Brian Flores – September 30, 2020 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores Conference Call with Seattle Media
(I’ve got to start with a question about RB Myles Gaskin, a local guy from here. What has he meant to your team so far?) – “Myles (Gaskin) is really everything we’re looking for in a Dolphin. He’s tough. He’s smart. He’s competitive. He loves to play. He loves to practice. Team first guy. He’s done a really nice job, especially making the Year 1 to Year 2 leap. Great teammate and he really works at his craft, so a really competitive young guy and always trying to get better. We’re happy to have him.”
(When you look at what Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and this offense have done through three games, just what are your impressions of how they’re playing and how big a challenge is that going to be?) – “It’s a very explosive offense led by Russell (Wilson), but good backs, good tight end, good receivers, good line, good play caller. It’s going to be a very, very challenging game for us. We’ve got to play smart. We’ve got to have good communication. We’ve got to tackle well. We’ve got to do pretty much everything well and try to limit the offense; but they do a great job really across the board – run game, screen game, play-action, drop-back, two-minute, red zone. It’s going to be a big, big challenge for us.”
(Going back to the last time you saw Seahawks QB Russell Wilson when you were in New England in 2016, what’s it like seeing that guy on the other side of the field and trying to figure out ways to slow him down when you see him playing at the level he did? He had a great game that day and he’s obviously off to a fast start here. What is it like just seeing just kind of playing out in front of you?) – “He’s a fantastic player and he’s improved really every year since he’s been in the league. I think my first year as a position coach in ’12 was his rookie year, and he played great in that game. We went out to Seattle and I was coaching safeties. I came out of that game feeling like – (laughter) he’s a young guy. He was just kind of coming along. I don’t know if that was his third or fourth start, but he played really well in that game and that was my first impression of him and he’s been a tremendous player since. But he’s grown a lot over the years. He causes a lot of issues. Most guys scramble to run. Some guys scramble to throw. He’s really a true dual-threat who can extend plays and create big plays or stand in the pocket and fire throws down the field. So it’s a big challenge and he’s a great player. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s a great person also, and you can see the leadership he has on that team and how the players follow him and follow his lead. But there’s great leadership really across the board on that team. It’s not just Russell. It starts with obviously (Seahawks Head Coach) Pete Carroll and (General Manager John) Schneider. They do a really great job across the board as an organization. Defensively it’s (Bobby) Wagner to K.J. Wright. Obviously Jamal Adams. Really good leadership across the board. Really good players and they play good team football, so it’ll be a great challenge for us.
(I know your secondary, you’ve had some injury issues and you’re playing a young guy at one of the cornerback spots and things like that. What’s so far your thoughts on how you’ve played and obviously the challenge of going against Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and WR DK Metcalf and WR Tyler Lockett this week and all that?) – “It’s a great – it’s a very big challenge. And I think it’s a challenge for our young players. We’re playing some young guys at the corner position. We’ve got some vet guys also; but for our team, it’s a young team. This is going to be a big, big challenge against a veteran quarterback with good receivers, good backs and a good o-line, good play caller. I feel like I’m saying the same thing over again. I apologize for that if that’s the case, but there’s a lot of good players on this team. You turn your head and then David Moore makes a catch out of nowhere, you know what I mean? So it’s not just (Tyler) Lockett. It’s not just (DK) Metcalf. You’ve got (Greg) Olsen and you’ve got (Chris) Carson and you’ve got (Carlos) Hyde. So there’s players everywhere and then you turn around and (Jacob) Hollister makes a catch. And Russell (Wilson) does a good job of finding everybody. So as a team, everyone’s got to take care of their assignment, handle their responsibilities, set the edge in the run game, tackle defensively and defend the deep part of the field and play well offensively and play well in the kicking game to give us a chance to compete in the game.”
