Brian Flores – August 26, 2021
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Thursday, August 26, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I wanted to ask you – thoughts on the inside linebacker job opposite LB Jerome Baker. Interesting options with LB Benardrick McKinney and LB Elandon Roberts having him now back, LB Duke Riley, LB Sam Eguavoen. Do you pretty much know in your mind how you want to handle that position which obviously we wouldn’t ask you to share that with us or in your mind is it just still an open competition with multiple players where you would like to see how it goes with Elandon coming back, etc. over the next week and a half?) – “We like the group. As you mentioned there are several guys in there that are good players and we think will help us. There’s a lot of versatility in the room, guys who play in the kicking game, guys who can cover, guys who can play in the run game. We like them all. There’s a lot of competition there. We try to keep as many as we can because as you know with attrition in this league; it’s more likely than not that unfortunately somebody will get injured or there will be a COVID situation or we’re going to need as many able bodies as possible. And we like all those guys. You mentioned them all. It’s a good group. They work well together. They work well with their teammates. There’s some leadership in that room, I would say, and we just continue to work with them and we’ll feel good about whoever comes out of that room making the 53.”
(Is QB Tua Tagovailoa playing on Sunday and what can you tell us about the starters and how much they may or may not see action?) – “Tua won’t play on Sunday and we’ll probably rest of most of the starters. Still kind of going through that as a staff. We’ve got to play the game so we’re not going to rest everybody. So there will be some guys in there who will get an opportunity to showcase or apply the fundamentals, the techniques, the things we’ve been talking about the entire training camp – guys who haven’t had as many reps in games. But there will also be some guys who have played in the previous two games playing in this one as well. But we’ll try to rest most of the – let’s call them ‘starters.’”
(The receivers will all be out – WR Will Fuller V, WR DeVante Parker, WR Albert Wilson, WR Preston Williams? Is that correct?) – “Fuller, Parker – I don’t have this in front of me – so I believe Fuller will be out there. Parker will be out there. Again, with all these guys, some are modified. I don’t have this in front of me.”
(I’m sorry I wasn’t clear. Do you expect any of those four guys to participate in the game?) – “That’s still being talked about. I think game reps are important, but we have to determine whether or not we want to get those game reps versus continuing to build and improve on a daily basis from a rehab standpoint and really all four of those guys; we’ve talked about them. We haven’t made a final decision on that yet. As far as today, that’s a mistake on my part. I don’t have that in front of me. All those guys practiced yesterday – I believe you mentioned that group. I think someone’s modified today though. I’m not exactly sure. It’s kind of a…”
(WR Albert Wilson – we didn’t see him yesterday.) – “I don’t think he mentioned (Albert) Wilson.”
(He did mention him.) – “Did he? (laughter)”
(Yes, he mentioned four.) – “(DeVante) Parker, (Will) Fuller… yeah, (Albert) Wilson didn’t practice yesterday. So Wilson will not be practicing. He didn’t practice yesterday. I don’t think you were referencing Wilson for the game, right?”
(Was the WR Lynn Bowden Jr. decision a tough one because I guess the other alternative would’ve been keeping alive the possibility of him coming back this year, but that would have tied up a valuable roster spot on the 53. How tough a call was that for you and General Manager Chris Grier?) – “Tough call. Obviously Lynn (Bowden Jr.) did some nice things during training camp. Did some nice things at the end of the year last year. Had a good offseason, did a good job in the spring. Unfortunately he had the injury and we felt like that was the best decision for the team and unfortunately we won’t be able to get him back, but this is what we felt was the best thing for the team.”
(Yesterday QB Tua Tagovailoa talked a little bit about his relationship with Dan Marino and working with him. I was just curious if you could maybe detail a little of that relationship and the value of having an all-time great like Dan talking to Tua?) – “Someone with Dan’s experience, his insight, his knowledge of preparation, of being a professional, of playing in this league; I think it’s always good for a young quarterback to have someone to bounce some ideas off, get some mentorship from, and Dan has been that for Tua and Jacoby (Brissett) and Reid (Sinnett). It’s nice to have someone like that around the building for those guys to bounce some thoughts off of and someone who has actually played the position in this league and done it at a high level, so I think that’s always good for the player.”
(You mentioned that the starters won’t play. I know that’s some of the starters. What about the offensive line? One, I don’t know if you have enough to make it through a full game with the non-starters, but also, there’s still competitions going on there. Is that still a position that you’re trying to evaluate heading into the Bengals game?) – “Yeah, we’re definitely trying to evaluate that. We’ve got I think – I want to say 12 linemen on the roster right now. We may or may not rest a couple of those guys. I think a guy like Jesse Davis, we probably will sit him. The other guys are young so we’re still talking through that one, but I think we have enough depth to be able to sit one or two other guys and honestly that would be kind of the depth that we would have in a regular game if it’s eight or nine guys. Like I said earlier we’re working through that. I think those guys – it’s a hard-working group. I think there’s some guys in the back end who have earned the right to get some reps and we’re looking forward to seeing them out there on Sunday against Cincinnati.”
(Where have you seen the most growth from WR Kirk Merritt since last year to now?) – “Kirk (Merritt) – he’s grown just from a work habit standpoint. I think he knows how or is learning how to get on a routine, stay on a routine, believe in the routine and believing that the extra work on the JUGS and the extra film study and the extra reps and sets in the weight room will help and have helped him make improvements and I think we’ve seen those improvements on the field both in practice and in games. I think he understands that and if he continues to do those things off the field and in the classroom, in the weight room, from a nutrition standpoint; then he’ll continue to make those improvements that he’s already made. He’s done a nice job and I’m very pleased with the growth he’s made.”
