Brian Flores – September 11, 2019 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores Conference Call with New England Media
(How’s it been in the football offices this week coming off that loss to the Ravens?) – “We moved on from that one. We got back to practice today. Guys are motivated. Guys are happy to be back out there, put that one behind us and we’re just out here trying to improve and get better.”
(I know you have practiced against Josh McDaniel’s offenses, but is it weird to put together a game plan against Josh for this week?) – “No, it’s like any other week. You watch what the team does. You see what their strengths are. You see what their weaknesses are. You try to attack their weaknesses and try to negate their strengths. It’s like any other week.”
(How different does the Patriots offense look just based on Week 1 from how they looked last season?) – “There are a lot of similarities. A lot of things that I’ve seen in the past. How they utilize their personnel is always a little bit different, but overall there were some similarities.”
(I think after one week, people kind of – knee-jerk reaction was, “Oh, Miami’s rebuilding.” What would you respond to that?) – “I would say every week we’re trying to improve and get better. I think we had a tough game last week. I think the best thing for us was to get back out on the field today and move on, get a practice under our belt and try to improve, get better and look towards the next challenge.”
(What, if anything, did you learn about dealing with early-season adversity during your time with the Patriots?) – “I would say I learned about dealing with adversity, not necessarily through football but through other experiences I’ve had. The lessons I learned in football are definitely a part of that, but I think any time you get knocked down, you’ve got to get back up. I think it makes you stronger. Whatever the situation is – whether it’s football, whether it’s a family situation, a tragedy – I think those things make you stronger. That’s kind of how I deal with any type of adversity.”
(What’s it like facing your former team so early in your coaching career – just your second game?) – “I’ve taken the approach like I do with any other game. The difference is I know a lot of these guys. I have personal relationships with the people throughout the organization. They’re competitors, and they know that I’m a competitor so from that standpoint, there’s just some, I would say some personal relationships there. I’m watching players that I coached, that I spent a lot of time with. That part of it is different, but I think as a professional, you kind of move on from that and you go through your process. We’re trying to do everything we can to help ourselves this week.”
(Having been on both sides of the series now, how would you explain the just consistent difficulties the Patriots have down in Miami when you were with them, and now, being a part of the organization what makes it difficult to play down in your stadium?) – “Well, it’s tough to play on the road anywhere in this league – from a crowd noise standpoint, from a familiarity standpoint, it’s tough to play on the road. Whether it be Miami or Detroit, it’s just hard to play on the road in this league. I just think the Patriots do a really good job of putting pressure on you in all three phases. They’re a well-coached team. They’ve got good players. More times than not, they play well, so that’s what I’m expecting on Sunday.”
(I know it’s just one game, but what stood out to you when you watched the Patriots defense against the Steelers?) – “I thought they played really sound, disciplined football. It was good. A lot of good players, they’ve got a lot of depth. They can make adjustments in-game. They play good football. They’re well-coached.”
(What do you think WR Antonio Brown does for their offense, and is it hard to prepare this week, just because you’ve never seen what he looks like in their offense?) – “This is a dynamic player. They’ve got good coaches there. I’m sure they’ll find a way to get him involved in the offense. They could do it a few different ways. I could sit here and think of a hundred different ways they could do it. I’d probably drive myself crazy trying to do that. I think for us, we’ve got to just know where their key guys are, and those key guys are obviously (Tom) Brady and (Julian) Edelman and James White, Josh Gordon and obviously Antonio Brown. We’ve got to know where they are and do our best to defend them all.”
(Just your impressions of QB Tom Brady after Week 1?) – “The same impression I’ve always had. This is a great player. He’s a great player – a future Hall of Famer. I have nothing but respect for him. Obviously I spent a lot of time with him. I think more of him as a person than as a player, and I’ve got nothing but great things to say about the guy.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick – September 11, 2019
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(Pretty physical practice today?) – “It was good. It was good. You get one day a week to be in pads out there in practice, and I thought (there was) good energy, a good tempo to the day. (It was) real physical, so I thought we got a lot out of it today.”
