Brian Flores – November 28, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 28, 2021
Postgame – Carolina
Head Coach Brian Flores
Q: Was that about as complementary as you think your team has played this season?
BRIAN FLORES: I thought we played a complementary game starting with the punt block early. I thought the offense played well. I thought the defense played well. I thought the guys had a good week of preparation. I think that showed up today, and I thought our coaches did a great job this week getting them prepared. Thanksgiving week – there’s a lot going on, so I think Josh (Boyer) defensively, George (Godsey) and Eric (Studesville) offensively, Danny (Crossman) in the kicking game; I thought they all did a nice job getting these guys prepared and I think the players executed.
Q: How do you explain the turnaround you guys have had on defense? It’s been pretty dramatic the last couple of weeks, and then lights out?
BRIAN FLORES: I think credit to the players, first and foremost. I think those guys are communicating well, tackling well, executing. I think the coaching staff has done a nice job putting them in positions to have success, but, yeah, credit to the players.
Q: To what do you attribute the rhythm that Tua got into and also the connection with Jaylen Waddle?
BRIAN FLORES: Preparation, practice. I think we worked at it and worked at it and worked at it, and we’ve been able to string some good weeks together from a practice standpoint, and you’re seeing that show up in the game.
Q: Jaelan Phillips had three sacks today. How do you assess his performance and progress as the season has gone on?
BRIAN FLORES: I think he is just getting better every week. For a lot of guys on this team, you just keep working, keep trying to improve and get better every day, and if you do that, they’ll probably see some of the fruits of that work. Jaelan is no different. He is in here early. He stays late. He does a good job meeting, walkthrough, practice, plays hard and is selfless in a lot of ways, and a lot of times we’re running games, and he is the pick guy and someone else comes free, and today he — I didn’t know how many he had. I didn’t know it was three, but good for him and obviously good for our team.
Q: I feel like Tua waited a long time for Waddle to sort of break with him. How good was it to see that happen?
BRIAN FLORES: He has been open. I think we just worked hard to get it to him, whether it’s protection, putting the whole thing together. This isn’t seven-on-seven where you just go out there and beat somebody. There’s a lot that goes into it, so play call, protection, good throw, good catch, you know, beating somebody at the top of the route. I would say he has been open, but there’s always a few other things that happen on any given play. We were just able to execute today. I think that’s a direct correlation to practice and executing in practice.
Q: On Friday you mentioned how difficult it is for a guy to contribute off one walkthrough and one practice. What was the determining factor that you allowed Phillip Lindsay to do as much as he did?
BRIAN FLORES: I think Eric (Studesville) did a great job getting him ready to play. As soon as he got here, which was I think Wednesday night, he was right in on the playbook. We had a small package for him. He was at the walkthrough on Thursday to practice on Friday to more reps and more walkthroughs yesterday and even this morning, we felt comfortable with a small package of getting him in there, and I thought he did some nice things. He brings a lot of juice, a lot of energy. We’re pleased to have him on the team.
Q: You held Christian McCaffrey to 35 yards. Cam Newton only 92 yards passing — I’m sure all week you were staying up late figuring out ways to stop them. What worked and then after he exited the game at that point, did you feel like they were limited offensively as far as what they could do?
BRIAN FLORES: I think that’s a good team over there. I think obviously (Christian) McCaffrey is a great player, and Cam Newton is an accomplished player who has done a lot in this league. You know, (DJ) Moore and Robby Anderson. They’ve got a good team, and they’ve played well this year, so we knew it was going to be a challenge, and I think our guys executed. I think our guys — we had a plan going in. I think Josh (Boyer) had a good plan going in, put together a good plan for us defensively. We executed the plan. We got off blocks. We made tackles. We got them into some third downs. They hit the big one early, which they caught us in the blitz. They blocked it up, and they got behind us, which happens occasionally, but I think our guys came back. We talked to them about playing for 60 minutes and the highs and lows of a game, the ebbs and flows of a game. I think our guys kind of withstood some adversity. Whether it was that play or the play before the half, I think our guys just kept coming back, and it was good to see that.
Q: You were asked about Waddle and Phillips. Obviously Jevon Holland also had a big play. Those three rookies seem to be just — those three players, how much confidence do you have in them to go out and play?
BRIAN FLORES: I think all those guys — I think we’re getting contributions from a lot of our rookie class. A lot of our second-year class, too. Again, they just work and they keep working, and I think all they want to do is get better. All they want to do is try to improve. I think they’re team-first. I think guys are supporting each other, and rookies are supporting the vets. The vets are supporting the rookies, and we just want to — those guys in particular just want to help this team any way they can, and I think that’s showing up in their play.
