Vic Fangio – October 5, 2023
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Thursday, October 5, 2023
Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio
(Has the group of DT Christian Wilkins, DT Zach Sieler and DT Raekwon Davis been as productive as you would like?) – “Well, I just think our whole defense overall hasn’t been as productive. I think overall, speaking specifically about last week, it affects everybody. When the unit as a whole is not playing up to snuff, both coaching and playing, I think it affects everybody.”
(When you look back at the decision to not shadow Bills WR Stefon Diggs, it was obvious that the Bills were kid of exploiting that and putting Diggs on CB Kader Kohou. Looking back, would you have done anything differently?) – “We gave Diggs a lot of attention. Obviously, not enough as far as schematically. Yeah, in hindsight maybe. But I don’t really feel bad about that decision. I have confidence in Kader, and it didn’t work out. But the second guessing is justified.”
(Do you have confidence in CB Xavien Howard in terms of what he’s capable of and what he’s done throughout his career? Last year was an issue with injuries, but performance, do you feel like he can shadow elite receivers?) – “Yeah, I think he’s definitely a candidate for that.”
(How ready, I know I ask you this a lot because I’m a CB Cam Smith guy, but how ready do you think Cam Smith is now?) – “He has to keep improving in practice. We’ve been giving him a fair amount of reps relative to his position. We just need to keep seeing consistent progress.”
(Is the plan to keep CB Kader Kohou outside? I know late in the game moved him inside. I think CB Kelvin Joseph went outside. Is the plan for Kader to stay on the outside full time?) – “We’re still looking at all the different combinations. Obviously, we’ve had a few of them here early in the season, and we’re looking for the right one. So, we’ve been practicing it a couple of ways.”
(The tackling issues on Sunday, is that something that needs to be coached better?) – “Yeah, it definitely needs to be coached better. And I think we need to focus on the tackling more, especially in certain situations. I think sometimes we were too ball conscious and not tackle conscious.”
(There was a drive, I think it was the Bills third scoring drive, where LB Jerome Baker wasn’t in at all. I think LB Duke Riley went in. What was the reason for that?) – “Yeah, we had planned to give Duke some reps during the game, and that was the series we did it to begin with.”
(And then in terms of S Brandon Jones and his first start, he played exclusively deep it felt like, and S Jevon Holland played a lot in the box. It seemed like a reversal of what we’ve seen over the years with those two. What was kind of the reason for exclusively keeping Brandon deep?) – “It’s more so the particular defenses we were in versus certain formations and how it worked out. It’s not totally by design.”
(I have sort of big picture question for you, and I had a similar question for LB Jaelan Phillips yesterday. How far along the defensive players are towards grasping what you want out of them and the scheme you’ve applied? He said he couldn’t give a percentage, but it’s still in progress. It’s not quite there. What would you say?) – “Well, I think it should be there. Obviously, we’ve been up and down with our performances. Two good, two not good. But it should be there. I don’t think that’s a reason for the two games that we didn’t play as well as we needed to.”
(In that aspect, what would you attribute some of the communications issues to? Do you think that’s been a major issue?) – “No, I don’t think communication has been a problem.”
(Now that we’re four games into the season, does scouting change? You have video of this season, as opposed to maybe preconceived notions from training camp. You know what works for you opponent, they know what works for you. Is scouting a little more advanced now at this point of the season? The video review of your opponent and what their tendencies are.) – “I mean it’s still kind of early. The coaching staff there in New York in this instance, we’ve gone against in the past, so there’s a history there to a certain degree. So, I mean you look at everything you can in preparation for the game.”
(Are you at the point now where you’re considering any personnel changes? Obviously, you played Duke Riley a little more last week. Just in general, are you considering any others?) – “No, nothing earth shattering.”
(With the frontline in terms of you use kind of a light box where it’s mostly pass rushers and two defensive tackles. I don’t know if you’re a 3-4 front or not just because of how little you use three defensive linemen down. Is there any concern regarding stopping the run when you go that light?) – “One of the reasons we are in so much nickel is what you’re saying. That’s the way the game has been played a lot. Teams are putting three wideouts there, so you’re playing a lot of nickel which is no different for all teams that are a 3-4 base. You end up playing more nickel. I know that doesn’t answer your question, but it’s more what the offense is doing more so than what we’re doing.”
(What has surprised you looking at the overall body of work through the first four games?) – “We’ve just been inconsistent. And not at one position per se. Just inconsistent across the board. We need to a better job of coaching.”
(I know it’s only been one practice for CB Nik Needham, but have you thought at all what he can provide once he is ready?) – “Not yet. Yesterday was the first time he’s been on the field since I’ve been here. So, I mean he’s got some work to do coming off that injury, coming off a full year of inactivity. I mean, hopefully he tells me he feels good. We’ll see how he does the rest of this week and into next week.”
(What was the players’ reaction and response to the performance on Sunday? Have you seen them bounce back and kind of prepare for improving things and making corrections?) – “I think the reaction was what you expect. A combination of disappointment, pride is hurt, upset, everything all rolled up into one.”
(When you have a game such as CB Kader Kohou last week, do you have a general rule on how you address it? Or is it case by case. Would you talk to Kader? Or would you have a position coach talk to him? Or does it kind of depend on the player?) – “Well, the position coach, they always communicate. But we review every play, every team period, and every game rep we watch as an entire unit and we make our corrections there and talk to them then.”
(One more DT Christian Wilkins, DT Raekwon Davis, DT Zach Sieler question. Obviously, stopping the run is paramount with defensive linemen, defensive tackles. How important is generating more pass rush from that group to you?) – “It’s important. Everybody that’s rushing the passer, that’s part of your job description. They need to do a better job of that. We need to do a better job of getting them in those positions.”
(Last time the defense had a poor performance in Week 1 against the Chargers, they had a nice bounce back Week 2 against the Patriots. Are you looking for a similar sort of rebound in that way? And do you hope you can get some more consistency and control?) – “That’s the plan. But there’s 11 guys on the other side of the ball competing, but hopefully we’ll bounce back and play better.”
(What can the linebackers as a group do better?) – “Just be consistent. Be where you’re needed, where you’re supposed to be and be more consistent.”
(Twice, HC Mike McDaniel has said he though the defense, some players have tried to do more then their 1/11. How do you convince players to stay within the scheme and trust the scheme?) – “Just show them the examples of when you do it right what happens and when you do it wrong what happens.”
