Analyzing the Fangio Factor

Vic Fangio makes no secret of his affinity for the City of Brotherly Love, and he'll be back in Philadelphia this weekend when they Miami Dolphins take on the Eagles in the Week 7 Sunday night game.

The veteran defensive coordinator will be trying to stop an offense he was hired to help with his insights before the last Super Bowl — a job he obviously did very well considering the Eagles scored 35 points, albeit in a 38-35 loss.

And for those who might think that the Dolphins would have an advantage because of inside knowledge Fangio might have gained last year — when he also had frequent unofficial conversations with then-defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon — the man himself was quick to disspell that notion.

Asked what kind of advantage the Dolphins might have because of his familiarity with the Eagles, Fangio said, "You know, not a lot because I was giving them more information than they were giving me. You know, it's kind of the way it turned out. So if there's any advantage to be had, by me being there last year, it's in their favor."

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni kind of said the same thing this week.

"We didn't give him all the secrets," Sirianni said. "I asked him for his help. He was giving us information, and not us giving him information. Obviously when he was around last year during the end of the season, that was a unique opportunity to have a guy help us look at some different things the way a defensive coach’s perspective on it. Then Jonathan (Gannon) being able to bounce some things off of him and me being able to bounce some things off him as the head coach.

"So, I really value the relationship that I was able to develop with Coach Fangio. Great person. Great football mind. We know we're going to have our hands full with any Vic Fangio-coached defense, which we have obviously this week.

"Huge Phillies fan. I'm hoping he's a little distracted. But a really good person. Really good coach. Value the friendship that we have and the time that we spent together last year."

FANGIO GOING BACK TO PHILLY

As Fangio mentioned Thursday, his professional coaching career began in Philadelphia as an assistant for the Philadelphia Stars of the short-lived USFL in 1984.

A native of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, Fangio enthusiastically pointed at a reporter wearing a Philadelphia Phillips at at one of his recent media sessions.

"You know, I grew up a Philadelphia fan in all sports, diehard, used to when the Phillies were on the West Coast and it'd be late at night I had a transistor radio in my bed and listened to the game on radio," Fangio said. "So I was a diehard Phillies fan and Eagles fan growing up and got my first job in pro football there back in the USFL with the Philadelphia Stars. And so Philly has a special place to me."

That, however, doesn't mean the game is more meaningful to Fangio, at least based on what he says. Nor the fact it matches two of the five teams tied for best record in the NFL at 5-1, facing each other in prime time.

"No, it's one of 17," Fangio said. "You know, it's no different than our last two games (against the Giants and Panthers), in that it's an NFC opponent. So the weight on the schedule and standings is the same. It just happens to be being played on a bigger stage on Sunday night. But in the final analysis, it's game seven of 17."

FANGIO'S GROUP FACES TOUGH TASK

Of more concern to Fangio is dealing with was is a very talented Eagles offense, one that features perhaps the best offensive line in the NFL, has two great wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and also has a borderline unstoppable short-yardage play, the famous "Tush Push" or "Brotherly Shove."

"First off, you start with their offensive line," Fangio said. "They've got really good players in the O-line, it's probably the best offensive line in the league from a talent standpoint. They got size, experience, continuity. Four the five starters have been four of the five starters for 2, 3, 4 years now. They do a great job. They're extremely well coached by Jeff Stoutland. They've got a good slew of backs that they running back by committee. And then you throw in the oh, by the way, the quarterback might keep it and run it himself. So it's a very tough assignment from just their talent level, just the way they've been coached."

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