Vic Fangio on a ‘rare' practice, possible LB rotation, rookies and more

It’s no secret that Vic Fangio is old school in a lot of ways.

It’s very clear he has been pushing for more practice time this training camp and he’s gotten his way a bit. But even after the Eagles have practiced more this summer, it might still not be enough for the veteran defensive coordinator.

When asked about the value of the joint practice against the Patriots last Tuesday, Fangio had this to say:

“It was a great learning experience for us,” Fangio said. “First off, we had a good practice with a good amount of reps, which is rare for us. 

“We were able to get a lot of guys a lot of work, both in individual periods, some pass rush drills, some team drills, so it was a tremendous day of work. Our guys got better from it. 

“Only way you get better at playing football is to practice football and play in a game. We got a good day of that. We were able to see new plays, new routes, go against different types of blockers, the way offensive linemen set, the way they protect. Those days are invaluable.”

Fangio, 65, has been a coordinator in the NFL for decades so he’s established enough to speak his mind. He hasn’t been shy about his desire to see more reps in practice and it’s also pretty obvious he pushed for his starters to play in the preseason.

Why Huff played

While four presumed starters on the Eagles’ defensive line — Josh Sweat, Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Milton Williams — did not play in the second preseason game, one guy did. Defensive end Bryce Huff started the game and played the first 10 defensive snaps.

Why did Huff play?

“Yeah, because Huff is playing a new position,” Fangio said. “Basically, as you guys know, he only played in third-down, two-minute situations throughout his career.

“We would like for him to be more of an every-down player and he needs to learn to do that. In the game he did some stuff he really hadn't done up to this point yet which was great to see. Great for his confidence, great for our confidence in him.”

Huff began the gam with tackles on the first two plays of the game and had three tackles on 10 plays. He looked good in that limited action.

Fangio said those snaps on Thursday night were “very fruitful” for Huff.

A linebacker rotation?

Throughout training camp, the Eagles have been mixing and matching at linebacker every day. Devin White, Zack Baun, Nakobe Dean and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. have all gotten first-team reps and they’ve all gotten reps with one another.

Fangio on Sunday said the Eagles are open to a rotation at linebacker but it is clear that’s not what they want.

“I do think you're better off with a set group,” Fangio said. “Sometimes it's hard to get guys in and out. You don't want to have to sub to do stuff. Either way. I've done it both ways.”

A compliment for Q

Fangio isn’t the type of guy who throws around compliments willy-nilly so it was notable that he gave a huge one to first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell on Sunday.

“He’s been great since the day we got him,” Fangio said. “He works really hard. He's focused in meetings, not just on the practice field. We have put a lot on his plate, like I've said. He hasn't backed down from it at all. He's going to be a good player in this league.”

Recently, Mitchell has been getting all of the first-team reps at the nickel position but has also been playing outside cornerback. Fangio has said it would be ideal for Mitchell to simply focus on corner but they have a need at nickel and they want to get their best combination out there.

There’s also a chance that Mitchell could play corner in base downs and bump inside on nickel. Either way, that nickel spot is basically a starter in the modern game.

“The nickel is going to be out on the field by today's standards 70-85% of the time,” Fangio said. “It's an important position. And whatever our best combination is, is what we'll go with.”

Cooper DeJean’s return

Second-round pick Cooper DeJean returned to practice on Tuesday in Foxboro and has now been back for three sessions. He has mostly been playing nickel cornerback with the second-team defense. DeJean is still listed as limited because he’s on a bit of a pitch count.

“With the limited amount of reps he's getting, right now we're focusing him at nickel,” Fangio said. “But he was drafted as a corner and eventually like to see him out there and then go from there.

“[Saturday] he got 12 reps. Going to be the same thing today, two to three reps per period. We're a ways away from knowing what we have there.”

DeJean said on Tuesday that he had been learning the corner, nickel and even safety positions while he was out with the hamstring injury that sidelined him for the first three weeks of camp. There haven’t been any setbacks with DeJean since his return, so his playing in the third and final preseason game on Saturday seems like a real possibility.

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