Vic Fangio

Q. How big was it having Eagles DT Jalen Carter back and what did you think of his performance? (Reuben Frank)

Vic Fangio: I thought he played well. I really didn’t know how he would play because he missed three games, I believe, and didn’t practice until this past week during that time. I thought he played well, I think he’s off to a good start and hopefully he’ll build on that and play good down the stretch here and into the playoffs.

Q. With Eagles OLB Jaelan Phillips on the field and playing well, is there a complimentary effect with OLBs Jaylx Hunt and OLB Nolan Smith? Does that help at all? (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: Anytime you add a good player to your team on the field, it’s going to help everybody. If your pass rush takes an uptick, that helps everybody. If your run defense takes an uptick, that helps everybody. If your corners can cover, that helps everybody. So it’s a domino effect. I don’t think it helps just one position. It helps everybody.

Q. As far as sacking Bills QB Josh Allen five times, did you change your philosophy at all or the discipline that the rushers had to stay in their lanes? (Ed Kracz)

Vic Fangio: Well, I mean that’s a big emphasis anytime you play a quarterback like that. But he’s still really hard to get down. We missed him a few of the other times that we could have gotten him down. He’s special in that regard. He’s made a lot of really good players miss in his seven- or eight-year career, however long he’s been out here. But yeah, I mean you make your guys conscious of it, and we got a rush as a unit.

Q. It’d been a long time since Eagles LB Jihaad Campbell got a chance to play that much. What did you think of him? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, I thought he did good. Obviously, there’s plays he’d like to have back and do over, but we don’t get mulligans. But I do think it will help him moving forward if he has to play again this week for [Eagles LB] Nakobe [Dean] and then if he has to be called upon in the playoff game.

Q. You guys have the lightest boxes of any team in the NFL in terms of the way the NFL – (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: Who measures that?

Q. The NFL. Next-gen stats. You guys are like 60%. It’s by far the lightest. (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: It’s not PFF?

Q. No, I don’t follow them as much. But how do you stop the run when you have light boxes? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: Well, we’ve got good players that are up there still, and we expect our guys to react, come out of those deep looks, fill and help accordingly. But you still have to play your blocks up front and do good at that. Your D-Line and your linebackers set that tempo.

Q. Do you know that this is something that you do consciously? To not stack the box as much or match personnel as much? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: Yeah.

Q: Philosophically, why do you do that? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: Well, you just don’t want the quarterback to have a pre-snap read of what you might or might not be in.

Q. Did you see the thing with Eagles DT Jalen Carter and Bills T Spencer Brown where he basically said he thought Carter intentionally gouged his eye? (Bob Brookover)

Vic Fangio: I didn’t see it. No.

Q. Are you aware of it at all? (Bob Brookover)

Vic Fangio: I mean, I heard rumblings of it very little, but I have not seen any video of it.

Q. Would it bother you that – (Bob Brookover)

Vic Fangio: I’d have to see it before I comment.

Q. What was your approach on the two-point conversion attempt and what did you see as it was evolving as the play was going on? (Reuben Frank)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, we had a little bit of pseudo pressure there. Just to try and get something going for him and so he wouldn’t extend the play too long. We had good coverage going early. We lost leverage late, [Eagles LB] Jihaad [Campbell] did. But other than that, I thought we played it well. Anytime, even for a great quarterback like him, rolling to your left, moving to your left, throwing back, it’s a hard throw.

Q. I know there’s still much football left, but as far as entering Week 18, what has impressed you most about your defense this year and where’s the most growth on this year? (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: Well, I think we’ve grown from week-to-week, which is what you want. Particularly if you have a bunch of young guys, which we still do. We’re in the stage of guys can get better and better and better. Even our veteran-type players, I mean outside of [Eagles DE Brandon Graham] I would guess you would say they’re still in the growing stage. They’ve done that and that always makes you happy. We’ve kind of found our niche the way we like to play, which is something you’re always looking for as a coach. The guys have been fun to coach.

Q. Back in training camp, you said this reminds you a little bit of last year where you had all these questions. Does it remind you at all of the way things developed a year ago? (Bob Brookover)

Vic Fangio: A little bit. We just have a lot of new names this year instead of the guys that were here last year. But it does a little bit, certainly.

Q. The pass interference call on Eagles CB Quinyon Mitchell, is it game-to-game or just kind of figuring out what is going to get called or not? Is there a teaching point in that one for him? (Brooks Kubena)

Vic Fangio: It’s person to person. If this would’ve been 2019, maybe we would’ve challenged that. That was the one year you could challenge [pass interference].

Q. Do you have any concrete rules when it comes to players upfront using stunts? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: Yeah.

Q. You might not tell me too much, but what dictates it? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: The front dictates it. Some of those stunts, I call. Some of them, based upon what front I call, they have the freedom to run a stunt under the guidelines we give them.

Q. Is it different preparing for a team that you just saw two weeks ago? (Merrill Reese)

Vic Fangio: No. It’s kind of amazing. You’re right, just two weeks ago, but it’s like every week seems like a new adventure in this league and it seems normal, as unusual as it is.

Q. You mentioned when you were talking about the run game and light boxes about not wanting the quarterback to get a pre-snap look. Did that change at some point for you in your career? A lot of people talk about muddying the look for the quarterbacks post-snap and they point to you a lot. Was there a point where that changed for you? (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: It’s been a while. I mean, we’ve been doing it for a while. It’s been copied or imitated to some degree by some teams.

Q. It seems like you guys have tackled really well this year. What’s your approach to that? (Reuben Frank)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, I think we have overall. You’re always striving for perfection. We emphasize it, we take pride in it, and I think we have.

Q. The 2019 rule where you could challenge pass interference calls, did you like that? Do you want it back? (Brooks Kubena)

Vic Fangio: Oh God, I don’t know. It only lasted one year, but who knows? I mean, everything’s going to be on replay eventually.

Q. You spoke about this group being fun to coach. You also spoke about the youth. There are only two guys who are not on rookie contracts in the starting lineup. Is there a benefit to that for you as a coach to have as many young players as you have? (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: If they’re good players. I like a lot of good players. They make me look smart.

Q. Eagles LB Zack Baun was talking last week about offenses gearing up to stop him more this year than last year. Have you noticed that? How has his season gone relative to last year? (Ed Kracz)

Vic Fangio: I think he’s had a good year. Yeah, offenses don’t really gear up for [inside linebackers] for the most part, but I think he’s had a good season.

Q. When it comes to excelling at in-game adjustments, is that a skillset that you developed over time? Is there a coach that you go back to that helped you? (Tim McManus)

Vic Fangio: No, it’s just experience, gut feelings, and all that. It’s just in-game adjustments and what you feel. You have a system, you know how teams might attack it, so it’s not like the first time that you’ve been attacked that way. Maybe you know what the next step is. Or certain players giving you trouble, or a certain phase of the game has given you trouble. You have to have stuff to go to.