Brian Flores – December 29, 2021
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Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I’m sure you heard the news yesterday that legendary coach John Madden passed away. I wanted to start off getting your thoughts on his career, his legacy and how many football generations he touched.) – “It’s a sad day for a lot of people, for the game of football. As far as legacy and impact and the amount of people and lives that he touched not only as a coach, but as a person, as a husband, as a father. I think he’s up there on the Mount Everest of coaching and obviously he had a great career as a coach and as a color commentator. From all the things that I’ve heard – I never met him – he’s a better human being. It’s a huge loss for the sport and really for everyone, so a sad day.”
(So you began the day with 14 players on the COVID list. Are any coming off in time for practice today?) – “Yeah – Cethan Carter, Justin Coleman, Robert Jones, Greg Mancz, Duke Riley will all be back.”
(I know Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman really didn’t want to go into this a lot yesterday, but with WR Jaylen Waddle obviously you have a great returner, someone who did very well at that at Alabama. You opted not to use him in that role Monday when you had WR Tommylee Lewis available. Is the thinking that you want to protect him, conserve his energy because of his vital role on offense at this point in the season?) – “There’s a lot that goes into all decisions. We always want to do what’s best for the team. Rosters – as you know, because you’re on top of this – have been very fluid and moving these last few weeks. With Jaylen (Waddle) coming off of COVID and a litany of moves that have been made really across the league, that factored in. We’ll always do what we feel is best and these obviously last couple of weeks – one because of COVID or really both because of COVID – we opted to go with Tommylee and we’ll see how it goes this week.”
(Now that we’re into the last two games of the regular season, what does experience tell you about the best way to approach a playoff stretch run? Is your coaching style and approach with the players absolutely the same as any other week and for that matter, the sense you get from the players in terms of things like intensity and focus and all of that, does any of that change or is this as normal a week as possible?) – “I’d like to think it’s as normal a week as possible. Preparation is always at a high level – our effort, our communication, always trying to be at the top of our game from that standpoint. I think this week we’ve got a great challenge in the Titans – a well-coached team, a tough, a physical team really on all three sides of the ball. So our preparation has got to be at a high level. They’ve got a lot of good players really on both sides of the ball and in the kicking game so it’ll be a big test for us.”
(I think you mentioned yesterday Titans DT Jeffery Simmons up front. I’m curious what your thoughts are on his pressure in the interior and why he’s been so good at that this year.) – “This is one of the most impressive guys I’ve seen this year. One of the top – I would say one of the top defensive players in the league. Big, strong, physical, high motor, tough to block, tough to double. But they’ve got a lot of good players on their front really across the board – (Bud) Dupree, Rashaan Evans, Zach Cunningham they claimed from the Texans. They’ve got a lot of good players in the back end as well, offensively as well. It’s a good team, a well-coached team. But (Jeffery) Simmons is definitely at the forefront.”
(If I could briefly follow up, I know a lot of times in this league we talk about the edge rushers. What sort of difference does it make when you have an interior guy who maybe is putting pressure on your guards and centers play to play?) – “Yeah, I mean there’s no pocket to step up in. That’s hard, which he does a good job of creating push up the middle and then if you can’t step up, then you go out and they have good edge rushers as well. We have our hands full with this front. We’ve got to do a good job across the board and obviously he’s a big part of that.”
(Could you assess QB Tua Tagovailoa’s play on Monday night? What you saw from reviewing the film and what it’ll take from him against this Titans defense and the challenges they present?) – “He’s going to have to do a good job from a preparation standpoint – a great job from a preparation standpoint – of getting to know their defensive players, their front, their second-level players. Obviously their DBs. We have to make good decisions with the football. Obviously it’s going to be a loud and tough environment so we’ve got to deal with that as well, but it’s not just Tua. It’s our entire offense. It’s everyone – o-line, running backs, tight ends, receivers. We need to have everyone to prepare the right way. That starts today in meetings. Have a good walkthrough, have good practices and give ourselves an opportunity to have success in the game.”
(I know you guys obviously have played in cold before, but I looked at the temperature on Sunday. It’s supposed to be in the 20s, maybe a little snow. What do you do maybe to get your guys prepped for that inclement December playoff football?) – “Put some thermals on, put a hoodie on and get out there. I don’t think we can cool up the indoor facility to those temperatures so we’ll get out there, put a sweatshirt on and get some hand warmers if that’s what you need. Look, when you’re out there on the field, your energy levels are up. Obviously we expect an intense, physical 60-minute ballgame so when you’re out there, I think guys will be fine and there’s heated benches or I’m sure we’ll have something like that, too.”
