Vic Fangio provides clarity on key questions facing the Eagles' secondary

USA Today

7 hours ago

Vic Fangio addressed the biggest questions surrounding the Eagles' secondary.
Every time we hear someone say an NFL town has a college atmosphere, we think about the City of Brotherly Love. The statement doesn't always apply. There are, however, some aspects of the Philadelphia Eagles fan experience where it seems to show up. There are the less-than-bittoned-up tailgating experiences, but the fans at Lincoln Financial Field seem more well-behaved than the fans at Veterans Stadium were, sometimes.
Hey... It was a different time, and maybe you just had to be there.
Philadelphia remains a great sports town with a rich history in all sports, but as big as this city is, things seem to shut down when the Eagles are playing. See? There's that collegiate atmosphere. If we were to make one request, here's what we'd ask for. How about one of those NCAA-style weekly TV or radio shows that feature the coach? Nick Sirianni would crush it, but so would the defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio.
Vic Fangio tackles top concerns about the Eagles' secondary
Football season is upon us. Every Eagles game is bookmarked on the calendar. So is the date of every Vic Fangio press conference.
It didn't take long for his weekly media sit-downs to become must-see television. Monday, before the first practice session following a snoozer of a second preseason game, he spent about nine minutes with the press.
As always, he was fascinating. As expected, he was asked about his secondary. His plan for Cooper DeJean to take reps at cornerback spread like wildfire. The whispers about Andrew Mukuba's rising star were among the talking points that took center stage.
"Not yet... No..." Those were Vic Fangio's words when asked about whether or not Mukuba had done enough to separate himself in the race to win a starting safety job. There you have it from the source.
Mukuba has some work to do. Brown may still be in the lead, but the gap is narrowing.
In a word, yes. McWilliams has been impressive all offseason, and he has done nothing to damage his chances of lining up next to Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in Week 1.
He has admitted he needs to improve his press coverage. Size is also a question mark here. It isn't like he can be coached into adding two more inches and 20 more pounds of muscle. Make no mistake, though. The rookie is impressive.
"Mac had that injury, which held him out of practice. I don't know the exact amount of days, but we'll call it a week maybe. And, I think it's affected him, but hopefully he'll feel more healthy this week and we can see the true version of him. I think there's more there than what we're seeing and getting right now, and I think it's probably more injury-related and missing time-related."
Stay tuned. One preseason game remains, and the rookie has his defensive coordinator's attention.
So, where are the Eagles in terms of settling who the starter is at the outside cornerback position?
So, McWilliams has joined the competition. The same may be true for DeJean, though Coach Fangio says the only way he'd move 'Coop' is if he sees someone take ownership of being a great slot option.
Jakorian Bennett is in the mix. His mindset about all of this has been impressive. Kelee Ringo and Adoree' Jackson are his biggest obstacles to starting. Coach Fangio says he thinks "all (of) the guys are pretty even right now". Here's a quote:
"Jakorian just got here, got a full week last week. Need to give him a full opportunity with the other guys. I mean, they're close.
Usually, it does become obvious to everybody as to who's going to win the job. That hadn't happened yet. I think they all have done a good job in their own way. Had good moments, not so good moments. So, we haven't reached that conclusion yet."
Only one preseason game remains before we trade preseason action for games that count on the ledger. There is still a lot to iron out. Much rests on this next game. According to Fangio, the competition will bleed over into this final contest.