(How did a 36-year-old – how do you get through, what you got hit 10 times or so on Sunday?) – “It was good. I still, in a sick way, enjoy that aspect of it a little bit. Getting hit makes me feel more like a football player, kind of as I said in preseason with some of the stuff. That stuff is no big deal. It’s part of the game, and there’s some stuff we’ve got to correct. There are a lot of things I can do better. We just learn from the film and move on, but my body feels good.”
(I wouldn’t imagine though it’s the most sustainable way to go through a season, getting hit like that.) – “I don’t know if you’re trying to make me jinx myself. (laughter) I’ve been pretty healthy throughout my career being able to play through all that stuff.”
(I’m wondering what your kids said to you after the game on Sunday.) – “They were happy to see dad, No. 1. You know what’s amazing – the conversation with my older boys is now mainly about fantasy (football), which just drives me insane. (laughter) And my younger ones – they don’t know what the score is. They just know that they think they saw ‘Dad’ out there. That stuff just always puts it in proper perspective a little bit; but for me, there’s always – especially with my 10 and my 12-year-old, there are always lessons that I want them to be able to watch dad out there playing and for them to figure out or take with them. I think about that a little bit, especially when you’re in a game like that where it’s a struggle and you’re losing and just trying to continue to do your best.”
(Do they have you on their fantasy teams?) – “Oh, yeah.”
(You’re the starting quarterback?) – “You better believe it. (laughter)”
(Do they have any of your receivers?) – “I don’t know. I’m not sure on that one, but they were a lot happier with me in the opener last year than this year. (laughter)”
(What are some of the things you talked about in terms of limiting the hits that you take whether it’s recognizing protection, calling out protection or getting rid of the ball faster or whatever. What are some of the things you might focus on?) – “I think we could do everything better. I don’t think it was one or two things. I think there were a lot of different things that came up. I’m going to try to control the ones I can control. The guys up front will the do the same. The running backs will do the same. There’s a lot of different things that came up, but I think the biggest thing is just working towards limiting some of that stuff moving forward, no matter who was at fault or who needs to get better at it. Just continue to work to do it better and realizing we’re all on the same team and in this together. For me, there’s a lot of communication stuff I could do better and then getting the ball out and all that, there’s a lot of stuff I could get better at.”
(You’re a pretty smart guy. How smart do you have to be against the Patriots defense?) – “They’re a great team, and obviously I’ve played them a bunch. (I have made) 10, 11, 12 starts, something like that against them. I’ve played them quite a bit in different cities, obviously, but they’re a great team and have been for a long time, so it’ll be a tough opponent for us.
(Do you feel more comfortable with Head Coach Brian Flores being a former defensive coordinator and you playing them so many times that the game plan for this week?) – “Every year is different, and being in a new system with new guys, that presents different challenges and obstacles. Every year is a different team on both sides, but for me especially, just being in a new system on a new team, it’s going to be treated differently for sure.”
(How much do you think the communication and I guess the game plan was affected by – you guys had a lot of changes, I guess, up front – last week?) – “I don’t know. I think for two guys to come in basically that week, and for a guy to move, they held up pretty good in terms of the communication and that snap count and the moving parts. I think a lot of that was good, and they worked really hard throughout the week. We all did to kind of hammer that out. I think we’ll continue to get better in that area just with guys being more comfortable with each other and knowing the system a little bit better and knowing how to play off each other a little bit better.”
(Considering how long you guys have been in the league, is it extra special for you, extra competitive when it’s you versus QB Tom Brady?) – “It’s obviously a team game, and it’s never just one quarterback versus the other. I know – not with me, but with the big names – people like to pit them together. I just like to go out there and play. That’s about it. I don’t really mind who’s on the other team.”
(We saw you guys did like a golf tournament with the other AFC East quarterbacks in the offseason. What’s your relationship with those guys since you’ve played?) – “I know (Buffalo Bills QB) Josh (Allen) and (New York Jets QB) Sam (Darnold) a little bit, just from being at events or the same agency or whatever it is together. They’re good dudes. I’ve seen them a couple different times. Obviously being – I played for both those franchises, so just talking to different guys whether it’s equipment guys or training staff or whatever it is, we’ve got some connections here or there.”
