Vic Fangio – December 21, 2023
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Thursday, December 21, 2023
Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio
(Last week you had CB Jalen Ramsey shadow Jets WR Garrett Wilson. Was that only because CB Xavien Howard was out, and might you consider having Jalen shadow even when Xavien returns?) – “It was because ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) was out.”
(How did CB Jalen Ramsey do? From my untrained eye it looked like he put on a clinic.) – ‘He played real well. He really did. He got challenged a few times on some tough routes that he answered. He really played a good game. He really did.”
(CB Jalen Ramsey has been really good through seven games. He’s given up hardly anything. If he’s at times matched up against WR CeeDee Lamb – we rarely talk about the opponent these days but I’m interested to talk about Ramsey and Lamb. If they do match up, what do you think about that matchup?) – “It’s one worth watching. Two really good players. Two capable players. CeeDee Lamb is one of the wide receivers in the league. Jalen is one of the top corners in the league. It will be interesting to watch. I wish I had popcorn to sit at home and watch it.”
(You guys are only two sacks away from a franchise record. It seems like everyone is part of the party. What is it about this pass-rushing group that everyone is so connected the way they get after the quarterback. You don’t have one star that has all the sacks.) – “I think we do a good job of rushing as a unit instead of rushing as individuals and realizing that a good even rush, whether you’re running games or not – we run our fair share of games – will provide results for the entire group.”
(One individual that had a great pass rushing game was LB Bradley Chubb. What did he unlock that game? He’s been pretty consistent.) – “He had a really good game obviously production wise. I think he’s been playing good all year. It’s just that this game, the production became extraordinary with the three sacks and a couple of caused fumbles .Sometimes you just get games like that. I think he’s been playing good all year. But obviously with the production last game, it was a special game for him.”
(What gives LB Bradley Chubb the knack to force so many fumbles?) – “I think he’s got the knack ingrained in him over the years. I think ‘Camp’ (Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile) does a good job leading the takeaway charge for us as coaches. But Bradley has that knack.”
(Did you have any connection last year with DT Ndomukong Suh in Philly? What are you thoughts on him?) – “I did not have any interaction with him last year.”
(Your thoughts on DT Ndamukong Suh as a player?) – “He is an interesting guy in that we all know what a great player he has been in this league. I think we were interested to see if he has anything left and if he has mutual interest.”
(You were just mentioning the CB Jalen Ramsey vs. WR CeeDee Lamb matchup. There is going to be a lot of interesting one-on-one matchups. OL Austin Jackson vs. LB Micah Parsons is another one. Is there room for a player to get involved in a one-on-one matchup? Are you aware of who you’re going against? Is it healthy for that to be your focal point, or do you always have to play within the team concept?) – “You always have to stay within the team concept. You’ve got one-on-one matchups all over the field. It doesn’t matter who it’s with, you’ve got to focus on yours. Whether it’s man in the case that you’re alluding to, or zone, we have to execute. You can’t get carried away with who you’re lined up against.”
(On the subject of a fourth edge rusher, how did LB Cameron Goode do in his 20 defensive snaps, and does LB Melvin Ingram look to you like he’s close to NFL ready this season?) – “Cam did a nice job in the limited time he got in there. He knew his assignments, was where he was supposed to be, and did a good job. We had a lot of guys step up in that game. Elijah (Campbell) played really good at the safety spot. Obviously Brandon (Jones) has been thrown in there a few times. He played good. Duke (Riley) has been playing good ever since he’s been in there for ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker). We’ve had a lot of guys step up. Eli Apple got back in there. It was a great team performance defensively. And Mel, last week was a different week with the short week. We didn’t really practice a whole lot other than walkthroughs. This week we’ll get him some action and today particularly. With (Emmanuel) Ogbah’s injury – he’s questionable to play – he could be up this week.”
(The Dolphins have only finished in the top 10 in offense and defense in the same year one time in the last 50 years. You guys are in that position now – one on offense, six on defense in yards. How confident do you feel that this defense is going to play to that high level in what is clearly a challenging finish to the season with three games left?) – “I’m confident but you got to go out and do it. Obviously we’ve been down some guys as of late and the guys that have come in have done a nice job. We’ve been that way all year. Jalen (Ramsey) missed the first seven games, Jevon (Holland) has now missed the last three. (Jerome) Baker has missed time. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) missed three games. So it’s been happening all year, but really the only stat I’m worried about is wins and losses. That’s it.”
(I was curious if there’s anything you and the position coaches do during the week in terms of the preparation to make sure the guys who haven’t really played much and are stepping into starting roles are ready to go? Like you mentioned, CB Eli Apple hadn’t played significant snaps for several weeks, S Brandon Jones, guys like that. Is there anything you and the position coaches do to get those guys extra reps or to get ingrained?) – “Yeah, they have to do a good job, both the coaches and the player, of getting mental reps. We’re at the point in the season more so then it ever used to be, where the reps in practice are limited, when you’re actually going at a good tempo. So it’s really critical for those guys to focus in the meetings and execute in the meetings mentally. We get them all some reps during practice, but with the reps being limited, it’s really not enough that you would like ideally. So they got to just be ready. You hope through the OTA’s, if they were here with us, through training camp if they were here with us, those reps carry over. But you see Elijah (Campbell) played a lot better this past game because he got the reps all week.”
(Just want to get your take on what stands out about Cowboys QB Dak Prescott’s game on tape and how he commands that offense.) – “Yeah, he’s playing at a very high level. He has been all year. He seems really comfortable in the new offense. Mike (McCarthy) has a really good offense schematically and he does a good job of play-calling it. Prescott is really comfortable in it. They mix the quick game, mix the shots, mix their formations. I think the offense really fits Prescott.”
(Were there things that Buffalo exposed last week?) – “No, it was just one of those games where they got behind early and never could quite get on track. I don’t think so. Sometimes you get those games that are anomalies.”
(I was talking to one of your guys about CB Jalen Ramsey and he said during practice, Jalen will hop in on scout team against WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle. How frequent does that happen? Is that normal for a defensive player to do that?) – “No, it’s not normal, especially at this point in the season. But again, it’s something that he started to do once he got back to practicing because he had no offseason, had no training camp. He needed reps, as many as he could get, to get ready for those first few games that he played in. He’s just kind of carried it over. He’s not doing it quite as much as he was when he first got back, but he is still doing it some.”
(Are you surprised that the Dolphins offense has gotten deep so many times in games this year?) – “No. I mean you got good receivers that can run. We run the ball well, so you can’t be playing deep all the time. Mike (McDaniel) and Frank (Smith) do a good job of scheming it up. They’re good receivers and Tua (Tagovailoa) is capable of throwing a good deep ball.”
(Talking about CB Jalen Ramsey earlier, he mentioned to us after the game he doesn’t get a lot of activity, maybe bored for a lack of a better word. As a coordinator, do you view that as a good thing or a bad thing that they won’t throw at him?) – “It’s just part of the deal. I think some of it is by design by them. Some of it is just happenstance of the coverage we’re in and the quarterback reads take them. I mean, I don’t look at it either way, to be honest with you.”
(Has DT Christian Wilkins improved pass rush under your system surprised you? Have you expected it?) – “No, I’m not surprised by it. Like I’ve told you guys many times, I liked him coming out of the draft that year. I think he’s always had the ability to be more productive in the pass rush. This year is proving to be evidence of that.”
