Eagles Vic Fangio on plan for BG, linebacker rotation and more
Eagles Vic Fangio on plan for BG, linebacker rotation and more originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The big news at the NovaCare Complex this week is the return of 37-year-old Brandon Graham, who is coming out of retirement.
The news became official on Tuesday morning just 2 1/2 hours before defensive coordinator Vic Fangio met with reporters for his weekly press conference.
So what will Graham bring to Fangio's defense in 2025?
We'll see," Fangio said. You see what kind of shape he's in, what kind of retention he has from last year. Shape comes in two forms. One, just your conditioning, but in football shape to contact shape. So hopefully, the sooner the better."
Fangio said he has been teasing Graham about not retiring dating back to February and March to try and light the fire" whenever he ran into him in the building. Fangio clearly enjoyed coaching Graham last season before Graham's Week 12 triceps injury.
Graham on Tuesday said he isn't sure whether or not he'll be able to play against the Giants on Sunday, but he didn't rule it out. It seems unlikely Graham will have a heavy workload but that remains to be seen. Fangio on Tuesday was asked about what's realistic in terms of snaps for a player coming out of retirement.
I don't know," Fangio said. Now he's coming out of retirement and he's older. But when I was in Chicago, we traded for Khalil Mack who had missed the entire training camp and the fatigue police said, Hey, he can only play about 20-22 snaps in this game', because we got him the week of the first game. I said, OK.' He played about 45, so I don't know."
The new linebacker rotation
The Eagles played Nakobe Dean on 31 of 69 defensive snaps in their win over the Vikings on Sunday. It was Dean's first work on defense this season after coming back from a torn patellar tendon.
So there was a rotation at linebacker on Sunday, which Fangio explained on Tuesday.
Yeah, I just wanted to get Nakobe there in spot duty," Fangio said. The plan was base for Nakobe and you never know how much base you're going to get in a game. Then we played him some in nickel too. And I think he got about 30 plays, which I think was a good number and the way they came was good too.
It wasn't like he had 10 in a row, I don't think. I thought he did well. And I think we did the right thing not playing him the week before, even though we technically could have."
With Dean's return to defense, the Eagles used rookie Jihaad Campbell in a dual role. According to ProFootballFocus, Campbell played 28 of his 60 snaps at outside linebacker.
When the Eagles drafted Campbell in the first round, they talked up his potential as an edge rusher but we didn't really get to see it that much until Sunday.
How did Campbell look on the edge?
I think he performed basically like I thought he would," Fangio said. It's new out there. Particularly, the packages he was going up there earlier were different than this week, this past game. So there's a lot to learn. There's a lot to get comfortable with. The more he's up there, the better he'll get at it."
Help coming at cornerback?
Eagles cornerback Jakorian Bennett will be eligible to return this week after missing the last four games on Injured Reserve with a pectoral injury.
Will he be in the mix this week?
It all depends on his health," Fangio said. I think the first tell of that is if we open up his practice window."
If the Eagles open Bennett's practice window, it will happen on Wednesday morning.
If Bennett is healthy enough to return, there's a chance he might need to start against the Giants too. Adoree' Jackson is in the NFL's concussion protocol and Kelee Ringo has struggled this year. Before his injury in Week 3, Bennett was ahead of Ringo on the depth chart.
When asked what Bennett showed him before the injury, Fangio said, Incomplete."
I just never felt like I had a good handle on what he is and what he isn't," Fangio said. I just don't think he played enough to answer that with definitive conviction."
Carter gets his flowers
The biggest defensive play from the Eagles' win over the Vikings on Sunday was the 42-yard pick-6 from Jalyx Hunt off Carson Wentz in the second quarter. But it wasn't a one-man effort.
Fangio made sure to give Jalen Carter his flowers for his role.
The whole key to the play was Jalen Carter," Fangio said. He beat the center quickly, got into the quarterback's face, hit him just like we teach him to hit him and he caused the interception and Jalyx made a great catch."
Rookie ups and downs
The Eagles began this season with Sydney Brown and rookie Drew Mukuba splitting reps at the safety spot next to Reed Blankenship. Since then, though, Mukuba has wrestled away the full-time starting gig. But he has experienced some ups and downs.
While Mukuba has a couple of interceptions, he has given up some big plays and has missed some tackles too.
What has Fangio made of Mukuba's rookie season?
It's uneven," Fangio said. The ability's there. He's just got to be more consistent."