(One thing you hear about regarding the Patriots is that Head Coach Bill Belichick will often identity one guy on the opposing team and say, “we’re not going to let this guy beat us.” Is that something you agree with, or what do you see in their defensive philosophy that usually holds true throughout the year?) – “I think he’s got a pretty good track record with it. I think they’re very physical in what they do. I think the experience in the secondary really pops out. I just think they’re very detailed and very good at what they do. (They) know where their help is, all that stuff. It’s a very disciplined defense and a tough, aggressive defense as well. They always present issues for you, and they make you earn it, that’s for sure. They make you earn your yards down the field and your touchdowns.”
(I know it’s probably a coaching decision, but what do you think if you guys won the coin toss, got the ball first on offense, were able to put a drive together instead of playing from behind? What do you think that would do for the offense?) – “We harped on last week starting fast, and that’s something we didn’t do. We’ve definitely got to go out there and start fast, no matter when you have the opportunity. We’ve got to go out there and do a better job with that.”
(Is there anything you said to the guys this week after what happened Sunday?) – “Not really. We’ve just got to come to work, put that behind us and keep going. Keep going, keep practicing hard, getting better at what we do individually and collectively as a team, and then the results will follow.”
(You were probably pretty surprised at the way it kind of snowballed a little bit.) – “I don’t think anybody really saw it going that way; but yeah, like I said, put it behind you and move on.”
(Your kids’ ages?) – “Twelve, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 7 months.”
(You’ve got to remember that every year.) – “They’re either evens or odds (laughter). It helps me out a lot. Even if they haven’t all turned yet, I lie about it.”
Xavien Howard – September 11, 2019
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019
CB Xavien Howard
(How do you prepare for a guy like WR Antonio Brown if you don’t know if he’s going to be out there, when he’s going to be out there?) – “That’s the Patriots problem. I’ve just got to prepare like he’s playing. There are a couple of other guys that we have to prepare for (too). They have a nice receiving corps so we’ve got to be ready.”
(What do you make of all the mess with WR Antonio Brown? Or are you just concentrating on the guy on the field?) – “That isn’t my business. (Laughter) He controls – he’s doing everything and controlling everything – him and his agent. I just have to worry about just playing.”
(Do the Patriots seem to have more weapons this year?) – “Yeah, they have a lot. They’ve got a lot of weapons. We’ve got to prepare and be ready for it.”
(I would think they wouldn’t throw to you – the best guy on the other team. Who do you go after this week?) – “They’ve got a lot of weapons. We’ve got to do our job. We’ve got to scheme up well.
(What’s the biggest problem that they present because there’s a lot of underneath stuff, a lot of pick plays, there’s a lot going on with that team. Do you identify stuff early?) – “I’ve seen the game (last week). Who did they play, the Steelers? Tom Brady still has got that arm. Everybody is saying that he can’t throw but that man still has got an arm on him. There’s a lot of things they are doing with Phillip Dorsett, Josh Gordon, plus ‘A.B.’ – they added him. The running backs, they have a hell of a running back corps. They do a lot of great things over there. We’ve just got to be prepared for it.”
(They set it up with a lot of play action, a lot of running?) – “I didn’t really get into the film like that. I’m starting today, so I’ll see more of that this week.”
(The bottom line, when you guys have had a whole lot of success against them, you have put pressure upfront.) – “Yeah, pressure upfront I’d say. Everybody did their job. That’s what we’re focused on, doing our job this week and hope we get the win.”
(In a week where the defense is trying to rebound and figure themselves out. Is it a good thing to be playing a team as tough as the Patriots?) – “Yeah, we accept the challenge. It’s a big week for us I’d say. Every week should be a big week for us. This is a week coming off an ‘L,’ so we’re trying to do the things that we’ve been doing, focus on ourselves, focus on our technique, discipline and stuff like that, tackling. Little things like that to help us overall get a win.”
(What are the advantages, to Head Coach Brian Flores being their defensive play-caller last year?) – “He knows some of the tendencies and stuff that they do over there; but they know that over there, so they’re going to switch a lot of things up. So it’s going to be different. That team over there, they are disciplined and they don’t beat themselves. We’ve got to come with it.”
