When Peyton Manning visited Broncos practice last week, he half-joked that coach Vic Fangio wants to see the team’s defense win every practice. Fangio, a former defensive coordinator, didn’t deny Manning’s statement.
“I win no matter who wins out here now,” Fangio said with a smile after practice Tuesday. “But he was right.”
Denver quarterback Joe Flacco said it’s easy to tell that Fangio comes from a defensive background.
“I think a couple of weeks ago we did a little situation and I threw a little touchdown pass to Tim [Patrick] in the back of the end zone,” Flacco said Tuesday. “The period was supposed to be over, we were supposed to be in twos, and Vic’s like, ‘Alright, run it back.’ [I said] ‘Alright we’ll try to win; I guess we’ll beat you again.’
“You can tell he’s a head coach, but he’s obviously got that fire to be a great defensive play caller and get that defense where he wants it to be. He wants to win every single day, every single time.”
Flacco went on to note that he doesn’t mind Fangio’s defensive bias for two reasons: it makes practices more competitive and it shows that Fangio has faith in the team’s offensive coaching staff.
With the head coach always wanting the defense to shine, Flacco and his offensive teammates will have face tough tests every day at practice. That can only make them better, so Flacco’s not complaining.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Flacco said.
