Brian Flores – October 31, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 31, 2021
Postgame – Buffalo
Head Coach Brian Flores
(On the play before halftime what happened?) – “Yeah, just miscommunication, lack of execution. Obviously, it was a big play in the game. We struggle at the end of halves with turnovers and unfortunately, we got one again today. We lost out on points that ended up being big points in the game.”
(After that, you guys came out three-and-out three times in the third quarter. Did you think that had some lasting effect for you guys?) – “Look our guys, they bounce back. I think it was more execution on Buffalo’s part and lack of execution on our part. Got to give them credit. At the end of the day, especially in the second half we didn’t move the ball efficiently enough. Especially those first three drives. Got it going on that fourth drive, I believe, when Mike (Gesicki) caught the long ball on fourth down. But just didn’t make enough plays.”
(Since we are on that play you were going to call timeout – you came down to the official like you might call timeout. What were you seeing?) – “I went down there; I saw us lined up in position to motion. I looked at the clock. Looked like we had enough time. Between the snap, it hit Mike (Gesicki) and it was just a bad play.”
(There were other plays where players had trouble getting into the right alignment. Was there a common thread to any of this?) – “Yeah, just overall miscommunication.”
(From QB Tua Tagovailoa to players? Or from…?) – “Everyone kind of plays a role in that. You never want to put it on one guy. Getting the call, getting the alignment, getting the shift, getting the motion. With the crowd noise just, we didn’t execute. We ended up kind of going to more just standard formations with less shifting and motions later in the game.”
(What did you think of QB Tua Tagovailoa’s play today?) – “Again, I know there are some plays he wishes he had back. The one before the half for sure and then the interception. But he made some good throws. I thought we moved the ball decently in the first half, got some first downs in the run game, threw some good balls to (DeVante) Parker and got (Mike) Gesicki on that fourth down. I thought he did some good things but overall, not enough.”
(What’s your message to the team at 1-7? Obviously, playoffs are always the aspiration but at 1-7 at pretty much the halfway point of the season, what are you telling players at this point?) – “I’m telling them to – I thought the guys fought. It’s a good team. I though they fought. I thought they played hard. I thought they played with great effort. But we’ve got to make more plays. I think it’s things that we can definitely get fixed. A shift and a motion and an alignment error. Some other things that we missed in a game. Some missed alignments defensively as well. If we can do some of those things on a more consistent basis, it will definitely go a long way to have the results we want.”
(What do you think the disconnect is week-to-week? I know you’re getting tired of answering questions about what’s the margin from Week 2 to now. What do you think the disconnect is?) – “It’s something different really every week. I think it’s drops, not getting aligned, not having enough guys defensively – I know that happened one time. Just overall miscommunication.”
(How does your postgame routine differ maybe after a loss than it would after a win?) – “As far as watching the game and going through that routine? Nothing really changes. There’s always good plays, bad plays, good calls, bad calls, things you kind of wish you did a little bit differently. It doesn’t really change. I think there’s always things that you wish you would have done better, win or a loss. But obviously in a loss those plays, those calls, those situations from players and coaches is something that you sit there and go, ‘Hey, if we had done this, this and this we may have a different outcome.’”
(What about immediately after a game? What is your usual routine after a game? Do you speak to the team or…?)- “Yeah, speak to the team, tell them my thoughts on the game and go talk to our trainer and talk about some injuries and how guys are doing. That’s really the routine.”
(Was there, given that normally when we speak to you before most of the players and today you come in later, is there anything we should know? Did you have an extended talk with the team or anything that you can tell us?) – “Like always, my conversations with players I try to keep confidential. Players, coaches – I keep them confidential. There’s always conversations. Today I really just kind of sat there. Sitting there, it’s a tough loss, it’s a number of losses in a row so I just figured we’d let the players go.”
(Were there conversations with Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner Stephen Ross or General Manager Chris Grier after this game?) – “Yeah, I always talk to Steve (Ross) and Chris (Grier) after the game. But again, those conversations are between them and I.”
(Do you have any concerns about your job security moving forward?) – “I’m just worried about the players. I’m worried about the players. I’m worried getting them better, helping them improve so no.”
(It was mentioned on the CBS broadcast that WR Preston Williams did not come due to discipline. Can you tell us anything about his future with the team?) – “Yeah, for disciplinary reasons he wasn’t on the trip. Obviously, we will revisit that in the morning and talk through it. I expect him to be with us.”
(With the trade deadline coming up, are you guys a quarterback away here? Are you guys going to make a trade or are you going down the same path and not doing anything?) – “Like I’ve said, Tua (Tagovailoa) is our quarterback. Tua is our quarterback.”
(Beyond that, what about the other direction? At 1-7 is there any pressure from the front office to start offloading players and become sellers at the deadline?) – “Those are conversations I’ll have with Chris (Grier) tomorrow. Right now, I’m really kind of focused on the game we just had, the things we need to improve on and get better to turn this thing around.”
