Brian Flores – October 27, 2021
Download PDF version
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(A couple of things on the third quarterback and running back. With running back, are you going to basically look at RB Patrick Laird, RB Duke Johnson and RB Gerrid Doaks this weekend and then make a decision on who will replace RB Malcolm Brown on the active list? And then also, with losing QB Reid Sinnett, are you guys looking at a young developmental quarterback on the practice squad or maybe someone with experience who can step in if QB Tua Tagovailoa or QB Jacoby Brissett are injured?) – “So we signed Jake Dolegala. He’s a quarterback from Central Connecticut (State). We signed him this morning to the practice squad. As far as the running backs, you mentioned Laird and you mentioned Doaks. Duke Johnson we just signed to the practice squad also, so we’ll take a look at all of those guys this week. Obviously we have more familiarity with Patrick and Doaks, so we’ll get to know Duke this week and see what that looks like.”
(What do you guys like about RB Duke Johnson?) – “Obviously he’s an experienced player. He’s a good runner, good in the pass game and has been a productive player in the league. A lot of film, a good amount of production over the course of his career. Just kind of looking at the running back situation and what was available, we felt like that was the best that was available.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa is facing the same team that he was injured against. Will there be a mental hurdle involved in that?) – “I don’t think so. I think he’s excited to get out to practice today, to play with his teammates and to compete on Sunday.”
(Where is QB Tua Tagovailoa in relation to the flak jacket? I didn’t notice – was he wearing it this past Sunday and will he continue to wear it if he was?) – “Yeah, he’s been wearing some protection. I can’t – I don’t know the ins and outs of the flak jacket but I’ve had some conversations with (Equipment Manager) Joe Cimino about it. He definitely wears protection around the ribs.”
(During the start of the season, is there something you might have learned about yourself or your coaching staff that you didn’t know before, or taught you a lesson about how to be a better coach?) – “I think you learn stuff every day in this league. I think we’re all learning and we’re all trying to get better on a daily basis. I ask that of the players and I certainly ask that of myself. I think every time I go out there and coach – offense, defense, special teams, situation, game, practice, walkthrough – I’m always looking for a way to get a point across, coach something a little bit better, teach something a little bit better, teach a situation a little bit better, motivate a little bit more. I think that’s kind of an ongoing daily process for me – not just football-wise but really across the board. I just try to get better in every area of my life. I try to talk to our players about doing that. Obviously from a football standpoint but also in other areas.”
(What is your confidence level that WR DeVante Parker will be able to play Sunday?) – “Today we’ll walk through. He’ll be available for the walkthrough, for sure. Hopeful that he can string a couple of good days of practice – Thursday and Friday – and we’ll see if he’s available for the game.”
(It’s the second week in a row that you’re facing a team coming off a bye week. What are kind of the talking points that you emphasize to your players about facing a well-rested team that is eager to go?) – “I think every week there are different challenges. A team coming off a bye, obviously they’ve had some rest and they’ll have energy. Just being on the road and being in that environment, there’s going to be energy in the stadium regardless. But well rested like you mentioned. Should be full of juice and full of energy, but I would expect that from this team or really any team whether they’re coming off a bye or not.”
(Can you update us on OL Greg Mancz and CB Noah Igbinoghene?) – “Both are still getting treatment. Again it’s a walkthrough today so I expect them both to be at the walkthrough. They’re getting better and moving in the right direction.”
(Back to the issue of being well rested. I think there probably was an assumption on my part last week that the walkthrough was because of the London trip. But now we’re still on a Wednesday walkthrough. Is that something that you foresee keeping throughout the rest of the season and if so, what’s the thinking on that?) – “I think it’s week to week. There were some bumps and bruises coming out of the game and just felt like it was in the best interest to get two good days – Thursday and Friday – to take a little bit off of them today.”
(There’s been a lot of talk about one player relative to a trade but just in general, have you made it a point to address the whole group about the looming trade deadline? Not about one player but generally about the trade deadline coming.) – “No, we don’t really talk about – we’re talking about the Bills. We’re talking about the Bills. We’re talking about individually trying to improve and get better in practice. Here are the things we need to do this week against this team. That’s kind of the conversation. There’s no conversation about trade deadlines.”
(Is LB Jerome Baker feeling better? Have you talked to him today? Obviously he’s a big part of your defense.) – “Yeah, he’ll be out there today. He’ll be listed as limited. He’s kind of working through the issue with the injury. Let’s call him day to day. Hopefully he’ll be out there for practice – a true practice – on Thursday.”
