Brian Flores – August 19, 2020
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Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(We learned about LB Vince Biegel’s injury yesterday. How surprising was that and what is the plan to compensate for his loss?) – “It was unfortunate – him getting injured. It was a significant injury. It’s a tough loss for us; but as I said to the team, Vince embodies a lot of things that we’re looking for in a Dolphin. He’s tough, he’s smart, it’s important to him, he’s competitive, he’s a team-first guy. So it’s a tough loss; but as Biegel would want us to, we have to move on and other guys have to step up. We’ve got some competition, some depth, at the end position and at the linebacker position. While it’s a tough loss for us, we’ve got to move on and the next guy has to come in and compete and give us some good production.”
(I noticed WR Preston Williams yesterday wasn’t out there. What’s the plan for him? Was that unexpected or was that part of the plan?) – “Preston is coming off the knee injury a year ago. We’ve got a plan for him and that will include some days where he’s not out there. I expect that he’ll be out there today and he’s going to get his – you guys may not see him on the field, but he’s working whether it’s in the weight room or the bubble or the training room. He’s obviously always working hard to get back; but from a management standpoint, we want to take care of all of our players. So whether it’s Preston or anyone else coming back from rehab or injury, we’ve got a plan in place. In some cases, that includes – let’s call it load management or a day off here and there – and in some other cases, it doesn’t. It’s really case by case.”
(Load management, is that the same case it will be for QB Tua Tagovailoa? And what have you thought about his first two days in padded practices?) – “Like I just said, it’s case by case. As we go – I’m not going to get into specifically what we’re going to with each individual player. Obviously he’s coming off the hip (injury). I think he’s looked good thus far, from that standpoint physically. If guys can go and they’re feeling good, we revisit it really on a daily basis. Again, it’s case by case. As far as how he’s looked the first few days, some good, some bad. Lots to improve upon. Some good throws, some good decisions, some throws that aren’t so good, some not-so-good decisions. Tua, like all of the quarterbacks – you could probably say the same thing for all of them – obviously we’re evaluating all of the quarterbacks and all of the players on the roster. A lot of improvement needs to be made, but I’m pleased with all of our quarterbacks, as well as a lot of the players that are out there competing now.”
(What’s your view of the other quarterbacks? I know we ask a lot about QB Tua Tagovailoa, but what about QB Josh Rosen and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick? It looked like Josh had a really nice throw the first day. I just kind of wanted to get your gauge of how you’ve seen them practice so far.) – “I think all three guys are really competing. It’s a new offense, so the terminology and cadences – I think they’re all picking it up quickly and making good decisions, for the most part. I think that’s something that we’ve kind of harped on is constantly making good decisions – smart decisions – whether it’s throwing the ball downfield or checking the ball down or picking up the yardage for a first down. When we get into our 2-minute situations, getting us completions, getting us into field goal range rather than going for the big throw. But at the same time, we won’t be a check-down team the entire season either. There’s a lot that goes into it. I think from a communication, from a getting guys lined up, in and out of the huddle, leadership standpoint, I think all three guys are coming along fairly well. Hopefully we just continue on that trajectory.”
(Two things I want to cover real quick. One is a housekeeping thing, to make it official that LB Vince Biegel in fact tore his Achilles and won’t play this season. My real question is given the condensed nature of this offseason – what you’ve had to deal with with OTAs and now this training camp – what do you think the chances are that the injury risk is that much greater this year?) – “Well to answer your first question, all I can say about Biegel is that he’s got a significant injury. Once we make the transaction or any type of transaction or any type of statement on that, we want to get all of the information, all of the tests back. So I can’t say for certain what it was or wasn’t. As far as the lack of an offseason and the lack of training, I understand the question. I think it just kind of speaks to how important – I feel like the offseason is important for these guys, those OTAs, those reps, the conditioning of the body is all important. But I think our guys understood going on – it’s something we harped on in the virtual offseason. We talked to them about it. I think they were diligent as far as trying to work out, trying to stay in condition, trying to lift weights and do all of the things necessary to compete in an NFL training camp. But injuries happen in this league. It happens to every team in every training camp and for every team during the season. Nothing is more important than the health of the team. I think every coach in this entire league or really period – whether it’s NFL, college, high school, Pee Wee – the health of the team is critical. But injuries happen. You don’t want them to happen and we try to do everything to limit them from happening – from hydrating to stretching to getting into the training room for preventative exercises and things of that nature; but they happen. It’s unfortunate. I hate to see that with Biegel or any player. You see it around the league and I hate to see it for any player. I feel for all of those players because I know how important the game is to them and how much they put into it; so to see them get injured early in preseason or training camp is unfortunate. I think the guys in this league, each one of them – Biegel, I know for sure – is going to work extremely hard to come back stronger than ever, however long it takes for him to get back. And I’m sure it’s the same for all of the other guys across the league.”
