Vic Fangio
Q. Game 1 is always unique in that you don’t have a whole lot of tape to study of your opponent. How do you approach your game planning this week? (Ed Kracz)
VIC FANGIO: Yeah, in this case that’s really not the case. They’re pretty much the same team that they were last year, that they ended the season with. Unfortunately, they were playing really good the last half of the year and into the playoffs, and they’re really good on offense.
Yeah, that can be a problem, but not in this case. Same staff, same offense, basically the same players except for [Packers RB} Josh Jacobs.
Q. Does it benefit you, although you’ve been around for a little bit, but you also now have new players, so do you think it benefits you at all, the mystery? (Jeff McLane)
VIC FANGIO: Not really. I don’t think it does. They certainly have a lot of tape to watch of places I’ve been. So no, I don’t think so.
Q. Where do you start with a quarterback like Packers QB Jordan Love and that sort of dual-threat ability? (John McMullen)
VIC FANGIO: Yeah, the biggest problem in defending their offense is they run it just as good as they throw it, so they have a really good mix on first and second down, running play-action, and it makes it hard to defend. Then you throw in what you alluded to of a scrambling mobile quarterback, it adds another dimension to it. They’re really tough to defend. They run it and throw it equally well, and you throw in an athletic quarterback, and it’ll be an all-day sucker.
Q. How challenging will that be for what’s been really a refreshed linebacking corps when it comes to that part of their game? (Brooks Kubena)
VIC FANGIO: It’s challenging. They have a really good play-action game, which linebackers are the ones primarily being attacked with that, so it is very challenging. We haven’t seen a lot of that type of play-action in training camp, so it is a challenge for sure.
Q. So much is made about your linebacking corps competition during training camp. Do you consider that ongoing as we get into the season, or in your mind do you know what you want? (Bob Brookover)
VIC FANGIO: No, it’s ongoing. You would like to settle into guys in a normal play time rotation, who’s in on what, but it’s still ongoing.
Q. Since Eagles DT Jordan Davis is fairly unique from a body type and skillset perspective for you, do you have anyone who can spell him from a nose tackle role? (Zach Berman)
VIC FANGIO: Yeah, [Eagles DT Thomas] Booker can. I’m sure we’ll be playing a lot of nickel in this game, too. So there will only be two defensive linemen in there at that time. Hopefully the flow of the game will take care of that.
Q. How did the nickel position help prepare Eagles DB Cooper DeJean after a short training camp? (Brooks Kubena)
VIC FANGIO: I think he’s as prepared as he can be, but having said that, not where he needs to be.
Q. You said it’s the same offense except for Packers RB Josh Jacobs. How big of an “except” is Josh Jacobs? (Bob Brookover)
VIC FANGIO: He’s a hell of a back. Obviously I knew of him when he was with the Raiders. He’s a hard runner. He’s got good contact balance. He’s a good pass blocker when they need him to be. He can catch the ball. He’s really one of those all-around good backs in the league, but really excels with the ball in his hand.
Q. Talking about the conditioning of Eagles DTs Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, how do you see their conditioning heading into Week 1? (Ed Kracz)
VIC FANGIO: We’ll see. They haven’t been pushed like they potentially can be pushed in this game as far as the amount of plays they may have to play. So that’s TBD.
Q. Eagles DB Avonte Maddox finished most of camp at safety. Do you still think he can play nickel if necessary or do you just like him at safety now? (Jeff McLane)
VIC FANGIO: He can do both.
Q. As far as Eagles DT Jalen Carter goes, outside of what you were just talking about, the number of reps, he’s obviously very talented. Where do you think he is in the stage of where you want him? (John McMullen)
VIC FANGIO: You know, I think we’ll get a better barometer of that after this game. He only, I think, played three plays in the opening preseason game. Practice is practice. I think I’ll be better able to answer that in a couple weeks.
Q. Do you see Eagles CB Quinyon Mitchell as being a guy who’s going to be on the field just about every play? Is he ready to handle that kind of responsibility beginning Friday? (Martin Frank)
VIC FANGIO: Yes and yes.
Q. What has he shown to make you believe that? (Martin Frank)
VIC FANGIO: He’s just played well. He’s done a good job picking up his responsibilities, done a good job playing, and he will be out there.
Q. Do you feel like your defense got enough on-field time to be properly ready for Week 1? (Tim McManus)
VIC FANGIO: You never get enough, in my opinion. But we certainly have had enough to be ready.
Q. Do you still get nervous for games? (Bo Wulf)
VIC FANGIO: Yeah. Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and there’s no rhyme or reason to it.
Q. You talked as early as OTAs about how many new elements there are, how many new guys, new scheme, new coaches. How do you think that went with the whole gelling process? (Reuben Frank)
VIC FANGIO: I think it went well. I think it would have been nice to have another joint practice or two to help that along to where we could see different offenses and different schematics from the opponent. But, overall, I think it went well.
Q. Do you have any conversations with Eagles DE Brandon Graham about maybe pushing him more than he went last year? I know you were happy with the way he played in preseason, but do you think he can be pushed? (Bob Brookover)
VIC FANGIO: Yeah, I told him, ‘Be ready to play.’ There’s no pitch count on him, if that’s what you’re asking.
Q. With it being your first game at the controls of a new defense, how do you go into that wondering, ‘Alright, am I going to throw a lot at the players?’ In training camp do you think about that, how much you throw out there in the first game? How do you manage that? (Brooks Kubena)
VIC FANGIO: Yeah, it’s definitely something we have to manage. We’re all tempted as coaches. We all brought up different things in our staff meetings getting ready for this game about this might be good, that might be good, and they all might be good. They’re all good ideas.
But at a certain point, when you have a new/young defense, you’ve got to be careful not to ask them to do too much.
Q. What are you most curious to learn in this game? (Zach Berman)
VIC FANGIO: Most curious to learn? How good we are.
Q. You’ve talked before about what Eagles DE Bryce Huff needed to show to prove that he’s an every-down player. How was his progress in training camp? Where is he at going into the season? (EJ Smith)
VIC FANGIO: It’s been good. Hopefully he’ll continue to improve, and I think he will with reps. Now each and every week will present new challenges to him because you’re seeing different types of offenses every week. So different style of runs, different style of passes, when, on the rare occasions, he does have to drop [into coverage]. So, every week will be a new challenge for him.
Q. How long did it take before you realized Eagles CB Quinyon Mitchell could handle whatever you threw at him? (Reuben Frank)
VIC FANGIO: Pretty quickly because we did play him at nickel early on, and he did fine in there. I do think for him personally, it would be good to lock in at one spot, because even though we’ve been very happy with his development and his learning abilities, he still is a rookie, and I do think if he can get comfortable at one spot, it would be to his benefit. But we may not be able to do that.
Q. Does it help that Green Bay is mainly an 11-personnel team so there’s going to be a lot of nickel? (John McMullen)
VIC FANGIO: They play 12 [personnel] in your vernacular and 11 [personnel], about 50/50 on the early downs.