Jesse Davis – September 11, 2019
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019
G/T Jesse Davis
(Are you pleased with how Sunday went, just from a personal standpoint? Obviously not the team result, but as far as left tackle for you?) – “I think it went okay. There’s definitely a lot of stuff to clean up. I know what to fix. I know what didn’t work and what worked, so moving forward (I will) just go out there and keeping hammering it.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores said today – I wrote it down – he said identifying potential blitzers for the group. Can you kind of take me inside the game a little bit and understand how hard that is and how you guys do it?) – “There’s definitely a lot going on, but the safety rotation, if he’s coming up, obviously there’s a guy on the end of the line with another guy inside of him – chances are, he’s got that gap, this guy’s got that. So stuff like that.”
(This is the first time we’ve talked to you since the new contract. Can you just talk the significance of that for you.) – “Yeah, I was pumped up. I want to be here. I want to be involved in this organization as long as I can and as long as they keep paying me. It doesn’t matter where I play. Whatever they tell me to do, I’ll do it, and that’s how my thought process goes.”
(When they first brought this up, was it merely conveyed to your agent or did Head Coach Brian Flores or General Manager Chris Grier actually call you and say, “Look, this is something we’d like to do?”) – “I don’t really remember how it worked out, but I think it was through the agent. To be honest, I don’t really remember.”
(The mood today of the team – are you all able psychologically to get by Sunday? Was it a peppy group today?) – “Yeah. Obviously we were pretty embarrassed by that, but we took a day to look at it. It’s in the past, and now we’re onto the Patriots. Obviously the goal is to go out there and compete, not do what we did Sunday. We’re looking forward to this week, to this challenge, so we’ll be good.”
Kenyan Drake – September 11, 2019
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019
RB Kenyan Drake
(I know it’s less important than the focus on this week, but I am curious where’s the football from last year?) – “What do you mean?”
(The Miami Miracle football?) – “I think it should be at the stadium. That’s where (Vice Chairman, President & CEO Tom) Garfinkel told me it was. I haven’t personally seen it, but I feel like that’s pretty cool. I want everybody to share in the moment.”
(How many times do you think you’ve watched the play since it happened? Did you watch it at all in the offseason?) – “I don’t personally go and look for it, but whenever it comes up, I find myself just looking through the duration of the play and seeing all of the details. But it’s in the past, honestly. We’ve got to focus on the 2019 Patriots. That’s where my head is at.”
(How do you get ready for a game Sunday and preparation after the loss to Baltimore, going against the Super Bowl champs?) – “It wasn’t anybody’s probably first loss. We have the next game to focus on, so that’s how you focus on the next game. You have a game that you have to prepare for, so you don’t think about the past. You learn from the mistakes, get better at the things that you did well and put your head where it needs to be, which is on this next team.”
(LB Dont’a Hightower and LB Jamie Collins, what are some challenges that those two guys present for you on that defense?) – “They’re veteran guys, very physical, very cerebral. They seem to almost know the play before it is out there, because they study the game very well and are very in-tune with the formations and the motions that the offense may try to trick the defense with. It’s going to be very difficult for us to go out there and do our job to our standard, but we know we have to go out there and do it, because at the end of the day, they’re a great team and we’re going to do everything we can to focus, making sure we’re in our right position, so that when they do try to make a play, we make the most of it.”
(One of the things Head Coach Brian Flores was talking about today is the importance of identifying potential blitzers. I know that generally the focus is on the line for that, but I remember one play in particular you picked up a late blitzer and I think QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was able to make a play maybe to TE Mike Gesicki. Can you take me inside that a little bit and understand how you and your teammates best identify who might be hot?) – “It starts with the communication. Specific plays, depending on who the Mike point is, I have a player corresponding to that. With the game being played at a high level, you have to react in a quick manner. Knowing where my eyes should be at all times puts me in the right positon to make plays. Even if it might not be the person who I need to block, I have a good understanding of, ‘Alright, well, if this person is coming hot, I feel like they may have a chance to hit the quarterback, I can move from my responsibilities and do that.’ But you can’t do that too often, because you have to – our old special teams coach used to say, ‘You have to know your 1/11th.’ So as long as you’re doing what you need to do and every 1/11th person does their job, the job should be successful.”
