Brian Flores – June 15, 2021
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Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I wanted to ask you with QB Tua Tagovailoa, when you guys drafted him, obviously you knew with the hip that it was going to take some time to eventually progress. How does it feel from a franchise standpoint to be kind of 18-19 months after the injury for Tua and kind of see where he has come along so far and where he can go ahead?) – “I think he’s worked extremely hard obviously coming off the hip last year and getting himself ready to play as much as he did last year. I think he’s just continued to build on his rehabbing the hip and really kind of I would say training just from a total body standpoint. I think he’s done a nice job from that standpoint. He looks healthy and he’s really just trying to improve in all areas and we’re happy and pleased with where he’s at.”
(Just from a team standpoint, to kind of be at this point here in his recovery to kind of see where QB Tua Tagovailoa can go forward after drafting him and kind of knowing that kind of drafting him was a big risk – I guess how do you guys feel about that now?) – “I think we’re just trying to take things one day at a time. He’s trying to improve on the field, off the field, in his training, in all areas and I think that’s kind of more of a big picture question; but I think we’re just trying to shrink it down to let’s get better today. Let’s improve from a meeting standpoint, from a walkthrough standpoint, from a practice standpoint, from a training/rehab standpoint if that’s the case, which it is with Tua. I think he’s done well with that and he’s continuing to improve every day really in all areas.”
(I wanted to ask if CB Xavien Howard was among the participants today and if so, how’s he looking physically?) – “I have not seen Xavien today; but the meetings are Zooms, so guys kind of get lost from time to time. But I have not seen him today.”
(Do you expect CB Xavien Howard to be participating this week?) – Quite honestly I don’t think – I’m not sure he’s going to be here today. Again, I haven’t seen him, so I expect him to be here, but I have not seen him yet.”
(In terms of CB Xavien Howard, has he expressed what the issues are that he has if he chooses to sit out this minicamp?) – “I think it’s pretty clear that this is a contract situation, which we’ve talked about internally. That’s what I believe it is and obviously we’ve had discussions and we’ll continue to have those discussions.”
(Last week you referred to the development of a young cornerback like CB Noah Igbinoghene and the value of seeing the game from the outside-in and it got me thinking – is there a similar benefit for a young offensive lineman with regards to seeing the game from multiple perspectives?) – “I believe so. I think if you’re a tackle who has played guard or a guard who has played center, that perspective when you’re trying to communicate with the guy next to you, what that block feels like, what it looks like, what you need if it is a double team, what you need from a guard on a double team if you’re playing tackle, what you need from a tackle on a double team if you’re playing guard. Same thing with the center position. I think it’s very helpful. I think like any situation, if you can put yourself in someone else’s shoes, you have a little bit more understanding of what they need, the struggles that come with a specific block or a specific player and it can help even if you’re playing another position.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa has said that he wants to improve on cadence, pre-snap read, shifting guys, using his words. Will this minicamp the next couple of days be a place where he can improve on that?) – “I think any practice setting is a situation you can improve. I think that’s what we’ve done the last three weeks even in the OTA and walkthrough sessions. So yeah, I think it’s definitely a situation or opportunity for him to improve. Obviously we’ll be going at a faster pace, or a little bit of a faster pace. You’ll see different defenses and we’ll do it for a longer period of time. And I think that’s part of it – you’re tired, you get taxed a little bit and I think that’s for all positions, not just the quarterback. You get to see if your techniques, your fundamentals, your communication, your ability to adjust, if you can do that under some duress.”
(And for the layman, when it is right – when the quarterback and everybody else has that right, how does that help produce positive plays?) – “You’re no layman. (laughter) I think any time you’re on the same page from a communication, a cadence, a shift, motion; that just helps the execution and if you can execute, then you have positive plays. But if you miss a shift, you miss a motion, you miss a cadence, you miss this, you miss a tackle, you miss a communication, ‘I’m in this gap, you’re in that gap;’ that’s how bad plays happen basically. So the more practice, the more reps you can get as a team, as an individual, I think the better off you’ll be; and we have an opportunity to do that today or these next few days.”
