Brian Flores – November 26, 2021
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Friday, November 26, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Do you expect to have TE Adam Shaheen Sunday and if TE Hunter Long is indeed needed, what sort of skills has he shown you throughout training camp and in regular season practices?) – “It looks like we are not going to have Adam this weekend. Hunter has done a good job practicing really over the course of the entire year. He’ll step into that role and he’ll get an opportunity and, again, against a very good team. We’re going to need him to step up and play well for us.”
(Have you and General Manager Chris Grier seen, I remember thinking back to what you guys said in April, have you seen the skills to be a complete tight end? TE Hunter Long can catch the ball, he can block. Has he shown you that in opportunities going back to August and in practice and preseason?) – “He’s a young player. He’s trying to improve and get better every day – technique, fundamentals. He has a lot of talent and potential. There’s a lot of work that goes into playing in this league, specifically playing tight end in this league. There’s blocking, there’s route running, there’s a lot that goes into that position – protection, from a protection standpoint. A lot of potential. He’s doing a lot of good things, or he’s done a lot of good things in practice I would say, and he’s developing. It’s a little bit of a deep tight end room and he’s learning from those other guys whether it’s Durham (Smythe), Adam (Shaheen), Mike (Gesicki) or Cethan Carter. He’s made improvements in practice and he’ll get an opportunity this week.”
(You picked up RB Phillip Lindsay off waivers. Obviously getting another running back in here, what do you think of that..?) – “Obviously Phillip is a guy who has had a lot of production in this league. We’re excited to have him join our team and we’ve just got to get him acclimated to the way we do things here, get him up to speed on the playbook, the terminology and the sooner the better on that. He’s been in, he’s been working with Eric (Studesville) trying to get the verbiage, the terminology, the plays down. We’ll see how it goes. It’s been two days.”
(On running backs, I know RB Myles Gaskin has been the primary guy. Is that your anticipation going forward or do you want a situation, and I know there is competition every week, do you want a situation where RB Duke Riley, who has another elevation, and RB Salvon Ahmed and RB Patrick Laird and RB Phillip Lindsay and Myles are competing every week and every week you’ll take a fresh look at who will be your lead back that week?) – “I think every week the gameplan could be different based on who we’re playing. I think they each have a different skillset. I think they each can help us in different ways. I think they’re all selfless and want to help the team have success in any way they can, whether that’s running the ball, whether it’s protection, whether it’s protection, whether it’s catching the ball out of the backfield, whether it’s in the kicking game. There’s always competition and I think the gameplan will dictate how much or how little guys are in there.”
(Is it safe to say that that considering how late he joined the team that it’s not realistic for RB Phillip Lindsay to be ready to play on Sunday?) – “I think it’s safe to say it’s hard to get somebody ready in a walkthrough and one practice and play him. Phillip is motivated to give himself an opportunity to do that. We’re going to try to get him as up to speed as possible but yeah, that’s not an easy thing to do – a walkthrough, a practice and you’re out there. I think a lot of this is getting to know his teammates, the names of all the offensive linemen, the names of all the receivers. I think that’s something that is an important piece to that and it’s hard to get that in a couple days, although he’s working towards it. He’s, ‘What’s your name? What’s your name?’ (It’s been) one day. He’s got a lot of juice, energy and excitement and we’ll see him in practice today. But we haven’t even seen that as far as more of a live practice. We’ll see what that looks like today.”
(C/G Michael Dieter was practicing this week. It’s the first week he’s been back. How have you seen him progress and could he be activated?) – “Dieter is making a lot of progress. He’s had a good couple of days. Again, yesterday was a walkthrough but Wednesday I thought he did some good things. We’ll see how it goes.”
(Both your safeties were not able to do everything in practice this week – your starters in S Jevon Holland and S Brandon Jones. Will they play Sunday?) – “We’re taking it day-to-day with both guys. Both are doing everything they can possibly do to get out there. Today will tell us a lot.”
(How is LB Vince Biegel coming long?) – “Biegel is doing well. He’s doing well. There’s no, are you speaking specifically about something?”
(In terms of his comeback and physically. He said the other day that he feels pretty good right now.) – “I think he looks good in practice. I didn’t know if you knew something I didn’t know. You get all the scoops around here. (laughter) He looks good. He’s looked good in practice the last few weeks. He’s been running around well, moving around well. Getting him implemented into the defense and the kicking game is a lot more this week. I’m excited to see him go out there and play this weekend.”
(CB Trill Williams was downgraded on the injury report and also CB Elijah Campbell hasn’t participated this week. Is it something serious with them?) – “Trill was injured in practice the other day so he’ll be out this weekend. Elijah, we’re going to see what that looks like today.”
(LB Elandon Roberts was the other guy who couldn’t participate fully this week. Is he in question at all for Sunday or do you expect to have him?) – “I expect to have Elandon.”
(There was optimism earlier in the week with WR DeVante Parker and WR Will Fuller. Are they getting closer to practicing?) – “Yeah they’re both getting closer. Not this week obviously. But both getting closer, both working to get back out there as soon as they can. I know that you guys hear that from me all the time but that’s just the truth. We’ll just take it day-to-day and see what it looks like next week.”
(WR Preston Williams has had few catches this year. Are you seeing the same receiver he was before he had the two significant injuries he’s had each of the last two years?) – “Physically, yeah he looks the same. He’s been out quite a bit so those fundamentals, those techniques – those fundamentals, you have to work to get those back, which he’s done. He’s still working to get all those fundamentals back. I think he’s in a good place right now and I’m anxious to see what this looks like in the second half of the season over these last six games.”
(We know how productive DT Zach Sieler is per snap. Have you and Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark talked about maybe getting him in a little more? Obviously, you have a lot of depth and talented guys there and you want to keep guys fresh. But do you think – he’s been generally in the 20-range of snaps, is that a good number for him?) – “Yeah, that’s a conversation that we’ve certainly had. Maybe get him eight to 10 more snaps. We kind of combine that with maybe taking eight to 10 snaps off of somebody else. You mentioned it that we’ve got a few guys there that we like. I think Zach has done a good job with the snaps that he’s been given and we’re always going to do what we feel is best for the team. If playing Zach more is what’s best for the team, we’ll do that. But I like the role he’s in right now. He’s been productive in that role. But yeah, we’ve had those conversations, certainly.”
