Five Points From Fangio As Eagles Defense Vaults To No. 1

Here's five points from Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio who has his defense riding atop the league's standings as he prepares for Week 12 matchup vs. Rams.

Eagles DC Vic Fangio / John McMullen/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles own the top-ranked defense in the NFL. Raise your hand if you saw this coming…anyone…anyone?

They are second against the pass, allowing 173.3 yards per game, and seventh against the run, surrendering 99.9 yards per game. They are sixth in points allowed at 17.9 per game.

How about this one: Eight of the 11 defensive starters in last Thursday’s 26-18 win over the Commanders were drafted by Howie Roseman and his staff, or, in the case of Reed Blankenship, signed as an undrafted free agent. The others are Josh Sweat, Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith, Nakobe Dean, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean.

So, let’s hear from the ringleader of this defense, Vic Fangion, who has taken what Roseman and company have delivered, and raised it to the top of the league.

Call it 'Five from Fangio:'

On Jalen Carter playing all 66 defensive snaps vs. Washington: “No. 1, it's the guys' conditioning. Can they do it? Two, sometimes the circumstances allow itself to happen or make it hard to get them out on occasion. It’s the flow of the game. I've had many do it or come close to doing it.”

Carter did and he dominated the Commanders’ defensive front, making a career-high seven tackles.

On Reed Blankenship, who leads the team with three interceptions, all of which involved diving to make the pick: “He specializes in those on the low line drives in center field, you know what I mean. It's amazing how all three of his picks have looked the same. He's done a good job. He quarterbacks the secondary. Leads communication between them and the linebackers. So, he's very, very valuable.”

On Jordan Davis’ play: “I think Jordan has been doing better and better here as of late. He's been strong against the run, offering a little pass rush, and I do think he's improving.”

On Nolan Smith, who has 3.5 sacks and whose snaps have gone from 16 percent last year to 42 percent this season: “Nolan has been doing well. Obviously, speed and athleticism are his forte, which is good. We need that. And he's been able to offset being kind of small for an edge position.

“To really work on being physical enough to play the run, play in his blocks, and I think he and (defensive ends/outside linebackers Coach Jeremiah Washburn) Wash has done a good job with him to get to where he's competitively good enough to play the run.”

On concerns about his rookies, Mitchell and DeJean, hitting the proverbial rookie wall: “I don't think that rookie wall exists anymore because back in the day, you'd have two-a-days in training camp. When you got a rookie that you thought would play, you'd practice him a lot. He'd play a lot in preseason games when there were four.

“Well, that doesn’t happen anymore. So, I don't buy the rookie wall anymore. It's not physical. It might be mental or emotional. But it's not physical anymore, in my opinion.”

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