“The guys were killing each other” – How Fangio is using old NFL footage to reshape the Eagles’ defense

'The guys were killing each other' – How Fangio is using old NFL footage to transform the Eagles' defense Originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Vic Fangio likes to show his defenders videos of old football stars playing the game properly.

And possibly in the wrong direction.

When you hear people talk about Fangio being “old school,” it's true. Fangio coached Sam Mills and Pat Swilling with the Saints, NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis with the 49ers, and Ed Reed and Ray Lewis with the Ravens.

These are all guys who played a certain brand of football, a brand that Fangio wants the Eagles to play in 2024.

That means you have to whistle quite a bit. And then maybe a little longer.

“Man, how they were Hit“I like that,” Nolan Smith said after practice on Wednesday, his eyes widening as he talked about the old videos Fangio likes to show his players.

“I'd love to just take the quarterback down and clothesline him when he comes through the B-gap and gets out of the pocket. You'd see all kinds of beeps back then. It was crazy and I love it. You know, they played real football back then. I tell the guys, 'Nah, we're playing pitty-pat football.' We even have these little things on our helmets now that don't really do anything. That's how I feel.

“But, man, those guys hit back then. Coming over the middle? Right now, a lot of guys are on flat routes and stuff. But back then? If you were on a flat route? You had some (courage). So, man, that's what I see. That's just real football and it's just unbelievable.”

Fangio, the Eagles' fourth defensive coordinator in four years under Nick Sirianni, has built a new defense in his first year with the Eagles, but also instilled a new attitude.

He doesn't want a defense that gets countless personal fouls, but he does want a unit that retains some of its old sharpness.

A defense that Andre Waters would be proud of.

“He always talks about the good old days when they would train twice a day and so on,” Reed Blankenship said. “And he's right, it seems like we don't train enough now, but he always talks about being physically active and shows us clips and stuff. …

“He shows us the Ravens clips, Ray Lewis and how they beat people up and all that. But you know he shows the almost illegal and sometimes illegal hits from back then. But it's just football. That's what it's based on.”

Can the Eagles be a defense that inherits the toughness and physicality of those legendary old defenses while remaining smart, disciplined and avoiding penalties in a modern NFL landscape where everything is geared toward high-profile offense?

This is not easy.

But that's obviously the mentality Fangio wants to instill in his young defense.

“He showed some clips from back when there was no finish penalty and the single-bar facemasks were still in use and the guys were killing each other,” said freshman Cooper DeJean.

“It was almost like there were no rules out there. He just wanted to teach us how to play physical on defense. That's something we want to be good at, playing physical.”

Fangio, who began his career as a professional coach with Jim Mora and the Philadelphia Stars of the old USFL, coached the linebackers under Brian Billick and John Harbaugh, and in three of his four years in Baltimore, the Ravens ranked among the NFL's top three in defense.

Those teams were loaded with defensive stars – Reed, Terrell Suggs, former Eagle Haloti Ngata, Adalius Thomas, Chris McAlister – but Lewis, a seven-time All-Pro and 2018 Hall of Fame member, embodies everything Fangio values ​​in a defensive player.

Wild, disciplined, relentless, clever.

Needless to say, Lewis is the star of many of Fangio's videos.

“Man, I've always been a huge Ray Lewis fan, and Ray Lewis is incredible,” Smith said. “And I just love the way he played the game, and I try to play the game the same way.”

This is a completely different defense than last year – new coaches, new players, new approach. And if Fangio has his way, a different result.

“He's an old school guy. So if you get fined for a hard hit?” Smith asked. “He'll take care of it for you.”