(I know that given a contract extension to the three guys who were going to be free agents with G/T Jesse Davis, with WR Jakeem Grant and obviously with CB Xavien Howard. Is that something that you would like or would you just like to wait it out and enter free agency next year?) – “My focus right now is on the Patriots. The things that I do right now are going to put me in the best potion to get the things that I want at the end of the day. Focusing on something that I can’t control other than going out there, doing my job, coming to work every day, making sure I’m prepared on the field and off the field is going to set me up for whatever things I want to accomplish after that. But I can’t count my chickens before they hatch.”
(Have the brought it up to you or to your agent in terms of doing an extension?) – “At the end of the day, that’s not my job. My job is to come here every day and focus on what I can control. That’s not any of – It’s my business; but my business right now is being where my feet are, making sure that I’m getting the most of it every day that I’m here.”
(Did you and LB Dont’a Hightower play together at Alabama or was he before you?) – “No, he was a couple years older than me.”
Kalen Ballage – September 11, 2019
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Tuesday, September 11, 2019
RB Kalen Ballage
(On preparing to play New England after last week’s loss.) – “It’s a completely different defense, a completely different team. Like I said, we’re onto the Patriots this week and that’s what’s most important.”
(To have a game like that, is it easiest to just wipe the memories? Is that the easiest way to do it as a pro athlete?) – “If you want to play football and you want to be a successful football player, you have to have a short memory.”
(On film, does this Patriots defense look like a tougher team to rush the passer?) – “They’re a great defense. They’ve got a lot of good, moving pieces. They’ve got a lot of really good players that have been playing for a long time. They’re very experienced. It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us, but we’re up for it.”
(In terms of getting the run game going, obviously, you’ve have had great success in the past but not as much in the opener. What’s the key? Is it a combination of you and blocking?) – “It’s just a mindset. It’s a mindset. We’ve got to go in, we’ve got to be physical. We have to play well. We have to know all our assignments and execute and that’s what it really comes down to.”
Sam Eguavoen – September 11, 2019
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019
LB Sam Eguavoen
(You’re in the NFL now. It’s probably pretty natural now, you’re used to it; but here comes QB Tom Brady. What are your first thoughts?) – “We’ve got to come correct. With everything we do, we’ve got to be dang near perfect, because he’s been in the league for a long time. He’s seen all types of defenses, coverages and everything. He knows what you’re doing, so it’s all about how well we execute.”
(It always starts with the run with QB Tom Brady. They set up the play-action. How important is that middle of the field where you’re patrolling when it comes to not letting him get to what he wants to get it?) – “It’s huge. Every step counts, especially in the NFL. It’s a tight, very tight game. With Tom Brady, like I said, with the Patriots and everything, they study a lot of film. They probably know what cleats I’m going to wear come game day. (laughter) That’s why we have to put a lot of time in, in the film room. Once it comes to the run, it’s about being physical up front. It starts with the d-line – Christian (Wilkins), (Davon) Godchaux – all of them guys up there. It starts with them and then me, Raekwon (McMillan), ‘Bake’ (Jerome Baker) = all of us just got to fill.”
(What did you learn about yourself after your first NFL start?) – “It’s a long game. You can get down early – a team can get up on you early, but then there’s still so much more game to play. There’s so many plays that can be made out there. You’re down 14-0, you can go out there next series, catch a pick-six, now you’re down 7. So, you can never get down on yourself when you’re down early in a football game, because there’s so much football left to play.”
(What do you guys have to do to improve on defense?) – “There’s a lot. Just our fundamentals, learning to work together and being physical and knowing where to fit and where teams are going to try to attack us defensively.”
(You talked about if you get down early not getting down on yourselves. Is that hard to do if you’re down two or three touchdowns?) – “No, it’s – It shouldn’t be hard because whatever you put on film, that’s on you. The whole NFL is looking at that and you don’t want to put something on film that other teams can pick up on like, ‘He doesn’t do this good. He doesn’t do that good,’ and that’s just not you. You want to play, hard, fast, physical every single snap. You don’t ever want to put a bad play out there on film, because that’s just not a good look on you, the organization or anywhere.”
(Obviously, they’ve got three backs that do different things. What do you key on when you have different guys like that in the backfield?) – “You’ve got to know the personnel. You’ve got to know their strengths and weaknesses. Say this back is good in the passing game, you have to be ready (for) what routes he’ll run when he’s here, what routes he’ll run when he’s there. It’s just watching film and understanding what they’re trying to do. They’ve all got different numbers, so you know who’s who, so it’s not that hard.”