(When you’ve got a young team like you do, what’s a veteran quarterback like QB Ryan Fitzpatrick brought just in terms of the leadership and his experience of playing so many years around the league; and then on the other side of that, how’s the young rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa kind of developing behind the scenes?) – “I’ll start with Tua (Tagovailoa). He’s done a really good job really since we started training camp. He’s smart. He’s talented. I think he’s improved really on a daily basis and he learns something new really every day. And we go through situations in third down, in the red zone, in two-minute and then he and ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) have a really good relationship, and he asks ‘Fitz’ questions really on a daily basis about being a professional but also about the different situations that we see on a week-to-week basis – game planning, things of that nature. So Tua is doing a nice job and I think he’s got a bright future. Specific to ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), I think he brings leadership. I think he brings experience. I think he brings great energy. He’s competitive and he loves to play. I think our players feed off of that and his leadership has been very important to this young team – these young receivers, obviously Tua behind him, as well as some of the guys defensively. So we’re happy to have him, and we just continue to hopefully build and grow and improve as a team.”
(In Seattle here, we’ve been pretty much locked down the same way since March and from afar, it seems like Florida is more open. What kind of challenge has that been for you guys to keep your players corralled and it looks like maybe the NFL protocols could even be more strict than your state?) – “I think our medical staff as well as everyone within our organization, we try to be extremely vigilant about wearing masks and contact tracers and just protocols in general. It’s important. Florida for the most part – I would say we’re a little more open than some of the other states; but specific to our football team and what we’re doing here, we’re telling our team the same thing I know Pete (Carroll) is saying in Seattle and all the coaches around the league are saying to their team, ‘let’s be smart, let’s make good decisions when we’re outside of the building.’ We’ll do everything we can to keep our facility safe, but a lot of the responsibility falls on the players, the coaches, really everyone. There’s so many different departments. I think people forget about the training staff and the equipment staff and the nutritionists and the strength and conditioning staff, the people who handle our meals. Everyone is kind of tied into doing what’s best for the team off the field from a COVID protocol standpoint, and we’ve just got to continue to try to do the right things and hopefully we’ll all stay safe and healthy. And hopefully that’s the case for really all the teams around the league. We don’t want to see anyone get sick.”
(To follow up on RB Myles Gaskin, you mentioned the growth between Year 1 and Year 2. What specifically has he grown in?) – “I think when you’re a rookie, figuring out where the – again he moved from the other side of the country – and then he was inactive for let’s call it half the season a year ago. He just learned how to be a professional. Not that he didn’t take a professional approach, but in that first year you always – there’s things you don’t know. You don’t know what you don’t know, which I learned that early in my coaching career. So he learned the best way to prepare physically in the weight room from a conditioning standpoint; but also mentally and from a preparation standpoint, as far as how he watches opponents defense in zone coverage versus man coverage versus 4-3 versus over fronts versus under fronts versus diamond fronts and just understanding where the best ways to attack those from a run game standpoint, from a pass game standpoint. But he’s continuing to grow. He’s asking questions today about ways he can get better, and that’s what you’re looking for in a young player. I think we’ve got a lot of young guys who are trying to improve and try to get better and ask a lot of questions, and Myles is one of many young guys we’ve got. Hopefully over time, we improve and we see the fruits of some of the labor that they’re putting in right now.”
(Seattle’s defense has really struggled here through three weeks and I know you guys were kind of in a similar circumstance last year as things kind of grew as the season went along, but do you see any correlation between that and the possibility for this team to jump as they kind of ease into each other? How did you get your guys on track last year?) – “You’re not going to rock me to sleep here. (laughter) We know what this is historically. Pete’s (Carroll) a great coach. (Defensive Coordinator) Ken Norton is a great coach. We’re expecting them to come here, play well. They’ve played good defense – great defense, I should say – for a long, long time. Yeah. We’re expecting them to come out ready to play. (laughter) I’m not going to get lulled to sleep here. They’re going to come here, they’re going to play well. They’ve done that since Pete’s been there and even before then. So we know this is going to be a big, big challenge. Everyone talks about the offense, but they’ve played well in the kicking game, they’ve played well defensively. We’re not going to get lulled to sleep, but I understand the question.”
