Fangio's Defense Gets a Breeze with Phillips' Arrival
Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has been left to clean up the mess that is his defense, as most of the personnel decisions are made by executive vice president Howie Roseman. Despite having several high-profile signings, including Adoree' Jackson and Azeez Ojulari, none have panned out as expected.
However, with the recent acquisition of Jaelan Phillips, a former Dolphins edge rusher who had a breakout season in Fangio's defense last year, the Eagles may finally have found their missing piece. Phillips has already shown flashes of his former self, racking up three sacks and seven QB hits in his first few games back from injury.
The addition of Phillips should also alleviate some pressure on the team's beleaguered cornerbacks, particularly Quinyon Mitchell, who has been asked to shadow opponents' top receivers all season. With Phillips and other edge rushers like Josh Uche chipping in, Fangio may be able to scale back his blitzing tactics, which have been a liability for the team this year.
Fangio's history shows that he typically prefers to blitz at rates under 20%, but has deviated from that approach as of late. This season, he's blitzed about 22-23% of plays, which puts him in the middle of the pack. While this might not be ideal, it's a small price to pay for the added pressure Phillips brings.
For now, Eagles fans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their defense may finally have found some much-needed stability at the edge. If the team can lean on its new additions and adjust its blitzing strategy accordingly, Fangio may just be able to cover up his defense's other deficiencies – most notably, at cornerback opposite Mitchell.
Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has been left to clean up the mess that is his defense, as most of the personnel decisions are made by executive vice president Howie Roseman. Despite having several high-profile signings, including Adoree' Jackson and Azeez Ojulari, none have panned out as expected.
However, with the recent acquisition of Jaelan Phillips, a former Dolphins edge rusher who had a breakout season in Fangio's defense last year, the Eagles may finally have found their missing piece. Phillips has already shown flashes of his former self, racking up three sacks and seven QB hits in his first few games back from injury.
The addition of Phillips should also alleviate some pressure on the team's beleaguered cornerbacks, particularly Quinyon Mitchell, who has been asked to shadow opponents' top receivers all season. With Phillips and other edge rushers like Josh Uche chipping in, Fangio may be able to scale back his blitzing tactics, which have been a liability for the team this year.
Fangio's history shows that he typically prefers to blitz at rates under 20%, but has deviated from that approach as of late. This season, he's blitzed about 22-23% of plays, which puts him in the middle of the pack. While this might not be ideal, it's a small price to pay for the added pressure Phillips brings.
For now, Eagles fans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their defense may finally have found some much-needed stability at the edge. If the team can lean on its new additions and adjust its blitzing strategy accordingly, Fangio may just be able to cover up his defense's other deficiencies – most notably, at cornerback opposite Mitchell.
. With Phillips back in the fold, I believe they're going to see some significant improvements on that edge. The guy had a breakout season last year under Fangio's tutelage and it sounds like he's finally starting to get back to form. It's amazing how much of a difference having a healthy Phillips is going to make - the pressure on Quinyon Mitchell at corner just gets so much less daunting with guys like Phillips and Uche contributing. I'm not saying they're suddenly going to be a top-5 defense or anything, but Fangio can definitely use this as a stabilizing factor to help mask some of their other issues.
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I'm kinda thinking that with Phillips back in the mix, maybe Eagles' D will start showing some signs of life? 
Like, we all know it's not perfect and they still got issues with those corners... but if Fangio can find a balance between blitzing & keeping Phillips on the field, who knows? 
. Fangio's blitzing tactics have been a problem all season and it's not like one new player fixes everything 
. Plus, Quinyon Mitchell has been doing a solid job shadowing opponents' top receivers, so I'm not buying into the whole "cornerbacks are the problem" narrative 
. might be a small tweak to their strategy but let's not get ahead of ourselves 
Fangio's got a lifeline with Phillips, now if he can get the corners sorted 
. If this works out, Eagles fans should be celebrating ASAP - their defense might finally have some stability 
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. The font used for the team names is so hard on my eyes 
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? I swear, sometimes I feel like I'm searching for needles in a haystack. Can't they just sort our comments or something? It's so frustrating 
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. The defense does need some stability at edge, and with Phillips on board, maybe they can finally figure out their corner issues 
. Fingers crossed for the Eagles! 
Problem is, what's to stop him from being that guy every week? The stats look good now, but how sustainable is it gonna be? Fangio's gotta prove he can adjust his strategy without just relying on one player...
but now that they got Jaelan Phillips back in the mix i think things are gonna turn around 
but if Phillips can bring that pressure and we scale back the blitzing a bit, i think we might see some improvements 
fingers crossed this season ends on a high note for Eagles defense 
i mean i'm glad he's back to form but we gotta think bigger picture here. howie roseman's got some secrets up his sleeve, trust me 
! I've been worried about their defense all season and it sounds like Jaelan Phillips might just be the game-changer they needed 
Now, if Vic Fangio can dial back the blitzing, we might actually see some consistency on D 
. I mean come on 22-23% blitz rate? that's like, mid-tier stuff 
. And can we talk about Quinyon Mitchell for a sec? 
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. It'd be nice to see some more stability at corner too 
. If Phillips and Uche can provide some real support at edge rusher, maybe Fangio can finally get that corner opposite Quinyon Mitchell looking decent... fingers crossed!