not facing him on Monday, but what’s your Chargers LB Khalil Mack scouting? (Jimmy Kempski)

Vic Fangio: Really good player. I only had him for the one year in Chicago, and he and a couple others transformed our defense when they got there. He’s a tremendous player and a great dude.

Q. When you mentioned obviously Chargers QB Justin Herbert might be in the pistol or shotgun a little bit more, what does that change for you as a defensive coordinator? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: Not a lot really. They are a team that likes to be under center a fair amount. Most of the run game that they do from under center and play pass game they can do from pistol and the gun. It’s just he’ll be back there more.

Q. What’s the difference between being under center, or I guess the challenge, of under center relative to the gun? (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: Well, I think anytime you are under center, it does help some of your play pass game as far as the defense diagnosing it or not. When they’re in the gun, it’s a little bit easier but not significantly. But just being under center I think [creates] a little bit more indecision for the defense.