FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — If it were up to Vic Fangio, the Eagles would have a lot more than two joint practices on their summer calendar. Though if Fangio were made king, two-a-days would come back, players would dress for preseason games, and there’d certainly be a lot more contact in practice.
The NFL is a different game from when Fangio first started coaching it 40 years ago, but count this week in New England as the defensive coordinator’s favorite of the preseason. The Eagles and Patriots met for the first of two joint practices Wednesday. They’ll have another Thursday, before meeting for a preseason contest Saturday night.
“It’s great to go against a new team, new schemes, new players,” Fangio said before practice. “You learn things. You’re going to get unscouted looks and plays and you see how people react.”
Fangio wasn’t available for questions after the first practice session, but he surely learned a lot about the things his defense needs to work on, and the things he might worry about before the real games begin next month.
Against a team that went to the Super Bowl last season and added A.J. Brown, Fangio’s defense had some ups and downs on Wednesday. The run defense was solid, but the secondary struggled. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, and DeMario Douglas found the ball in their hands often. Eagles corner Riq Woolen struggled, and while his M.O. has been a cover corner who is inconsistent in zone coverage, he was a step behind multiple times when the Eagles were in man.
Quinyon Mitchell might have gotten the best of Brown on the first rep of one-on-one work prior to team drills, but Mitchell didn’t have his best day of camp, and Brown later beat him on a quick slant on a third-and-4 play during a competitive period.
There were some bright spots. Zack Baun and Jalyx Hunt had sacks on consecutive plays, and Jihaad Campbell later got to Drake Maye on a blitz for a “sack” that negated a long completion to Brown over Woolen on the sideline (quotation marks on “sack” because there is no live tackling during practices, especially not on the quarterback).
Fangio was looking forward to Wednesday and Thursday because the first-team defense has only gone up against Eagles teammates so far in camp. The Eagles’ new offense under Sean Mannion is more condensed, while the Patriots under Josh McDaniels spread the formation. The Patriots also deploy a fullback, which Baun appreciated.
“I liked today’s practice, in the run game in particular, because they have a fullback,” Baun said. “We haven’t seen a fullback all camp. If we see a fullback-like body in the backfield, it’s a tight end and it’s not often. It’s cool to go against a fullback. It’s something you always see a couple times a year and you have to be prepared for it.”
They’ll see it again Thursday.
Will Jonathan Greenard be ready for Week 1?
Perhaps Maye would have had a harder time finding open receivers if the Eagles’ pass rush got home more frequently. They’re still missing the player at the top of the edge rusher depth chart, and Jonathan Greenard’s return date from a pectoral injury remains unclear.
“I don’t know when Greenard will be back,” Fangio said. “It’s going to take some time to heal.”
Asked later if there was some concern Greenard, the major offseason acquisition, would not be ready to go when the Eagles open the season on Sept. 13, Fangio said, “Yeah.”
Fangio said he’s “very happy” with Hunt and Nolan Smith Jr., and said Arnold Ebiketie is “coming along,” but he’s still looking for the back end of the rotation to solidify itself. A.J. Epenesa seems to be on track to win a roster spot, but without Greenard at the top, the quality of the position group as a whole suffers.
The Eagles offset that some with one of the best interior defensive line units in the league, but they’ll need to win on the edges, too, and Greenard being healthy will be a big part of that.
Vic-isms
Fangio is typically strong when it comes to one-liners and funny sayings, and he didn’t disappoint Wednesday morning.
On defensive tackle Ty Robinson, last year’s fourth-round pick who had a slow start to camp, Fangio offered up this one: “He came to life. He’s been on life support since he’s been here, but he came to life, and hopefully that will continue.”
On Kelee Ringo, who had a nice interception Saturday but also gave up a touchdown, Fangio said: “He’s been everybody’s piñata doll for a while. I kind of sense he could be coming. I think these two days for him are big.”
As usual with Ringo, Wednesday’s practice offered a mixed bag.
And on the subject of Joshua Weru and Uar Bernard, the two International Pathway players playing football for the first time, Fangio said: “Those are our two exchange students. They’re doing fine, but they’ve got a long way to go.”
Playing time explanations
Why did Jihaad Campbell dress and play in Saturday’s preseason opener in Baltimore while most of the starters rested?
Fangio said Campbell, whose playing time decreased last season when Nakobe Dean returned, still needs more reps in the defense.
Then why did Andrew Mukuba get the night off? Fangio said Mukuba’s lack of reps last season were injury-related and not the same as Campbell’s, and also said “every case is different.”
There’s a starting battle going on at safety, but one of the participants, Marcus Epps, didn’t play Saturday.
Fangio explained that he wanted Michael Carter II, a converted nickel, to get more reps playing a new position, one that Epps has been playing for his whole NFL career.
“This is new territory for Mike, and we need to get him a bunch of reps there to really get him prepared and totally evaluated,” Fangio said.
