Brian Flores – November 7, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Postgame – Houston
Head Coach Brian Flores
Q: What’s the mood and the emotions for you personally just knowing what the team had to go through these past seven games and to be on the right side of things time?
BRIAN FLORES: It’s good to get a win. Always good to get a win. It’s good to get a win.
Q: Obviously, Tua was limited throughout the week, and he was active but backed up. Can you kind of walk us through what happened? Obviously if he’s – can you just walk us through why he was active but backing up Jacoby Brissett?
BRIAN FLORES: He got hurt or banged it last week. Finished the game in Buffalo. He was limited all week. Look, he is tough. He tried to go. It really just became more of how far could he throw? Would he be able to kind of make all the throws we needed him to make? We thought it was enough to put him in a backup role, and we felt like that was the best thing for the team, so we would have had to change some things offensively if he went in, if he had to go in, but Jacoby was able to finish the game.
Q: Was there any thought to doing a practice squad elevation given Tua’s limited status throughout the week?
BRIAN FLORES: We just felt like Tua at where he was at was better than making the elevation. He’s close, I would say, but it really was just more of how far can we make the throws we need to make – all of the throws we need to make.
Q: When was the final decision made that Jacoby would start instead of Tua, and do you think he has a shot for Thursday?
BRIAN FLORES: Well, for Thursday it’s still day-to-day. We just have to see how he is doing. It’s a quick turnaround, so tomorrow, Tuesday, you know, and in the ensuing days. I mean, we knew he was limited. He was trying to go. He was trying to go. We were basically testing it every day to include today, and we just felt like couldn’t do it or couldn’t do it and make all the throws that we needed to make, but he is close.
Q: Did you come into the game today with the idea that it was going to be Jacoby, or was it really up in the air?
BRIAN FLORES: Like I said, it was really every day it was, all right, let’s test it, let’s test it, let’s test it. A little bit better, a little bit better, a little bit better, and we just felt like we were better off going the route of going with Jacoby.
Q: What does a win do for the group’s confidence, especially on a short week?
BRIAN FLORES: Winning is always good. You know, that’s why these guys prepare. They work hard. They give great effort. It’s always good to win. It’s hard to win in this league. Small margin for error, as we’ve talked about. Obviously, definitely some things that we need to do a better job of, but it’s good to win.
Q: What did you learn about the guys in the locker room throughout the drop that allows you to coach them better?
BRIAN FLORES: It’s a resilient group and they’ve stuck together which that’s a testament to the types of guys we have in that locker room. The unity that’s in the locker room. I think that’s important on a team.
Q: Coach, have you ever won a game where you have turned it over five times?
BRIAN FLORES: You never want to turn it over. One is one too many, so five is just — we’re not going to win very many games doing that. I bet if statistically you look at it, I mean, I bet it’s low. You may have it. Very low, but you know, you don’t win in this league turning it over. I think it’s the number one stat. We got to do a better job of protecting it. Thankfully we got it off of them. Kind of evened it out to a degree, and we’ve got to do a better job from a ball security standpoint.
Q: What’s it like to see the young guys like Jevon and Brandon step up and play big in a game that helps deliver a win to you guys?
BRIAN FLORES: It’s good. We’ve got a lot of young developing players getting playing time, getting a lot of experience, and I think those two guys are probably two of the hardest working guys we have, and it’s nice to see them have some production, and yeah, it’s nice to see that.
Q: What were the keys to your defense – forcing the turnovers and also getting those stops in the Red Zone?
BRIAN FLORES: It’s always communication, tackling, limiting big plays. We work on getting the ball off really every day and we were able to do that. Got some decent pressure on the quarterback. Then when you get in the red zone, those plays are — they’re so critical. Especially at the end of the game. One of those is a touchdown instead of a field goal, and it’s a whole different game. We work on it a lot, and they executed today, so it helped us.
Q: I know you are probably going to have to watch the film before you have a full assessment, but just knee-jerk reaction to Jacoby’s game today?
BRIAN FLORES: Did enough to win, but I think there’s a lot of things we’ve got to do that we didn’t get done offensively. We didn’t run it efficiently. Just without watching it, I think there’s a lot of things we’ve got to correct, but like we always say, it’s always good to make corrections after you win a game, but we’ve definitely got to get a lot of things corrected offensively.
Q: You mentioned Tua as far as he could throw the ball – how far could he throw it if you’re able to kind of tell us that at this point?
BRIAN FLORES: I’m not going to get into that. It wasn’t enough that we felt like we could make all the throws he needed to make. There’s a lot that goes into that – amount of practice, the type of game that normally normal games get into if you get into a whatever situation. We just felt like it wasn’t – look, we’re always going to do what’s in the best interest of the team, and we felt like he just wasn’t physically ready.
Jevon Holland – November 7, 2021 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 7, 2021
Postgame – Houston
S Jevon Holland
Q: Jevon, how are you guys feeling and you personally after a home win like that ending the streak and personally for you getting that first interception? How’d that feel?
JEVON HOLLAND: It felt great, man. Felt great. We’re really feeling good. I’m going to enjoy this. I know we have a short week, but I’m going to enjoy this tonight for real. We needed that.
Q: How are you going to celebrate this one?
JEVON HOLLAND: It’s not for the public. I’m going to keep that to myself. (laughter) Good question, though.
Q: What was the key to the interception in the end zone?
JEVON HOLLAND: Just reading Tyrod, and he is a great quarterback, so all week I’ve been preparing trying to get the next step, and I read my keys and just executed, and so Coach G.A. (Gerald Alexander) always says when splash plays happen, opportunity meets execution. So that’s what happened. Yes, sir.
Q: You looked like you were waiting for the fans to grab you in the stands and they didn’t have your back?
JEVON HOLLAND: No, man. I told my homeboy on the sideline. I told Brandon Jones, when I get that first pick, I’m going to try that electric slide. I was trying to, but everybody was right there. Then I just seen the fans, and somebody was, like, ‘come on,’ so I just — forget it, I’m going to just jump. I thought they were going to grab me, but unfortunately… I think somebody spilled beer on me, honestly. I’m not going to lie. It was fun.
Q: I think you had a third down pressure that forced an incompletion, where you kind of lined up on the edge there. How would you describe the aggressiveness approach that the team had today?
JEVON HOLLAND: We’re going to go at them. That’s basically what the mentality was. The Bills game we were bringing a lot of pressure, and that’s what our game plan was basically this game, and it worked out for us. Yeah, that’s what it was.
Q: How big is getting a win in this environment on a short week, especially with the short turnaround just for the confidence in the locker room?
JEVON HOLLAND: It’s huge. It really is. It’s huge. It’s added fuel to us, for real. We really needed that like I said before. It’s a lot of positivity in the locker room. And we were sticking together throughout that entire streak, but right now energy is high, positivity is high, and so it really feels good. It really does.
What was the key to having the success in the red zone that you guys had as a defense?
JEVON HOLLAND: Just executing what our coaches planned for us during the week. It’s as simple as that. Really is. Just execute.
Now that it’s over, what was this last two months like for the team not getting that win and then…?
JEVON HOLLAND: It was a grind. It was a grind, but it did bring us together. You know, you really have to look to each other when you are trying to fight through a losing streak like that, and I think because of it, you know, we’re closer. We understand that we’re trying to do something here, and everybody has bought in, definitely.
