Vic Fangio – November 30, 2023
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Thursday, November 30, 2023
Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio
(As much as your willing to share on replacing LB Jaelan Phillips, is it thinking mostly LB Andrew Van Ginkel, some DE Emmanuel Ogbah? Perhaps a mix of both of those players?) – “Yeah, Jaelan missed really four games in the first part of the season, so it’ll look pretty similar to that. Van Ginkel, Ogbah and we’ll see if JPP (Jason Pierre-Paul) can get up to snuff.”
(With LB Andrew Van Ginkel, now that he’s probably going to be playing mostly edge, how does that impact inside linebacker and LB David Long Jr.?) – “Yeah, we can stay play Gink inside some and put Ogbah outside some and even Cam Goode or JPP (Jason Pierre-Paul) if he comes along. But yeah, he’ll be in there less.”
(What have you seen from LB Cam Goode’s development as a pass rusher? I know he’s a prominent special teams guy. How much do you feel he can help you as an edge player?) – “Well, he’s going to have to if he’s called upon. I haven’t seen him play defense in a while. So I don’t have a great answer for you.”
(I think you guys are number six against the run. What was Jaelan Phillips role in that as far as setting the edge and things along those lines?) – “Jaelan is a great player, make no mistake about it. When he missed those games early in the year, it took him a game or two to get back rolling to be his normal self. But this last month or so, he’s been playing great for us. We’re going to miss him. And yeah, he’s a part of us playing the run and obviously playing the pass with him rushing the passer. We’re going to miss him tremendously and yeah, he was a big part of that.”
(The signing of LB Jason Pierre-Paul, obviously you wanted another pass rusher with Phillips gone. Is it just to see what you have? What he has? What he can do at this point?) – “All of the above.”
(Does LB Duke Riley get inside more with Van Ginkel on the outside?) – “Yeah, possibly. Yes, for sure.”
(Is it true or false that on Hail Mary’s, you tell your guys knock it down?) – “If you’re in a crowd. If you’re in a crowd where you have three or four guys jumping up at the same time in the end zone, yes. The play the other day, there was nobody around Jevon. Definitely catch it.”
(So that play was acceptable in your eyes?) – “Oh, yeah. Very acceptable.” (laughter)
(I wanted to ask you about this defense and the steady improvement. Based on the last month, I don’t want to tie it to CB Jalen Ramsey’s return, because you guys were trending up. You’re now number seven in the NFL. Is that kind of a sigh of relief? Like, ‘Hey, see, my stuff works.”) – “No. Not at all. I’ve been around too long for those worries. It’s just guys getting rewarded for working hard and both understanding what we’re doing and practicing hard and being ready physically. Now the challenge is can we keep that up without (Jaelan) Phillips.”
(How is LB Andrew Van Ginkel’s skillset a little bit different than for example, LB Jaelan Phillips and LB Bradley Chubb?) – “They’re bigger, those other two guys. Gink’s a little slipperier and plays with that. But he can be stout when needed to be. They are different styles for sure.”
(This seems to be a fun team, a fun locker room, a fun group of guys. I know winning helps that. But is this a more fun team than you’ve experienced in the past and does it start with Head Coach Mike McDaniel?) – “Yeah, I think it starts with Mike. That’s his approach. He wants that, instigates it and the players follow that lead. You don’t have to give players lead to have fun. Obviously as you said, winning helps. Winning has cured more ails than penicillin. (laughter) But yes, it is. These guys have fun, but they’re working hard at it.”
(Is this more a fun team than say any other team? Philly or San Fransico? Can you say that?) – “No. I mean, it’s just a different type of fun.”
(What’s it been like working with a guy who’s considered quirky, funny, unusual head coach in terms of personality? What’s that experience been like for you?) – “It’s been good. He is that, but he’s a ball coach deep down. That’s just his style.”
(I wanted to go back to LB Jason Pierre-Paul for a second. That position group you have so many larger bodies with LB Jaelan Phillips going down, LB Bradley Chubb’s a bigger guy, DE Emmanuel Ogbah’s a big guy. JPP is about 270 pounds. Gink’s the one who’s a little bit lighter, like you mentioned. How important is that size in that position in your defense?) – “You do want size on the edge for sure. You want to play big on the edge. Some guys are only in the mid 240’s, low 250’s that play big on the edge. So obviously if you’re bigger, that helps. But there are some guys in the mid 240’s and low 250’s who do play big and strong. But it’s very important.”
(I know you like to make your own conclusions in person, but I’m curious, did you look at LB Jason Pierre-Paul’s 17 defensive snaps from last Sunday?) – “I didn’t. Our scouts did. (General Manager) Chris (Grier) did. (Outside Linebackers Coach) Ryan (Slowik) did after we signed him.”
(With his skillset, 14 years of experience, experience in different 3-4’s, how difficult or how long do you think it will take LB Jason Pierre-Paul to kind of fit in or feel comfortable in your scheme?) – “At this point in the season, we’re going to try and focus him on the nickel stuff and not much on the base stuff to take that off his plate. I think he can get there fairly quickly with just the nickel stuff.”
(What do you think has been the biggest reason for DT Christian Wilkins’ success in pass rushing this season?) – “First off, Christian’s a good player. He’s quick. He’s athletic. He’s sudden. Yet, he can be strong when he needs to be. I don’t know the answer to that because I wasn’t here previously, but I think he’s a guy that should be an eight or nine sack guy a year.”
(I was curious, you said LB Jason Pierre-Paul was going to focus more on the nickel package. What schematically is different from what he’d be asked to do in the nickel package as opposed to the base package?) – “Well in base, they’ll drop some. In nickel, they hardly ever drop.”
(Has anything surprised you about Commanders QB Sam Howell that you’ve seen on tape?) – “Yeah, he’s been impressive on tape. Good passe. Can make all the throws. His scrambling and running ability is really worrisome for us. He’s a good runner when he’s scrambling. He’s hurt people that way, and we have to be mindful of that playing against him. I think he’s done a really nice job.”
(A lot of great defensive players will say they can make plays outside of the structure of the scheme. They kind of cheat the system when they know they can do it. Have you seen that with CB Jalen Ramsey in terms of how he can fulfill is job but also cheat the scheme a little bit?) – “Yeah, a little bit. I don’t like the words, ‘cheat the scheme’, but yeah.”
(What’s interesting is when we began training camp, everyone said you are loose and lets us do what they want to do. Then when the season got here, it was ‘oh the scheme is complex and we have to figure out how we fit in.’ So which is it? Can they do what they want to do or is a really cookie-cutter catered scheme?) – “No. I always say you don’t want players that do nothing but what you tell them to do. And you don’t want players that only do what you tell them to do. So there’s a time and a place for instincts and play recognition and using tools out there to help your play.”
