You can imagine the film sessions with Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio watching and re-watching the game last Friday against Chicago. Mistakes were made, no doubt, but in the way that Fangio presents to his Eagles team, he no doubt will turn a disappointing performance into a long-term positive response.
This is what the great ones do – they look for solutions instead of assigning blame. The Eagles' defense, outstanding for much of this season, looks to bounce back in a big way on Monday in Los Angeles against the Chargers.
That begins with Fangio, the premier defensive coordinator in the NFL.
"We just didn't play it well enough, both from a technique standpoint and I didn't coach it well enough," Fangio said of the Bears' rushing attack. "We've got to play with better technique. We've got to fit things better. I've got to coach it better."
He has that chance this week and Fangio will take advantage of the moment. Every team has a down cycle in the course of a long season and the best ones come back stronger. This is Fangio's goal, with an eye on a Chargers offense that has a question at quarterback – will Justin Herbert start after having surgery on his broken non-throwing (left) hand? He did not practice on Wednesday with the team – but otherwise is built around a powerful running attack, variety and depth of talent at wide receiver, and a tight end who is a defense-beater in the red zone.
"We've got to play the run well enough to where they just don't run it a bunch," Fangio said. "They run it, and like most teams that run it well, they have a good play-action (passing) game, and not give up the shots in the play-action passing game, which they do a good job of.
"They've rushed for 200 yards on two teams this year. (Chargers Offensive Coordinator) Greg (Roman)'s always done a good job running the ball schematically. They have a big tight end, big fullback, pretty big O-line, good backs. They run it very, very (well)."
It isn't likely that Fangio will overhaul the defense. This is the same personnel that dominated Green Bay and Detroit in back-to-back games, the same scheme that has helped the Eagles to eight wins and a lead in the NFC East. The Eagles have opened the practice window for veteran safety Marcus Epps, and Fangio said that Epps could be available for Monday night's game.
"He's got good instincts, got good feel for the game," Fangio said. "We'll have to get a feel and a barometer about where he is at missing the last four or five weeks, whatever it was, where he couldn't practice anyway."
School is in session for Fangio and his defensive coaches. This is about the lines of communication, the trust factor, the next steps that need to be taken. Everyone is in it together and the level of confidence in the coaching staff and the players is extremely high.
"We have the right players and the right coaches. We're going to be better from this," defensive tackle Jordan Davis said after the loss to Chicago. "You can believe that. We have to get back to work and correct our mistakes and I'm confident – we're all confident – that we're going to do that."
Come Monday, we'll know how quickly the defense is able to get back to its high-level track record of success. Between now and then, the classroom is open and the studies are underway. Every moment matters as the Eagles prepare for the Los Angeles Chargers and an offense that can win in a lot of ways.