(Obviously the organization rewarded LB Jerome Baker with a contract extension. Certainly you can touch on that, but my question is what message would you give to any top player such as TE Mike Gesicki or DE Emmanuel Ogbah who has one year left on their deal without an extension at this time?) – “I’m excited for Jerome (Baker) and like we talked about last week, I think he’s done a really nice job for us these last two years. Look, he’s smart, he’s tough, he’s team-first. He wants to be here and we’re happy to reward him. I think (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and (Senior Vice President of Football and Business Administration) Brandon (Shore) and Drew Rosenhaus really kind of sat down and hammered it out this weekend and we’re excited about that. As far as other guys, I think every situation is a little bit different, and we want to keep everybody. We would if possible, but situations are just a little bit – every one is a little bit different. There’s obviously a salary cap. We all know that. So I think – you mentioned Mike (Gesicki) and you mentioned (Emmanuel) Ogbah – we love those guys. They’ve both been productive players on our team and we’ll continue to have or will have conversations with their representation; but again, every situation is a little bit different. And I think there’s an understanding that the ones that if we can get them done, we’ll get them done and if we can’t, then we can’t. But we’re always working to do what’s best for the team and the organization.”
(To go back to QB Tua Tagovailoa for a moment, has there been any significant maturation – if that’s the right word – in how he carries himself from year one to year two? Or with him, was that maturation already there when you got him?) – “I think anytime you’re a second-year player, I think there is a natural maturation. I think you’re in an environment and a little more comfortable with your environment, more comfortable with the playbook, more comfortable with the people you’re talking to. It’s not the first time you’ve heard instruction from a coach, so you know what guys expect. You can call it maturation. You can call it just an overall understanding of how we expect things here. I think as players, they have a little bit more of a barometer of what’s needed to have success. I think we put all of that together and you see players in their second or third year mature a little bit more. I think that’s what you’re seeing form Tua and hopefully we’ll see that on the field as well.”
(You mentioned earlier about you and GM Chris Grier having internal conversations about CB Xavien Howard and his deal. Is that something that you think will be worked out before training camp or do you have an idea of where that is?) – “I would say that normally we keep this stuff internally; but generally speaking, I think you put them in buckets. So you have contract extensions, you’ve got free agent contracts; so we have a player and we extend a contract. You have free agents you bring on. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard), this is a little bit of a unique situation. I’m sure you guys all understand this. He was extended and now we’re talking about a renegotiation of an extension, so that’s a little bit different. We’ve had a lot of discussions about that. Again, it’s a very unique situation. We’re talking about a potential renegotiation after one year. I think those turn into longer conversations and we understand that. We’ve obviously had a lot of talks and conversations about those. We will continue to have those and keep those internal; but it’s a very unique situation.
(You guys, from what we have seen, have done no helmets. I’m wondering if that was a condition you made to the players when you asked them to participate in the offseason program? Also, do you lose something or do you gain something when you do that? And will you guys have helmets during minicamp?) – “We’ll have helmets on during minicamp. I think the OTA sessions were about communication, about alignments, assignments, making adjustments. I don’t think you lose anything there except maybe wearing a helmet in the heat. I think what we were trying to get done was just the communication, the alignments, the assignments, and I think we got that accomplished. But we will have helmets on during minicamp.”
(One more thing with CB Xavien Howard, this whole thing with him started when he saw what CB Byron Jones got from the Miami Dolphins. In signing Byron Jones, did the organization kind of expect that “we’re signing him to more money, our other guy who has been here might want more money?”) – “Again, each situation is different. We treat these case-by-case. I think at the end of the day, we’re going to keep these conversations internal. But specific to this one, like I said earlier, it’s very unique. It’s a renegotiation of an extension after one year and it’s honestly something that hasn’t been done before. I’m not saying that we’re drawing a line in the sand, but different players set the market every year. We love ‘X.’ Let me go ahead and say that right now, so you guys can make sure you write that. We love him. He’s very productive. He’s a team player. He’s an important player on this team; but again, (it’s a) unique situation. We want to keep him here. Again, markets are set. Specific to Byron, markets are set differently every year. Yeah, that’s a part of the conversation; but again, that’s what makes this unique, like I mentioned, which I’m sure everyone can understand.”
(The new offensive lineman that you signed form the Patriots yesterday in free agency, do you view him as a depth signing? Or did you feel like you needed more competition to find a potential starter at either right tackle or somewhere else on the line?) – “We’re excited to sign Jermaine Eluemunor. Any time you can add someone who has experience, has history as a starter at multiple positions, gives us flexibility and we think he’s a good player. He will add competition to the room. I met him for the first time yesterday, and was excited to meet him and talk to him. He seems like the type of guy that – just from a personality standpoint, hardworking and loves to play. (He’s) chomping at the bit to get out there and compete and create an opportunity for himself. I’m excited to work with him.”
