Vic Fangio

Q. What do you think is clicking with the red zone defense from your perspective? (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: You know, every trip down there is an adventure in and of itself. We practice it a lot. The game changes when you’re in the red zone. It’s not a good thing to be in the red zone on defense, but it is a defensive advantage with that in line being right there. The game changes, you know, the way the game is played, particularly in the passing game. So, we try and get our players used to doing that.

Q. How big do you think it was you got those stops in a red zone on Sunday? Forced them to kick field goals. (Reuben Frank)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, it was huge. You know, just add four more points to when it was 26-7, and it’s probably a different outcome.

Q. What were the issues on the run defense in the first half? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: It was, as usual, a conglomeration of things. One, we could have been in better calls. Two, we could have played what we were in better. They do a good job blocking, got to give them credit. Their backs ran good. So, it was a little bit of everything

Q. How much more [of an] impact does DT Jordan Davis have on the defense when he’s playing at this level? (Brooks Kubena)

Vic Fangio: He’s doing pretty good right now. Hopefully he’ll sustain that and get better. Guys get better the more they play, and he’s still a young player.

Q. How do you feel CB Quinyon Mitchell did shadowing Rams WR Davante Adams and handling that responsibility? (Johnny McGonigal)

Vic Fangio: I think he did fine. Obviously, he’s a hard guy to cover. They have two really good receivers, so I think he did fine. When you’re matching guys, it’s not as easy as you think it is. There’s the gymnastics of getting lined up, playing the call. Where did you end up on the previous play, how far away from the action were you, and you’ve got to get back and get the call. Everybody thinks it’s easy, but it’s not, and I think he’s done a good job with it.

Q. Aside from just him, how is the defense handling that? Because it’s not just him that has to move around, it’s the other corner. (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, the other corner has the same exact problem, and they’ve been doing fine with it.

Q. Defensive tackle seems to be one of those positions where it takes time for potential to fully be realized for an NFL player. Do you have any thoughts on that position? Specifically, why it can take a few years. (Tim McManus)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, I don’t know if you can make a blanket general statement like that. To me, it’s more the individual than the position, but it’s different. I think one of the biggest differences between college and pro football is this is a man’s game. The run game is more downhill than it is in college football. Generally speaking, some of the offensive linemen are veterans. Most teams have a lot of veteran O linemen. They know how to play. They’re older. It’s vastly different from college football.

Q. Going back to CB Quinyon Mitchell, a little bit of traveling, is that sort of an X and Z thing? Do the receivers have to stay outside, or are you comfortable if they move inside as well? (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, outside.

Q. Just outside? (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: Yeah.

Q. For some of the depth corners, whether it’s CB Kelee Ringo or CB Mac McWilliams, are they able to make strides when they’re on scout team? (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: Yes, they are.

Q. Have you seen anything from them in the past few weeks that would demonstrate improvement from training camp? (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, I’ve told Kelee here recently, not in the last few days, but since the end of camp. He’s going to get his opportunity at some point, and he’s got to be ready.

Q. How did you feel CB Jakorian Bennett played when he came in? He obviously went after him quite a bit. (Bob Brookover)

Vic Fangio: How many snaps did he have? 12? He got some action, obviously. Thought he had some good plays. One time, we were rolled up to him, I think it was the first play of the two-minute drive and he had a nice play, broke up the pass down the sideline. So, I think he did fine.

Q. Getting back to what you just said about CB Kelee Ringo, obviously he was disappointed at the end of camp that he didn’t win that job. How has he handled it and what gives you the confidence that at some point he’ll be out there? (Reuben Frank)

Vic Fangio: I think he’s handled it very well. It didn’t affect his role as a special teamer, which he’s one of the top ones in the league. I think he knows that, eventually, he’ll get a shot, for some reason whatsoever, and he’ll be ready.

Q. Have you historically had safety rotations, and if not, why do you feel it necessary to do it this year? (Dave Zangaro)

Vic Fangio: Historically, no. We started that way in the first game just because [S Andrew] Mukuba was coming off injury, [S] Sydney [Brown] was having a good camp. So, we just wanted to split it that way, and we’ve kind of kept it that way. But that doesn’t mean that’s the way it will be all the time.

Q. In an ideal world, would you rather have just two static players back there? (EJ Smith)

Vic Fangio: I mean that’s usually the way it works out. I don’t know that ideal is the right way to frame that, but that’s usually the way it works out.

Q. For DT Jalen Carter playing 91% of the defensive snaps and nine special team snaps, are you seeing strides how you want as far as the conditioning? (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: The more he plays, the better conditioning he’ll get into, so yes.

Q. What about Tampa Bay’s offense? What do they do well, and why did you struggle against them last year? (Jimmy Kempski)

Vic Fangio: Well, they’re very balanced. They run it good, they throw it good, they have really good receivers. The quarterback is playing really good. He’s a scrambler. He scrambled, I think, 11 times this year for close to 120 yards already, so that’s always an issue. I’ve always liked [Buccaneers QB Baker] Mayfield. I think he’s a good quarterback. Why these teams that had him didn’t keep him, I don’t know. But GMs make mistakes, just like coaches do. I’ve always liked Mayfield. And their backs run hard and good, so they’ve got balance.

Q. The second part of that was why did you struggle against them last year? (Jimmy Kempski)

Vic Fangio: We just didn’t play good. They did, and they took it to us.

Q. They made you tackle, and I think tackling was an issue from what I recall early on. How do you feel like it’s been so far this season, tackling? (Jeff McLane)

Vic Fangio: It hasn’t been terrible. I thought we were very good in the second game. Can’t remember the first game now. I move on.

Q. Obviously, it’s going to be hot down in Tampa. You guys are leaving early to adjust for it. How might the heat impact your rotations and how do you go about planning for that earlier in the week? (Jeff Neiburg)

Vic Fangio: Well, it is too late to do anything right now for it as far as prepping for it. You don’t practice in heat one day and say you’re acclimated or take a pill and say you’re acclimated. The key will be, I mean, it’s a mindset, number one. Number two, we need to not let them have 8, 10, 12 play drives on us.

Q. Do you think going early is going to benefit you guys in any way? (Tim McManus)

Vic Fangio: I don’t know.

Q. What factored into going lighter on edge rushers? You had OLB Patrick Johnson down. He had been up for the first two games, and then the two veteran guys were down as well. (Zach Berman)

Vic Fangio: To me, that’s one that’s always going to be fluid, either having four or five. If we go down to three, then you have got a valid question. Although we played an entire season once when I was in San Francisco with just three active.

Q. What’d you think of the pass rush as a whole because Rams QB Matthew Stafford is going to get the ball out on time, so often it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. But what’d you think? (John McMullen)

Vic Fangio: Yeah, I didn’t think the lack of pass rush was an issue in the game. Like you said, he gets it out fairly quickly. We had some good heat at times. We could have run a stunt or two better than we did. But yeah, we didn’t have any– well, we had one, but I don’t think that’s reflective of the pass rush overall.