(How has DT Raekwon Davis’ summer gone?) – “I think Raekwon (Davis) – his spring, his summer – it’s been good. This is another young guy, young player who has become – we’ve talked a lot about Tua and his growth – I think Raekwon has grown a lot as well. Much more comfortable with his surroundings, with his settings, again with his routine, with how he takes care of his body, the things he eats, how much he sleeps. I think that’s something that (Director of Player Engagement) Kaleb Thornhill and our player engagement group has done a nice job of helping these guys with their routines and helping them learn how to be professionals. I think that’s something that young players need. They need some guidance on that. I think as an organization we try to help them with that as coaches, as Kaleb and his staff, as a training staff, as a strength and conditioning staff. I think those different groups are kind of coaching these young guys in that area about what are the best things for you to be the best version of yourself on and off the field, and I think our staff has done a nice job of that. But we can talk all we want. The players have to take the information and apply it. I think Raekwon has done a nice job of that and I think he’s making improvement and we need to continue to make more improvement.”
(I’d like to ask you a question related to COVID and vaccines. Especially since we’re getting down to a couple days before final cuts. We know that there are different things that can come into play where you can lose a player for like five days and also lose him at the last minute on game day if they’re unvaccinated, if they take a test and they come back positive. Given all of that, how much of a factor if any will that come when you’re making final roster cuts?) – “I think we’re going to keep the best players – vaccinated or unvaccinated. That’s what we want to do. I think that’s what’s best for the team. I don’t know any other way to put it. I think we’re always going to try to do what’s best for the team. I understand the question and I understand some of the issues that can arise, but at the end of the day, I think we try to assume that guys are healthy, guys will be out there and what group of guys is going to help our team perform as best as we can whether they’re vaccinated or not. I think that’s the most authentic answer I can give you.”
(We’ve seen one team in particular in the state decide to strengthen their restrictions on the road where they’re saying that all players – vaccinated or unvaccinated – cannot leave the team hotel. Are you considering any kind of rules above and beyond what the league’s protocols are?) – “Right now we’re following the league protocols. We really haven’t had any discussions like that, but we’ll continue to follow league protocols for both vaccinated and unvaccinated on the road, in the locker room, in the meal rooms. We’ll just continue to follow the NFL protocols and if we feel the need to go above and beyond, we’ll do that, but we have not had those discussions.”
(I wanted to ask you about your favorite unit – special teams – and when you’re cutting down to the 53-man roster, how much say does Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman and his group have in terms of who stays, who goes?) – “I think that’s a big part of the final decisions that we make. The kicking game is obviously a big part of football and we want to be good in the kicking game, so yeah, when we’re making those final decisions – what a guy can do on special teams is part of that decision. The more you can do gives you more opportunity to help this team win or try to win games. That definitely comes into play. I don’t think that’s just for the Miami Dolphins; I think that’s for across the league. A blocked field goal, a big kickoff return, a big punt return, a missed field goal – those are all plays in a game where if you take them for granted, that’ll come back to bite you. So I would say every team in the league makes the kicking game somewhat of a priority especially when it comes down to these cuts.”
(Is there any worry that three weeks for the starters between last week and Week 1 is too long of a time and was last year with no preseason games sort of confirm that maybe preseason games don’t necessarily translate into the Week 1 product being any better or worse?) – “I think I could see that argument. I think we’ve had joint practices with two teams. We had 10 good days prior to that. We felt like this was the best thing for our team. We’ll practice them hard next week and the week after that as well. And again this is new for everyone. It is. This is a new – you know, is two weeks too much? This is the first time there will be two full weeks. So it’s all brand new for everyone. Is two weeks too much? Is three weeks too much? Is two better than three? I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows.”
(The NFL being such a copycat league like historically the fourth preseason game no starters play. Now like the third – some teams didn’t play people in the second. Do you look at other teams and other teams do you think say, “Hey, the third preseason game now doesn’t matter” or do you really just focus on what’s best for you guys?) – “I think that’s probably the best way to look at it, is just focus on our team. What do I think our players need and just rely on that because every person is different. Every group of players is different. Our team is different than another team and that team is different than another team, so what we need is potentially different than what another team needs and I think when you start trying to just copy what someone else does when you have different personnel in a different area; that may not work. So what we have is the information that we’ve gathered on our team, the experience we’ve had with our players and we use that information and try to come up with what we feel is best for our guys. And we’ll always do that. We’ll always do what we feel is best for the organization, for the team and the organization, and I think we have peace with the amount of time we spend going through – it’s not like we didn’t talk about it (laughter). We definitely did that. Week 3, Week 2, what do we do, joint practices. We’ve definitely spent a lot of time talking about it. And that’s not just as a coaching staff; everyone is involved there – medical, strength and conditioning, coaching, nutrition. There’s a lot that goes into it and we felt like this was the right move for us with our team this year and that could be different in future years.”
(How much did you weight QB Tua Tagovailoa’s performance and I guess really all the starters?) – “I thought you were going to ask me how much I weigh. (laughter) Man. Not you. I mean, come on. (laughter)”
(How much did you weigh QB Tua Tagovailoa’s performance and I guess really all the starters when making the decision of whether or not to play them in the final preseason game or was it more so just..?) – “It’s something that we – I think we probably made the decision before they even played last week, but I thought last week’s performance didn’t hurt, I would say. But we talked about it and kind of laid out the summer practice schedule in a way, again, with the joint practices, how we’re going to play him in Games 1 and 2 and felt good about going this route. I would say last week’s game didn’t weigh in all that much.”