(You had two veteran wide receivers opt out a week ago or a couple of weeks ago. What are your thoughts about the depth at wide receiver that you have currently, based on what you’ve seen the last couple of days?) – “I’ve been pleased with that group. Obviously working through some – like we talked about with Preston earlier, we’re working through some guys who we are trying to manage. But from DeVante (Parker) to Jakeem (Grant) to even some of our younger players – Matt Cole and Ricardo Louis, we got him back – I think these guys are all working hard. I think ‘Grizz’ (Wide Receivers Coach Josh Grizzard) has done a good job as far as working the techniques, the fundamentals and getting them up to speed on what we’re trying to do offensively. I like the group. I think they understand the importance of blocking in the run game and getting open and catching the football consistently. We just need to continue to keep working on those things. We had the two opt-outs and again, we were very supportive of both Albert (Wilson) and Allen (Hurns). Then we brought Chester (Rogers) on and we brought Ricardo (Louis) on and I think those guys have done solid so far, but we still have a long way to go. It’s still somewhat early. For those new guys, especially the young guys, getting used to the speed of the NFL, getting used to – Kirk Merritt, Malcolm Perry, Matt Cole – getting used to the speed, getting used to the physicality of corners in this league, that takes a little getting used to and I think they’re all working through that. But I like the group. It’s a tough group.”
(The Patriots announced that there aren’t going to be any fans Week 1 when you guys play there. I’m just curious of your thoughts on playing an NFL game – any football game; it seems like in other sports guys have played games maybe in empty arenas but in football, these guys have probably never played a game with empty stands. So I’m just curious of your thoughts on playing a game with nobody in there.) – “That will be very different. When I was in high school growing up in Brooklyn, Brooklyn is not a big football town. I think we had two, three, four-hundred people at the game. But we had some loud fans at my high school – parents. (laughter) But yeah, it will be a different experience. It will be something that really no one – I would say from college to the guys who play in this league – nobody has kind of played in an atmosphere like that. I don’t know how it will feel. It will be the first time for all of us when we get there. We’ll try to make the best of the situation. At the end of the day, football is played between the lines and we’ll just focus on that and try to execute offensively, defensively and in the kicking game, try to coach it well on our end position by position, try to manage the game effectively and not worry about who is in the stands or not in the stands.”
(I wanted to ask about LB Andrew Van Ginkel in terms of his development. Now that LB Vince Biegel is gone, what do you want to see from him? And also, some of the new guys – LB Kamu Grugier-Hill and LB Elandon Roberts – can they fill that role?) – “I’ll start with Van Ginkel. I think he’s had a good offseason. He really works hard. His strength is up. I think the first to second year leap, as some would call it, is an important one. I think he’s kind of taken that seriously and made a lot of improvements, and you can kind of see it in his game right now. Whether or not that translates into on-field production, that remains to be seen; but I’m happy with where he is. I know you mentioned Kamu and Roberts. I think both guys have come in and have some familiarity with the defense already. The little tweaks that are different from when they were last in it, I think they’ve picked up on those quickly. There’s leadership from both guys. Look, filling Biegel’s shoes will be a collective effort from the linebacker group from the end group to the kicking game. Biegel played a lot of roles for us a year ago in the kicking game as well. There’s a lot of roles to fill. Again, Roberts, (Kyle) Van Noy, Kamu, Van Ginkel, (Curtis) Weaver will all have a shot in there. We’ll see how this goes. When a guy goes down, there’s a little bit of what we call depth chart madness that happens. We’re kind of dealing with that on a day-to-day basis with injuries and with things like the Biegel situation where you just have to go back and say ‘we thought it was going to be this and now we’ve got to switch.’ But I think our staff, they’ve done a good job of adapting. Being flexible, that’s what basically 2020 is all about. If you’re not that then you’re going to struggle.”
