Brian Flores – December 28, 2021
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Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(You’ve gone this long with this current offensive line group. I would presume, correct me if I’m wrong, you’d probably stick with them. How do you think they played last night and is the Tennessee front as strong a group as you’ll face this year?) – “Yeah, Tennessee has got a very good team. They’re well coached, a very good front, linebackers, DBs, backs, receivers, offensive linemen. So they’ve got a good team. But yeah, certainly from a front standpoint. Jeffery Simmons is probably one of the top players in the league. He leads the charge there. They’ve got a lot of good players up front. It’ll be a good challenge for us. I think New Orleans had a good front as well. A lot of good players there. They gave us some issues, some problems, which you would expect against a team with a front like that. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got some corrections to make. We need to play well this week.”
(Is there any roster moves you expect today with COVID, injury list or otherwise?) – “We’re going through the injury situation. We’re still running some tests on a couple of guys. Tommylee (Lewis) is the one we’re still kind of running some tests on him. On the COVID front, like any medical situation, I don’t get into a guy’s medical situation. I’ll leave it at that.”
(I wanted to ask you about turning the page quickly after Monday night and a slightly shorter week. Also as the Titans have had extra days to prepare coming off of a Thursday night game?) – “It’s a quick turnaround. A quick watch of the game last night. Probably a lot of our guys have taken a look at Tennessee and gotten a head start. Definitely a quick turnaround. We’ve got a lot of work to do to get a gameplan put together offensively, defensively and in the kicking game, getting to know their roster, getting to know their players, their coaches. It’s a very good team.”
(I also wanted to ask you about WR A.J. Brown. Without revealing too much obviously, is he a guy that demands a greater variety of looks and coverage than what you may normally allow CB Xavien Howard or CB Byron Jones to handle one-on-one?) – “Yeah, he’s one of the top receivers in the league. I think (Ryan) Tannehill is doing a great job of getting him the football. They’re scheming things up to get it to him, which as they should. His talent level, he is someone we’ve got to pay attention to. They’ve got other receivers, backs, tight ends. And Tannehill is certainly getting him the ball and doing a good job of leading that offense.”
(From Week 9 to the present, you guys have the highest sack rate when rushing four or fewer rushers. I wanted to ask you how you’re able to generate pressure without blitzing and the importance of doing so?) – “I think Josh (Boyer) and our defensive staff have done a nice job of putting together gameplans and putting our guys in good position. You really can’t rush unless you stop the run, so I think we’re doing a good job on early downs trying to get that done. I think opportunities to pressure, there is a lot that’s involved there. I think people just think you put your hand in the dirt and rush the passer, but oftentimes the score dictates it, the situation dictates it. If they are running the ball, then there is no pass rush. If you’re down points then they are more apt to run it, so there is no pass rush. There are a lot of things that go into it. It’s not a seven-on-seven league or just a passing league. As a team, we’ve put ourselves in position where we’ve created some situations where it’s more likely than not that it’s going to be pass. Our guys kind of know and understand that. They work well together to try to beat protections and win on rushes. Credit to the players obviously is No. 1 there.”
(I believe when you first came here, you may have had a month or two crossover with QB Ryan Tannehill here before you guys made a move. I’m curious how you think his game has evolved after he left here now running that offense in Tennessee?) – “He’s a very good player. Good arm, mobile, good command of the offense, makes checks at the line of scrimmage. He’s a very good player.”
(Following up on QB Ryan Tannehill, I remember in 2019 you and General Manager Chris Grier talked about getting together to discuss whether or not to move forward with Ryan or move on. What was your assessment of Ryan and what went into that decision at that time in 2019?) – “Well, 2019 is not really something that is on my mind right now. Like I just said, Ryan Tannehill is a very good player. He’s on the Tennessee Titans, who we are seeing this week. This is a major challenge for us. He can run. He can throw. He’s had a lot of success with them. Really, I’m kind of focused on the guys that are on our team. This is going to be a big challenge so those conversations from 2019 are kind of really far from my mind right now. ‘Vrabes’ (Mike Vrabel) and his staff and his team, this is a tough, physical group really on all three sides and Ryan is a part of that. I think his demeanor, his temperament, the way he goes about things, his toughness, I think that shows on their offense. I think that permeates throughout their team. He’s shown leadership and this is going to be a tough challenge for us.”
(Can I ask a more general follow in terms of your opinion about what’s most important at the quarterback position. Every franchise is seeking a ‘Franchise Quarterback.’ What in your estimation are the most important attributes of the ‘Franchise Quarterback?’) – “Again, another answer for things that are far from my mind. I’m really on the Titans. But toughness, competitiveness, intelligence, leadership. These are kind of like draft questions. But leadership, accuracy, taking care of the football. That’s kind of what I think every team is looking for. Yeah, I think that’s what every team is looking for.”
(What have you seen from WR Jaylen Waddle inside the building behind the scenes that maybe has led to some of the recent statistical success he’s had over the last month or so?) – “Jaylen, I think he’s done a good job really since he got here, since he stepped foot in the building. He’s tough. He’s smart. He’s a sponge as far as wanting to learn the receiver position, defenses, defensive structures. Are they playing me inside leverage, outside leverage, double teams, which he’s starting to see a little bit more of now and how to handle those. He’s talented. He’s got speed. He’s got quickness. He’s got good hands. We’re trying to figure out different ways to get him the ball whether it’s coming out of the backfield, whether he’s running routes just one on one, crossing routes, cross routes, vertical routes. I think he’s done a nice job.”
(I know you mentioned Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel. I’m curious what the dynamic is for you. A guy that you coached early in your career – you guys are a similar age but you coached him. I’m curious what your relationship is and how that may impact how you gameplan for him as a coach?) – “I didn’t coach Vrabel. I would say he probably more coached me as a young guy in New England when he was there and he was a player. He was pretty much a coach on the field then. I certainly didn’t coach him but I have a lot of respect for him. I think his toughness, his acumen, I think that shows up and you see it in the way his team plays. He’s somebody I call a friend. I have a great deal of respect for him and I think they’ve got a lot of guys on their staff who I’ve worked with. Jon Robinson, their general manager. Monti Ossenfort, who is a guy that I kind of came up with in the scouting game. Ryan Cowden. There are a lot of relationships there with the Titans. I think they’ve done a lot of really good things over there building a team, building the culture. A lot of things that we would like to emulate.”
(Obviously you’re concerned with keeping all your players healthy but I’m curious with the end of the regular season approaching and the increased importance of every game moving forward, if you had any plan specifically for your quarterbacks? Like maybe to, I know there’s a team or two that are keeping their QBs separate from the rest of the team. Just wondering if you had any plans for QB Tua Tagovailoa and QB Jacoby Brissett?) – “I think our setup here, everything is virtual so that’s kind of how we are setup now. We are really trying to keep everybody away from everybody as much as we can.”
