Brian Flores – September 16, 2020 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores Conference Call with Buffalo Media
(You’ve gotten a chance to coach against QB Josh Allen now since he came into the league. Obviously when you were in New England and then last year when you were in Miami. What have you seen from his growth from that rookie year until now?) – “I think he’s made incredible growth from the time we first saw him until now – from an accuracy standpoint, just an overall presence and game presence. He’s got command of the offense. His leadership, you can see it really on a play-to-play basis. That team rallies around him. But just as a quarterback, he’s more accurate. Obviously he’s always been able to extend plays and pick up yardage with his legs. He’s more of a dual-threat as far as throwing the ball downfield. He just has an overall – he’s more comfortable. He’s coming into his own. I actually met him last year. He’s a great kid. I can’t say enough good things about him. It will be a great challenge for us. They’re a really good football team, well coached. Sean (McDermott) has done a great job there and this is a challenge for us.”
(There’s going to be some good cornerbacks in this matchup – CB Tre’Davious White, CB Byron Jones, CB Xavien Howard. What makes a good corner in the league today?) – “I think guys who are smart, can tackle, and I think offensively, to try to create situations where they’ve got two or three guys moving at the same time and can you and your other defensive backs get it handled? Tre White and Levi (Wallace), these guys do a good job as far as from a communication standpoint, along with the safeties there, of kind of getting all of that hashed out. Quickness, length, instincts – I think Tre has all of those things and so does Levi. These guys are good players. We’ve got a couple of good corners also. I think the guys who are competitive, the guys who tackle and the guys who make plays on the ball, to me that’s what makes a good corner in this league.”
(You’ve been in the AFC East for a long time. What impressed you about the way Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey operated the offense in Buffalo?) – “Chan was definitely someone, whether he was in Buffalo or with the Jets, that there’s a lot going on in the offense, from a personnel standpoint – 11 personnel, 10 personnel, 21 personnel. You never knew from a game-planning standpoint what you were going to get. He’s obviously a very good teacher. I heard that just from players, from other coaches. Just his offense, from my experience, brought a lot of – not issues, but they created a lot of issues. We’re happy to bring him in. He’s done a really good job so far and we’re just going to continue building and try to get better and improve; but we’re up against a pretty tough defense this week. They fly around, they play well together, they’ve played together for a long time so you can see the rapport and camaraderie that’s been built. This will definitely be a tough test. I think (Defensive Coordinator) Leslie (Frazier) does a great job. Leslie combined with Sean (McDermott), they do a great job defensively. We have to play well to move the ball against these guys.”
(Buffalo Head Coach Sean McDermott has basically changed this culture in drastic time – him and General Manager Brandon Beane. Around the NFL, you’re receiving that same type of buzz right now. Can you tell us what was the mindset on changing the culture in Miami when you got there?) – “Well like you said, Sean (McDermott) and Brandon (Beane) have done an incredible job. I think it’s about bringing in the right types of people. I think in any business, it’s about the people. In his case, he’s got the right people in place from a scouting standpoint with (Assistant General Manager) Joe Schoen, Brandon Beane. They’ve got a great staff over there. It’s the same thing from a coaching staff standpoint. They’ve got a great staff from that standpoint. And then bringing in the right types of players. They’ve certainly been a model. Sean – they’ve done something that I’ve definitely looked at and said hey, if we’re going to build something, we want to model it after a program, that’s certainly one that we and I referenced as we’re trying to do some things over here. Now we have a long way to go. There’s no doubt about that. But we know it’s going to take hard work. It’s going to take everyone kind of pitching in and doing their specific job or role and wanting to do that role and wanting to be great in those roles. There’s a lot of humility that goes with that. I know I’ve seen that from Sean and his staff when we’ve come across them. (Offensive Coordinator) Brian Daboll is obviously a great friend of mine who I’ve spent a lot of time with. He just fits the mold of everyone else that’s over there. They’ve done a great job and you can see the fruits of their labor over the last few years.”
(Obviously it was a tough matchup in Week 1 against QB Cam Newton with a dual-threat ability. How much does that prepare you for a second straight matchup against a similar-style quarterback?) – “From that standpoint, as far as dual-threat from a run-game and running quarterback standpoint, yes we have seen some of it a little bit; but this team offers some other issues. When you’ve got two outstanding receivers on the perimeter, it’s hard to load up on the run game when you’ve got guys like that on the perimeter. They do a good job really in all areas – the tight ends, the backs, the scheme. I don’t think it will just all run or quarterback runs or all pass. There’s a great mix. We’ve got to do a good job of trying to defend it all. Good communication, good fundamentals, technique – we’ve got to compete for 60 minutes and play a tough, physical game.”
