Vic Fangio already has the Eagles defense looking quick, deadly, and exciting
On a team known for its offensive weapons, the defense seems functional through two preseason games.
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The NFL preseason usually is about as useful as an AccuWeather storm prediction: Yeah, something’s coming, but it’s anybody’s guess exactly what will arrive.
Which is why any evaluation of the Eagles’ reconstructed defense should be attempted with great caution. Still …
They look pretty damn good.
Exciting, even.
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That will return huge dividends if it can complement the Eagles’ big-name offense of Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, and a premium offensive line.
Yes, it’s been only three weeks since training camp opened.
Yes, they’ve faced only two preseason opponents, which ranged between ordinary (Baltimore) and sad (New England).
But haven’t they had moments?
Aren’t they aggressive and hungry?
Don’t Vic Fangio’s guys look like they know what they’re doing?
Assign all the caveats you like, but know this:
No Eagles preseason defense has looked this cohesive in years. Jonathan Gannon’s two training-camp defenses looked like sleepwalkers by comparison. Last year’s co-coordinated defense looked uncoordinated.
We’ve seen defensive starters play in both games. We’ve seen them play a lot, in fact. We’ve seen primary backups who are fighting for starting jobs and roster spots.
What have they done?
They’ve allowed just 323 total yards. They’ve allowed just eight of 27 third-down conversions. They’ve allowed just 22 first downs. They’ve allowed 26 total points.
They did this all on the road. As a matter of fact, they throttled the Patriots on Thursday two days after they endured a grueling practice with the Patriots.
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They might be beating up bums — Patriots starter Jacoby Brissett and rookie backup Drake Maye won’t exactly be in the Pro Bowl this winter — but they aren’t getting beaten up by bums, either.
The most encouraging, tangible aspect of what we’ve seen lies less in playmaking than in play-failing. Fangio’s defenders generally seem to be getting to where they need to be. Occasionally, they’ll make a play once they arrive, as Avonte Maddox did with a red-zone pick of Brissett on Thursday. More often, they won’t, as Quinyon Mitchell didn’t when he dropped an interception last week in Baltimore.
Either way, both players were at the right place at the right time. After watching James Bradberry, Josh Jobe, Kevin Byard, and Sydney Brown drift around the field in 2023, watching two corners be in the right place at the right time is an unusual phenomenon.
Maybe this is wishful thinking. Maybe it’s a mirage. But maybe it isn’t.
After all, you can’t fake stopping the run. You either do it or you don’t. Bryce Huff was seldom asked to do it with the New York Jets. As a $51 million end, he’s going to have to do it with the Eagles. He did it twice Thursday night.
“He’s continuing to get better within our scheme,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “Learning some different things that we’re asking him to do.”
Edge rusher Nolan Smith, the second first-round pick the Eagles took from Georgia last year, clearly has improved. He has two sacks in two games, and he’s constantly been around the quarterback in practices and games. Patrick Johnson, a fourth-year special-teamer, helped win last week’s game in Baltimore with a strip-sack and fumble recovery.
Jalen Carter, the first first-round pick the Eagles took from Georgia last year, did not play Thursday, but he is showing flashes of dominance at practice, and he’s lining up on the outside once in a while, just like his mentor and predecessor, Fletcher Cox.
Presumed starting linebackers Zack Baun and Devin White, young veterans on show-me contracts, keep showing up. Third-year hopeful Nakobe Dean is out of the trainer’s room, and rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr. isn’t embarrassing his daddy.
No unit has been as impressive as the defensive backs. They’re respectable every day against Brown and Smith, and they’ve been better in games.
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Mitchell has acclimated himself to the nickel corner spot with ease. Isaiah Rodgers, after missing a year from serving a gambling suspension, should start opposite Darius Slay, whom he might replace in a year. Kelee Ringo, a 6-foot-2, 207-pound, second-year beast, was notable Thursday in that he was in coverage when Javon Baker dropped a bomb, but the near-completion required a perfect throw; the coverage was sound.
Neither Reed Blankenship nor Bradberry, who has converted from corner to safety, should start on a contender, but both are viable backups. Notably, the Eagles defense has shined without injured safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and rookie Cooper DeJean, whom the Birds hope will be their back-end playmakers.
All of this might collapse under the weight of better offenses, the pressure of real games, and the addition of wrinkles and concepts as Fangio’s scheme is more fully implemented. Still, looking good now is better than the alternative.
How did this happen?
Mainly, because general manager Howie Roseman added talent.
Also, Fangio has kept things simple, and he is asking his players to do things they’re able to do, so they’re doing them quickly and well. If Sean Desai and Matt Patricia had subscribed to the same philosophy, they might still have their jobs.