FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Vic Fangio had the line of Eagles camp on Wednesday, and he didn’t waste it.
Asked before the first of two joint practices against the Patriots what he saw from second-year defensive tackle Ty Robinson in Saturday’s preseason opener, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator let it fly.
“Yeah, he came to life,” Fangio said. “He's been on life support since he's been here, but he came to life and hopefully that will continue.”
It was a blunt assessment, but not an out-of-nowhere one. Robinson, a fourth-round pick last year, spent most of his rookie season buried on the depth chart and didn’t do much when he got on the field.
This summer has looked different. He turned in a strong rep that led to a sack against the Ravens in Baltimore, and Fangio said that came after Robinson had started flashing more in practice lately.
Even with that moment, Robinson still has a steep climb. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo and Byron Young all sit ahead of him on the defensive line depth chart. But he’s clearly in the mix, and the Eagles are hoping the recent uptick is the start of something bigger.
Fangio also made his feelings on joint practices pretty clear. He’s a practice guy, and he loves getting these sessions against another team.
“Yeah, I love doing these things,” Fangio said. “I think these things are great.
I wish we would do another one. It's great to go against a new team, new schemes, new players.
You learn things. You're going to get unscouted looks and plays and see how people react.
These things are tremendous and can't get enough of it.”
The veteran coordinator also used the chance to explain some of the playing-time decisions from Saturday’s preseason opener, when the only projected starter on defense to play against Baltimore was second-year linebacker Jihaad Campbell.
That was by design, Fangio said, especially with Nakobe Dean.
“When Nakobe (Dean) got back last year, his snaps got cut down a lot and I just feel he needs more reps,” Fangio said. “It proved it out in the game.
He had a play or two that he didn't play the right way, that he should be playing the right way. We've still got work to do.”
The safety situation got a similar explanation. Marcus Epps did not play against the Ravens, even though he’s competing with Michael Carter II for a starting job. Fangio made it clear that the battle is not over.
So why sit Epps?
“Because I wanted to see Carter get a lot of snaps at safety,” Fangio said. “Epps has played his whole career at safety.
He's getting a lot of reps in practice. 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.”
Carter has spent camp bouncing between nickel, safety and dime, making him the only defensive player working at three spots. The Eagles are still trying to see whether he can win the starting safety job. If he doesn’t, his versatility still makes him a useful backup.
One of the more encouraging developments in camp has been the play of Jeremiah Trotter Jr. The Eagles have had plenty of years when a linebacker with his kind of ability would have stood out immediately. This year, he’s not even starting - and still looks like one of the team’s deeper pieces.
“He's reaping the benefits of being in the system for three years,” Fangio said. “He's matured.
He always knew what to do, but his processing is a whole lot faster and quicker. I mean, the most important quality you can have as an inside backer is instincts, play recognition.
His is really showing more in this camp than it had before.”
Philadelphia has been leaning on pairs of linebackers throughout camp, and the group has real size to it. The first team has Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell.
The second team is Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Smael Mondon. The third team has Chance Campbell and Deontae Lawson.
“Our ILB position is probably our deepest position on defense,” Fangio said. “We've got Trotter and Smael, that are two good quality players.
Campbell, been hurt for a while, but I think he'll be back out there today, and Deontae. So, I feel good about those guys.”
Two seventh-round picks also made their way back to the field this week after long absences. Safety Cole Wisniewski had been out since Aug. 1, and outside linebacker Keyshawn James-Newby had been sidelined since Aug. 3 with an ankle injury before both returned on Aug. 17.
Fangio said they’ve already lost too many valuable reps to make the catch-up process easy.
“It's hard to make up for lost time, especially with the way we practice anymore in the league,” Fangio said. “Reps are at a premium. It'll be hard.”
Still, both rookies will get chances over the next couple of weeks to make a push for roster spots. Wisniewski may have a better path, simply because the safety room is not as crowded.
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