Eagles' DC Can Accept Mistakes If There's Growth From Them

PHILADELPHIA - The idea that a poor performance against perhaps the best quarterback/receiver combination in football would have Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio selling his Kelee Ringo stock proved to be reactionary.

The idea is to buy low and sell high if need be.

On Saturday at the NovaCare Complex, two days after Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase put on a show for two drives, Ringo was back on the practice field opposite Quinyon Mitchell on the outside of the Eagles’ defense.

For most of training camp, Ringo and veteran Adoree’ Jackson have split the reps. On Saturday, Ringo came up ahead on the rep count, and Fangio hinted at the reason when discussing the 36-yard touchdown pass Chase had against Ringo in man coverage.

The veteran DC wants the talented young CB to learn from his mistakes.

With Chase, Ringo out-leveraged himself against one of the NFL’s most talented playmakers, who pivoted inside and coasted into the end zone with no help on top.

Ringo's technique needs improving, but so does his situational awareness.

“He's got to tackle,” Fangio said. “I'm not upset that the guy caught the ball on him. I'm upset that he didn't tackle him and he's got to realize where he is on the field, use the sideline, realize who he's going against.

"Those are all things you got to process and factor in a millisecond, and he didn't do a good job of that in that play, but I expect him to learn from that and I expect them to improve from that.”

An important notation is the preseason aspect.

Eagles DC Vic Fangio speaks to reporters prior to practice on July 24, 2025. | John McMullen/Eagles On SI

The Eagles played Burrow and Chase in the regular season last year and weren’t calling any zero-blitzes even with Mitchell and six-time Pro Bowl CB Darius Slay.

“We played Cincinnati last year and there was no cover zero because of Chase and their receivers and their quarterback, but it's a good evaluation [tool],” Fangio said..

“There's a lot of times in the preseason where you're calling stuff for the purpose of evaluation, whereas during the season a real game, you're calling stuff to stop anything that you can to help your guys,” the DC continued. “But during the preseason, a lot of times you're calling stuff to get a good evaluation of everybody.”

One-on-one with Chase is among the biggest tests any CB can face.

“Put them in stressful situations, which are going to happen during the season and games,” said Fangio.

If the players are ready for those stressful situations when the games count because of a teachable moment, when they don’t, Fangio will take that trade every time.

“Obviously [Ringo and Jackson] had some tough assignments in that game going against that quarterback and those receivers, but I think it's a great learning experience for both of them and hopefully they'll both come back,” said Fangio. “Obviously, Kelee had more balls thrown his way than Adoree' did, but I think it's great that happened and we'll see how much they can grow from that.”

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