Vic Fangio isn’t sweating Jalen Hurts’ interception count in camp, and he’s not pretending the turnovers don’t matter either. The Eagles defensive coordinator said Wednesday that Hurts is working through a new offense, testing what’s there and what isn’t, and Fangio doesn’t expect the camp mistakes to follow him into the regular season.
“[Jalen Hurts is] learning a new offense. He’s trying things, seeing what’s available and what isn’t available. I don’t think that’s going to carry over [to the regular season].“
Fangio made those remarks before the Eagles’ final training camp practice on Wednesday, then spent plenty of time walking reporters through the roster battles still hanging in the balance. He said Friday night’s preseason game can still matter, even if the final calls will ultimately rest with Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni. Special teams, he stressed, remains a major piece of the puzzle, and the numbers at each position shape those decisions too.
“Special teams does play a factor. The last few spots are always a story in and of itself.
It might be a guy that’s not ready to play, and you might not think he’s ready to play the entire year, but you want him. Sometimes that happens.
Sometimes it’s a guy that you think can help us in a pinch if we need it. As I said, special teams is a big thing.
Just numbers, too. There’s minimal numbers you need at every position.
You need five or six defensive linemen to make the roster. You need eight to nine outside backers and inside backers to make the roster minimum.
The numbers is part of it also.”
Among the players who could still make a push, Fangio pointed to safety Maximus Pulley and defensive back Kapena Gushiken as guys who might benefit from the preseason finale.
The safety competition remains tight, too. Fangio said the battle between Marcus Epps and Michael Carter is still close, with Carter drawing praise but still needing more reps and more exposure to settle into the job. He also said Andre Sam gives the group useful depth.
“[Andre Sam] knows our defense from the safety position. He’s reliable in that regard. He’s trustworthy, and I think he’s a guy that will have a spot somewhere along the line, but we like him.“
At cornerback, Fangio sounded comfortable with Quinyon Mitchell and Tariq Woolen, while also saying he hopes Jonathan Jones returns from injury soon. Mac McWilliams has made progress, though he’s dealing with an injury of his own, and Kelee Ringo is also trending in the right direction. The only thing still unresolved there is the sixth cornerback spot.
Woolen’s camp got a positive review from Fangio, even if it wasn’t spotless.
“Overall, good. He’s had his moments where he can get a little sloppy.
We need to eliminate those and hopefully once the regular season starts, that will happen. We like him.
I like him a lot. I like the player.
I like the person. I like being around him and I like coaching him.”
Fangio added that Woolen has handled the Eagles’ zone-heavy style well and is still getting better within it.
On the defensive line, Ty Robinson appears to have done enough to change his standing. Fangio said some players need time to find their footing before things click, and Robinson seems to have done that in the first preseason game and carried it into last week. Fangio did add that the next step is proving it against frontline players, but he also said Robinson has likely locked up a spot in the defensive tackle rotation.
The joint practices against the Patriots clearly left a mark on Fangio. He called them the most useful and valuable practices of camp, pointing to the different offensive style, the quality of the Patriots’ receivers, and the volume of work the Eagles got in those sessions.
“I thought those two practices against the Patriots were our two most beneficial and valuable practices the entire year, entire camp. Just like I said before, it’s a different style offense, so that was great in and of itself.
They have a good group of receivers that was good to go against. Way different offensive scheme than ours, great to go against.
Those were two really, really good practices. We had, I think like 80 some plays the first day, 50 [or] 60 maybe the second day with a red zone focus.
Fantastic practices.”
He also had a simple answer when asked about Jalyx Hunt and whether the rookie has outperformed expectations. Fangio said the production is right in line with what they hoped for, and maybe even the beginning of something bigger.
“Am I surprised? Is this unexpected? That’s who [Jalyn Hunt] is.”
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