Vic Fangio discusses Eagles linebacker’s plans with Nakobe Dean injured

PHILADELPHIA – Vic Fangio confirmed what was already known about Nakobe Dean.

“We’re going to miss him a lot,” the Eagles’ defensive coordinator said of Dean’s knee injury, which is expected to keep him sidelined for the playoffs and possibly next season.

Neither DC nor the defense can miss him for long as preparations continue for the Divisional Round playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday at 3 p.m. Dean suffered what was reported to be a torn patellar tendon in Philly’s victory 22-10 over the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round.

Fangio said that since Dean was wearing a communication device with a green dot in his helmet, that responsibility would now fall to Zack Baun. However, this is a small change compared to determining who will take Dean’s place in the lineup.

It is widely assumed that it will be Oren Burks, but Fangio floated the idea that rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr. could also get some reps on defense. Asked if it could be a mix of Burks and Trotter, Fangio replied: “Possibly.”

It might depend on the flow of the play, he added, referring to a game against the Cowboys when Dallas had the ball for a few snaps before C.J. Gardner-Johnson picked a pick-six and the defense immediately went back on the field for another. a few plays for the Cowboys, and then again when the offense committed three turnovers.

“Those two guys are all special teams players, so it depends on how the game is going,” Fangio said. “…we had several plays in a row in quick succession (against Dallas), so something like this might be a good time to beat them.”

If Trotter Jr. will have to go into the match winning or ending it, Fangio won’t hesitate to take advantage of him.

“We’re not afraid to put it there,” he said. “I think Trott has a good future and that future can come now. He has good instincts, he really likes the game. He’s smart, he has a lot of good qualities.”

But Burks has experience. The substitute has been in the league for seven years, six of which have been in the play-offs. He started in last year’s Super Bowl with the 49ers.

“Oren is a good athlete, he can run and he has experience playing,” Fangio said. “A good striker, as we saw after the first kick-off. We like him too.”

Still, it will be a challenge considering Fangio had the luxury of overtaking Baun and Dean as the starting defensemen in all but two games, one of which was a meaningless regular-season finale when both were sidelined.

“It’s an adjustment,” DC said. “They didn’t get as many reps together as Zack and Nakobe, so yes, that’s an adjustment. But we practiced them this way. I have a little rule about not putting two backup linebackers together in training, because that’s not how it will look in the game. So they were training together.”

It’s the mark of an experienced defensive coordinator like Fangio to have such a plan. We’ll see if it pays off on Sunday.

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