Vic Fangio, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, is sounding the alarm bells, telling his unit they absolutely have to nail the fundamentals of tackling before even thinking about chasing turnovers in their upcoming Monday night clash with the Chicago Bears. Seriously, this dude is not messing around. He’s seeing something that bugs him, and he’s calling it out directly.
Forget Turnovers, Just Tackle the Guy!
Fangio spoke with the media on Wednesday, acknowledging that players can get way too eager trying to make a splash play. He’s seen guys pressing, trying to force a turnover, and it’s making them blow the basics. He said it straight up: “We’re due. We’re due… [Guys may be pressing] a little bit. We have to tackle and not miss tackles because we’re trying to go for the ball. That bugs me.” You can feel the frustration there, right? An attempted strip that misses? Fine. But a missed tackle that turns a simple gain into an explosive, game-changing play? That’s a whole different beast. Fangio was even asked if defenders are actively trying to punch out the ball instead of just wrapping up. His response? “I think that can be a problem at times. I don’t think it’s an epidemic at this point, but we need to make sure that doesn’t happen.” This isn’t just about turnovers, it’s about discipline, sound tackling, and knowing the situation.
That Titans Blunder Wasn’t About Scheme, It Was About THIS
This emphasis on fundamentals connects directly to one of the Eagles’ recent head-scratching mistakes: that long Tennessee Titans run on third-and-22. Fangio didn’t blame some exotic Titans wrinkle or claim his defense was simply beaten. Nope, he said they failed to recognize the situation and execute what was needed. “We didn’t play it well. First off, we didn’t play the situation well. It was obvious they were going to run the ball. We call the front that we usually call when there could be a run, and our guys just didn’t transition into realizing the situation at the time and we need to get lower in the secondary and make a tackle.” It’s the same warning, just packaged differently. The Eagles defenders gotta know what the game demands and execute that *first*, before worrying about the highlight-reel play. The takeaways will come when they’re supposed to come.
Fangio is still confident the Eagles will eventually create more turnovers. That patience is key, especially going into Monday night against a Chicago Bears offense that can really challenge a defense with their movement, creativity, and multiple ways to create space. The message is simple: make the tackle, play the situation correctly, and let the turnovers happen naturally. Everything else will take care of itself.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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