(When do you get comfortable with the game plan? When does all that click in your head where you’re like, “Alright, I’m comfortable with this.”) – “Really, it should be Tuesday morning – not Tuesday (but) Thursday. After Day 2, you should be comfortable. Then we come in Friday – fast Friday – and everything should be clean, sharp. Then Friday afternoon, that’s when you start toning it down and things and getting focused for the game, focused on the personnel like, ‘How does Sony Michel, when he’s running a counter, what does he do?’ Steps like that – just knowing your personnel. They’re doing the same thing. What do I do when I’m about to blitz? That’s just football.”
Brian Flores – September 11, 2019
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(What was the thinking in hiring two guys as coordinators who hadn’t done it before and what qualities have you liked in Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea and Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham that made you go in that direction?) – “Well, they’re two guys that I know very well, that I trust, that are bright, that are good football coaches and guys I felt like have all of the qualities and have what it takes to be good coordinators. I’m confident in both guys and I’m looking forward to watching them grow and improve and get better as we’re all trying to do.”
(Can you recall a specific lesson or memory that you have from New England that’s helped you since you took over here?) – “Specific? I mean there’s a lot of moments. One specific (one that) I tell my players a lot of times is I hope my expectations – my goals and my expectations – aren’t bigger for you than they are for yourselves. I was in a meeting once and Nate Ebner was the player. He asked me ‘Hey, Coach’ – and I was a position coach (at the time) – ‘Hey, Coach, when you’re calling plays one day, are you going to call this or that?’ I said ‘Nah, that’s not in the cards for me.’ This was in 2013 or 2014 or something. And he says to me, ‘I hope my goals for you aren’t bigger than your goals for yourself.’ That was one thing that, as a memory, was something that I’ve thought about and I took that. That night, I thought to myself, ‘You know what? He’s right.’ I kind of took a whole new outlook on things from there.”
(More generally, what do you think is a reason that the New England organization has been able to sustain prolonged success?) – “Continuity is the first thing that comes to mind. Then they have good players, good coaches. There’s a system in place, a culture in place, and it’s a group of guys that work hard, that understand the game and have good leadership, really across the board. All of those things amount to sustained success, I believe. They do a good job at all of those things.”
(What impressed you most about their performance on Sunday night?) – “They played well in all three phases – offense, defense and the kicking game. They coached the game well. They play with good fundamentals and technique. They played well all around. It wasn’t one particular area, which I think that’s impressive. They put pressure in all phases. Every snap counts. That’s the kind of approach they take. It’s a good approach to take.”
(This defense – the one you called plays for – it’s one that Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea has seen for many years as well. This is the defense for you guys to get the offense back on track this week, right?) – “Excuse me?”
(Is this the defense that you guys have insight on that can help the offense get back on track?) – “That’s a good defense with a lot of good players on it. It’s a veteran defense. They can make adjustments. They’re big, they’re fast, they’re physical. We’re going to have to play well, really across the board – from a communication standpoint, from a technique/fundamental standpoint, from a make-a-play standpoint – to have success against this defense. They’ve got a good scheme. They’re very multiple. Yes, we know them; but at the same time, we have to do a good job of executing.”
(What needs to happen to improve the running defense?) – “First, I would start with communication – identifying what they’re in, communicating and getting aligned, and then defeating blocks and tackling. I would say at the forefront of that is tackling. There were a lot of yards after contact last week. It’s something that we’ve harped on the last couple of days and we’ll work at that today. The hope is to get better at that. If we tackle better, that will go a long way for us as a total defense.”
(How do you work on tackling in practice?) – “Well, we have pads on today. We’ll work a couple of tackling drills. Some of them – we’re going to have some contact in practice today. I think we need that. I think we need that as a team. I think we need that defensively. I think we need that in the kicking game. We’ll just continue to work at it.”
(As a league, do you think that tackling has sort of waned because of the rules about what you can and can’t do in practice?) – “No. I think that’s something that as a defensive coach, that’s something I’ve harped on. I think it can be a little bit of a lost art at times. I think it’s something that we try to place a major emphasis on from a technique standpoint, from a keeping-your-head-up standpoint, from a running-your-feet standpoint, from a wrapping-up (standpoint). In every game, you see one of those nuances that isn’t performed correctly; but that’s every – that’s us. We’re part of that as well. But it’s something that we need to train our players on better. The rules are the rules. We’ve got to coach through that and find ways to continue to work on tackling and get better at it, regardless of the rules. They are what they are.”