(Do you think that the offense is lacking in chunk or explosive plays and if so, what is the key to hitting on those, especially in the second and third quarters where you guys started strong but kind of fizzled out in the middle of games?) – “I think there’s – we’ve moved the ball better the last couple of weeks. We had probably a few more chunk plays the week before than last week. But I thought we moved it pretty efficiently. Obviously not well enough. And then we’ve just got to be more consistent in those in the middle part of the game. But I think overall, I think we’re moving it fairly efficiently and taking what the defense gives us. But we’ve got to do more.”
(What did the film tell you about C Austin Reiter’s performance at center and is he a guy that you might consider keeping in the starting lineup regardless?) – “I thought he did some good things. When you step in and you haven’t played, and then you go in there and play in an NFL game, I thought he did well. I thought his communication was good. I thought his overall understanding of where he needed to be was good. I’m sure there’s – I know there’s some plays that he wishes that he would have blocked a little bit better or protected a little bit better, but overall we were able to run the offense from an o-line standpoint without a huge drop-off. I thought he did a nice job.”
(Knowing you have your focus on the game and not get into the details of what y’all talk about, can you take me through maybe what the process is in-season when you and General Manager Chris Grier talk about transactions or different things involving the 53-man roster?) – “We talk pretty much every day about the roster, inactives, who’s playing, who’s not playing, practice. So it’s really more of a daily conversation. I’m not sure if I’m answering your question, but as far as the process, it’s really a daily process where if something pops on the waiver wire, I may pop in his office, he comes into mine. Practice squad, practice squad protection – it’s not like a once-a-week thing. It’s really every day, and we’re constantly evaluating our team and seeing what else is out there and those are kind of daily conversations.”
(We asked Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer about just overall defensive philosophy and playing more zone as opposed to blitzing less. I wanted to ask you how much is playing young safeties like S Jevon Holland and S Brandon Jones kind of played a role in maybe not blitzing as much and kind of big picture, have you seen defenses tend to kind of favor coverage as opposed to sacrificing that with…) – “I didn’t get the last part…”
(Just big picture, have you kind of seen defenses tend to prioritize coverage more as opposed to blitzing and sacrificing that in coverage?) – “I think it’s really gameplan-specific. I think it’s specific to the situation. It’s kind of a tough question because when to cover, when to blitz, there’s a feel involved there. So it’s obviously part of every gameplan – ‘hey, we’re going to cover them here, we’re going to blitz them here, we’re going to try to pressure them in this situation.’ Score may play a role in that. There’s so many kind of factors. So I think it’s – and obviously the players involved are a part of it as well. Do we think we can get there with a four-man rush, five-man rush? Do we feel like we need to blitz them? There’s so many kind of layers to them. You may want to have a plan to blitz and then you get there on a three-man rush and you say why would I blitz them? And every game is a little bit different. So it’s a tough question. I think you’d have to look at a specific game and say, ‘hey what happened on the last series that made you…’ – there’s a lot that goes into that.”
(What about the zone/man choice? What are some factors that maybe go beyond the obvious when choosing which path to go?) – “Situation. If you want to get on them on first down, if you want to get on them on second-and-whatever, third down, what did you do the last time? There’s a lot of factors. It’s kind of the same as far as calling a game.”
(I asked QB Tua Tagovailoa this after the game and I’m curious in your thoughts. How do you or do you balance kind of the mentality of letting the guys know like, “hey, keep your chin up” but also saying “I’m upset and I’m frustrated, too” when you’re going through a losing streak like this? Is there a balance between kind of making sure you’re on the same page with the players there?) – “I like to think I’m very honest with the guys. That’s kind of been my philosophy and just how I’ll continue to interact with the players. I think these guys work hard. They’re resilient. They give great effort. They should keep their heads up. At the same time, we’ve got to do better and that’s really as direct and honest as I can be and that’s been the message to them. But I also tell them that I’ll be better. And I’m not one to point fingers and try to divide a group. We’re all in this together so that’s kind of the message. I think honesty is always the best way to go. That’s been my overall philosophy and I’ll continue to do that.”
(You talked about being honest with your players. QB Tua Tagovailoa spoke about after the game you being transparent with him with regards to the trade reports. How do you guys kind of just navigate this the final days up until the trade deadline with reports kind of coming out as often as they have been?) – “I mean I don’t really get into rumors. I don’t really pay attention to rumors and hypotheticals and this and that. Tua is our quarterback. I’ve said that multiple times and I’ve said that to him and that’s about as – I try to be honest and transparent with our players and that’s what I’ve been.”
