Vic Fangio – August 4, 2023
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Friday, August 4, 2023
Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio
(On if he has to go back to the drawing board with CB Jalen Ramsey’s injury) – “Well, it doesn’t make you go back to the drawing board and tweak the system at all. I mean, you might have to use parts of it a little bit more than you had planned to, or you just have to always compensate. If you have a versatile system, you don’t have to go back to the drawing board. We’ve got to find players to step up and play good in his absence and go from there.”
(What are some of the improvements that LB Channing Tindall has made?) – “Channing is working every day to get better and get a better understanding of the defense. Once he gets a better understanding, I think his talent will flourish.”
(You mention guys who will have to compensate for the loss of CB Jalen Ramsey. What have you seen from two young guys, CB Cam Smith and CB Noah Igbinoghene?) – “Yeah, I think both of them are making good progress. They’re not where we need them to be just yet, but I think both of them are working hard and giving us good progress and hopefully by game one, one of them or somebody else will surface and take that position.”
(What’s one thing that you’ve been encouraged by so far? And what’s one thing that you think you need to get better at?) – “We have some good talent in some positions. We need to find guys to be able to execute and play good in all 11 positions. And we’re working to get that done. So we’re not a finished product by any means, but I do like where we’re headed.”
(What have you seen from DT Christian Wilkins in the first seven practices of camp and how good do you think he can be in this defense?) – “Christian was a guy that I really liked the year he came out in the draft. And he’s exceeded my expectations. He works really hard in practice, he grinds, he’s talented. And (with) his talent and work ethic, he’s one of the top players in the league.”
(In the offseason, the team didn’t add a clear nose tackle. I’m just curious how you see that position and are there guys who you think can play there?) – “Yeah, we’re happy with the Zach (Sieler), Christian (Wilkins) and Raekwon (Davis). We need to find two other guys, three other guys, to surface as the fourth, fifth, and sixth defensive linemen, and so far nobody has done that. So that’s an area of that we need to get better at.”
(A couple guys with position versatility, I want your thoughts on DE Emmanuel Ogbah – both hand on the ground and standing up – as well LB Andrew Van Ginkel playing inside and outside.) – “I think Van Ginkel has done a great job for us since we moved him to inside part time. He’s still outside also. He’s picked it up really well. His football instincts and acumen flourish in there. He’s done a really good job for a guy – that’s a hard transition for a guy to move from an on-the-ball position to an off-the-ball position – and he’s done very well with it. It’s going to give us some good versatility throughout this season. Ogbah, we’re moving him back and forth between the outside and inside. In nickel, he could be a guy that could rush from the outside. And in base defense, we’re trying him inside just because we still haven’t found a fourth fifth or sixth d-lineman.”
(From the front seven standpoint, does the personnel you have give you a lot of variety and flexibility to do a lot of different things with them on the field.) – “Yeah. Jaelen (Phillips)’s versatile. Bradley (Chubb)’s versatile. I think Zach (Sieler) and Christian (Wilkins) can play anywhere along the front. And then our inside ‘backers are off the ball and we can align them where we want or need to. So yeah, there is some versatility there.”
(At safety, obviously Jevon Holland, you guys added DeShon Elliot, we’ve seen Brandon Jones, Trill Williams come back from their injuries. How much do you think this defense can make use of three safeties package and move guys around?) – “Not right now. We’re still looking for the guy to surface next to Jevon, so once we find that, we’ll see if we have a third one.”
(What do you think of S Brandon Jones and how his skillset translates to your scheme?) – “Yeah, we’ve just seen very little of Brandon. He’s on a choreographed work schedule coming off of his injury. He’s gotten a few plays here this week. He’s really not done enough to know but I am encouraged by where he’s headed physically.”
(How has this camp been for you big picture? Obviously working with a younger guy at head coach in Mike McDaniel and new position coaches?) – “It’s been great with the coaches on defense. They’ve done a great job. They dove into learning the system and doing a great job of coaching those guys. Obviously adjusting to the camp schedule here. It’s a little different than what I’ve been used to. So that’s always a work in progress for me.”
(What do you like with Trill Williams at safety?) – “I don’t know, because again he’s similar to Brandon and on a very limited work schedule right now. Really haven’t seen much of him.”
(We’ve seen these first few weeks you’ve thrown some challenge flags and penalty flags. Were you kind of playing part time ref?) – “Yeah, a little bit. This team last year was the worst in the league on offense and defense in penalties. So to correct that, you have to emphasize it. You can’t just hope it happens. Since we didn’t have referees out there for the first few days, I became the referee.”
(What are your thoughts on what CB Eli Apple has put on film?) – “I haven’t watched him a lot in his career but I am pleased with what he’s shown since he’s gotten here. And he was a good pickup for us in light of Jalen’s (Ramsey) injury. I’m glad we were able to get him.”
(How has LB David Long Jr. taken to the defense and helped you guys on that side of the ball?) – “He’s had ups and downs. He’s made some really good plays, and then some other plays that we need to get him honed-in on better. And he’s working hard to do that. But you can’t just have flash plays. You’ve got to have good plays all the time.”
(On his coaching sabbatical and if he went out to colleges games or anywhere to take in some new stuff) – “Not really. I mean I watched college football on TV but I didn’t study it.”
(Being a former head coach, do you want to offer Mike McDaniel any things you’ve picked on or do you stick to being the defensive coordinator?) – “Well, I’m there for any time Mike wants to use me as a resource and he does on occasion. I’ve got my hands full trying to run the defense, and I’m not going to try and impose my will on things. But Mike’s not reluctant to ask an opinion, and if he wants to use it, he can. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t.”
(So what have you learned from your experience as a head coach? What did you take from what you gained in Denver that makes you a better coach now?) – “I don’t know that there’s anything along those lines because I was still the defensive coordinator in Denver. I still ran it and called it. So it’s not like I was away from doing that for three years and came back to it. Other than that, not a lot. Other than you don’t want to be the head coach during COVID.”
(On facing Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s offense in practice and what they look like) – “A lot of pre-snap movement, a lot of formation variation. They have versatile guys on offense, and they do a good job schematically with the run game and the pass game, marrying it together, just like everybody knows. And with those wide receivers, it’s a challenge. So it’s a good offense to work against.”
(What do you think your defensive gives Head Coach Mike McDaniel a big challenge?) – “Oh, I don’t know. You guys talk to him every day. You can ask him that. (laughter)”
(We see LB Bradley Chubb and LB Jaelan Phillips working off to the side before practice every day. How do those two guys make each other better?) – “Just talking with each other, what they’re seeing, what they’re feeling, what their experiences are. Just on a daily basis or big picture basis. Just talking the position and the nuances of it.”
(Any skills for cornerbacks in your system? You know the normal cornerback trait. Anything in your system that is an undervalued trait?) – “No, I think we’re pretty much looking for in corners what most teams are looking for in corners. Obviously cover ability is a top priority. And we got to have corners that can tackle because you can’t play good run defense without corners that tackle because eventually the ball is going to get out there. And so you’ve got to be able to cover and it’s a hard position to play in the NFL. That’s why they the good ones get paid a lot of money.”
(Could there be a higher importance to recognition?) – “Yeah recognition is part of it, especially when you’re playing some zone. But route recognition is important in man too. So yeah, all of that goes into it for sure.”
(On Jevon Holland) – “He’s been very impressive. He’s another guy that I really liked in the draft the year he came out and he hasn’t disappointed one bit. I think he’s a hell of a player and should just get better and better every day, every year, and should be at top safety in this league.”
