Eagles DC Vic Fangio on dialing up blitzes, Cooper DeJean’s return, linebacker rotations, and more

The pressure has been on at Eagles practices.

During Saturday’s practice, new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio sent a lot of blitzes in the direction of Jalen Hurts, some of them of the exotic variety. There were fewer Sunday, but the defense forced plenty of pressure against a banged-up offensive line.

Blitzing hasn’t necessarily been a forte or a frequency of a Fangio-led defense, but this training camp has featured a lot of it. It seemingly has been good training for the Eagles and Hurts, who struggled mightily against pressure last season. But Fangio on Sunday said the timing and impetus wasn’t an effort to prepare the offense, though offensive coordinator Kellen Moore told him after practice Saturday that they needed to see that type of pressure.

“It was just time that we installed some stuff, and yesterday we worked on it,” he said. “We installed it prior to yesterday’s practice and worked on it and called it a few times.”

It remains to be seen, of course, how often the Eagles actually will blitz when the real football begins. Fangio brought the Miami Dolphins from one of the highest-frequency blitzing units back to the middle of the pack, though they still created plenty of pressure without sending extra rushers. Fangio’s defenses with the Denver Broncos never finished in the top 10 in blitz percentages. The longtime defensive coach has said in the past that it’s all dependent on personnel and opponent.

With the Eagles, Fangio seems to have the type of personnel. Especially at inside linebacker.

» READ MORE: Vic Fangio already has the Eagles defense looking quick, deadly, and exciting

Nakobe Dean burst into the backfield twice near the end of Tuesday’s joint practice in New England for consecutive “sacks,” and then followed up that strong showing with a solid game Thursday night.

Devin White and Zack Baun remain the most probable combination of inside linebackers to start the season opener against Green Bay in Brazil, but Dean’s ability to get after the quarterback and be around the football will make it hard for the Eagles to keep him off the field.

White and Baun have both shown in the past and in this training camp that they, too, are good at getting into the backfield.

The Eagles again rotated their inside linebackers frequently on Sunday, and Fangio by now probably has seen every combination of players team up on the inside.

Inside linebacker is not a typical position with a lot of in-series substitutions, but Fangio didn’t rule out the possibility of some sort of rotation.

» READ MORE: Eagles LB Nakobe Dean ‘always wants to be the thumper.’ Can he play a prominent role?

“We’re open to that,” he said. “I do think you’re better off with a set group. 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.”

Dean’s struggles in coverage have been well-documented, and the Eagles will need him to be able to cover well enough to avoid being too predictable when putting him on the field.

Rookie corner Cooper DeJean returned to team drills Saturday and was on a limited snap count again Sunday.

Fangio said it was too early to say what DeJean would have to show him to make the coordinator comfortable heading into the regular season.

“He finally practiced yesterday and got about 12 reps, give or take,” Fangio said. “Some of those, he wasn’t even in the action just because the plays went away. Yesterday was his first time to get any team reps. What he got in the offseason was all seven-on-seven, and seven-on-seven is not football. It’s a teaching drill.

“So he’s a long way from me saying what he can or can’t do.”

The Eagles are focusing on DeJean playing nickel right now with his limited reps, Fangio said, but Fangio said he eventually would like to see DeJean on the outside.

Fangio said the Eagles will go with “whatever our best combination is” when it comes to the cornerback position. Right now, rookie Quinyon Mitchell is pushing for the starting spot opposite Darius Slay in base defense and continues to be the most likely option to line up in the slot when the Eagles are in nickel.

Time will tell how that all looks as DeJean gets up to speed.

» READ MORE: Cooper DeJean’s return could shake up the Eagles’ depth chart at cornerback

Fangio began this camp noting that he didn’t think Bryce Huff looked like an every-down player yet, but thought he would get there eventually.

The Eagles didn’t dress a lot of starters Thursday in New England, but Huff was one of them, and the 26-year-old put together a good showing during the win.

Huff “is playing a new position,” Fangio said when asked why he played.

“Basically, as you guys know, he only played in third-down, two-minute situations throughout his career,” Fangio said. “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.”

Fangio was asked during his media session Sunday to take out his Magic 8 Ball. His defense just finished off a pretty good week of practices — in New England and back home at the NovaCare Complex — and a preseason game.

Are you able to get a sense of how good the defense can be this early?

“I like our guys as individuals,” Fangio said. “They’re all good guys. I like the unit. I love working with them. Time will tell on that. We haven’t played real games yet, and that opener against that offense is going to be very challenging. I think that’s a better question to ask midway through the season.”