(I think QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was hit 10 or 11 times on Sunday. What are you doing this week to limit that and are personnel changes part of that calculus?) – “I think it starts with communication. I think it starts with identification of the front, identification of the possible blitzers, and then winning our matchups. Just playing inside-out, better fundamentals and better technique – I think that’s what it is for us this week. This week, to me, is about the Miami Dolphins. It’s about us improving and getting better individually. If we do that, hopefully we improve as a team. That’s kind of where my focus is – this team, the individuals on this team, this coaching staff, and improving on what wasn’t a good performance last week.”
(Are you considering lineup changes for the offensive line?) – “Oh, yeah. We’re considering lineup changes. We’re considering – we have to be better. Everything has been considered, I would say, over the last couple of days. There’s a lot of self-scout, a lot of reflection. (There’s) some things that we need to do better. We talked about that. We’re going to try to improve those. It starts today in practice. That’s the great thing about this game or the great thing about this opportunity. We have an opportunity to go out and practice, improve and get better, and right some of the wrongs from last week.”
(I wanted to ask you about the anniversary of 9/11 as a native New Yorker. I’m guessing it might have impacted you in some way. What do you remember about that day, and how did it affect you?) – “The first thing I think about is my uncle. My uncle Darrell Patterson – he actually got me into football. He was a fireman. During that time, he was on sick leave. He was part of Ladder 118 in Brooklyn, which was the first truck to go in, so nobody came out from that group. He was on sick leave. He had cancer, so he was obviously still devastated by the loss of all the guys in his firehouse. I spent a lot of time at that firehouse. 9/11 brings back those memories. I was in college at the time. Obviously, it was a tragic attack. I remember football bringing a lot of people closer, so that’s what I love about the game. It unites. Even in times of – when there’s anger, pain, distress, displeasure, the games and teams unite people. That’s one thing I love about the game. Take us, for example. There were guys who were disappointed. There were players who were disappointed. There were coaches who were disappointed. There were calls that we wish we had back. There were plays we wish we had back. The good thing about the game is you’ve got 52 other guys and a bunch of coaches who, they’ve got your back. Despite your flaws, they take care of you, and they still love you. That’s the beauty of the game. That’s why it’s so near and dear to me, and that’s why I love going out here. If you guys let me out of here, I’ll get out there a little bit faster. (laughter)”
(How often do you think back to those small rooms you were in early in your career? Whether in scouting department or as a position coach.) – “I think back to them a lot. This role is very different. Back in those days, I was one of the guys. I’m not one of the guys anymore. I’m the guy everybody kind of walks away from. (laughter) A big thing for me in coaching and in this business – to me, it’s about relationships. Building trust with your players, with your coaches, with everybody within the building – equipment to IT, to my security team that everyone’s always messing with me about (laughter) – I think that’s what this is about. I try to build relationships. I think that’s important. I think that’s how you build a team. I think our team is starting to do that. I think when you go through tough times, those relationships, they either get stronger, or they don’t stronger. I think last week was a part of that. Hopefully, we come out of this stronger.”
(What were the chess matches like in practice when you were running the defense going against Patriots QB Tom Brady every day, and do you have something that you can take from that where you get inside his head and maybe have some thought on what he might be looking for in any particular play?) – “No. Not a lot of people get inside his head. (laughter) He’s a great player, and he’s somebody I have a lot of respect for. I have a lot of respect for a lot of guys on that team, but him especially. He’s a great leader. He’s a great person, but he’s a competitor, and so am I. We’ve competed against each other, and we’ve gone back and forth, but he’s a good friend also. He knows that we’re going to be ready to compete. I know that they’re going to be ready to compete. That’s the challenge this week. We have to play against a great player, a great team. They play well in all three phases. Between he and (Patriots Head Coach) Bill (Belichick) and the ownership there – they lead the charge, and it’s going to be a great challenge for us. That’s why we love the game – because we love challenges. We love to compete. To me, this is fun.”
