Brian Flores – August 18, 2020
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Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(What type of growth do you hope to see from WR DeVante Parker this year and what are the areas where he can improve his game and contributions to the team?) – “Obviously DeVante had a solid year last year. What I liked about him over the course of the offseason, virtual meetings, it just seemed like he was – I know he was working extremely hard from a conditioning standpoint, catching balls, route-running. I’m hoping to see improvements in all of those areas – catching the football, route-running, obviously it’s a new offense so understanding his position and a few different positions offensively. I think he’s done a good job. I think we’re still in the early stages here. I think he’s feeling more comfortable within the offense and he just needs to keep stringing good days together. I’m very pleased with DeVante thus far.”
(I know you want competition everywhere on the roster. I’m wondering where you see the most interesting competitions in the roster and does that involve rookies?) – “I would say it certainly involves the rookies. I think there are – we brought in some free agents, we brought in some rookies, we have some holdovers from last year, so I think there’s a lot of competition on the team – o-line, d-line, secondary, receivers, quarterback, running back. We tried to create a situation where there was competition everywhere, like you said. I’m anxious to see who rises to the top at all positions. It will be a good two weeks here in pads – three weeks – so 14 padded days (and) we have 13 left. I thought yesterday was a good day of fundamentals and technique, running the football, getting in and out of the huddle, communication. I thought the guys did a good job from that standpoint. Hopefully we’ll build on that. From a competition standpoint, we want it at every position. We feel like we kind of created a situation where there would be a lot of competition. The guys we feel best about are the guys who are going to play; but we have a long way to go until we get there. Well, not a long ways. It’s right around the corner.”
(I wanted to ask you about S Eric Rowe and the decision last year to move him to safety. How was it received from his end and how do you look back on it now? Is that one of the best moves you can recall making as a coach?) – “Well, Eric is a team guy. That wasn’t my decision. That was actually (Defensive Coordinator) Josh Boyer’s idea. It was something that he thought would be a good fit for Eric. He’s coached Eric. He’s spent a lot of time with him and obviously Josh felt like – we had a conversation about him. It wasn’t a thought I had. He had been playing corner really his entire career and I thought it was an interesting move, so we made it. There were some bumps early on but Eric worked at it, he watched a lot of film (and) he improved over the course of last season. He’s still early at the position. He’s still pretty new at that position but you could see some growth there even in these early stages of training camp. From a communication standpoint, playing corner and safety is very different. There’s still some things that he can improve on from that standpoint, but he does a lot of good things. Hopefully we can build on some of the things we did a year ago and continue to improve the fundamentals and techniques, the tackling, the communication at the safety position. We’re pleased with Eric, as well.”
(Whether it’s a long way to go or right around the corner, Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey and Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer definitely have their roles to play in helping you lead this team. What can you say from their work that they’ve done so far to let you know that they were the right moves to make for your coaching staff this offseason?) – “It’s Chan, Josh, (Special Teams Coordinator) Danny Crossman, it’s the entire coaching staff. There’s no one person on a team that is the reason behind good, bad or ugly. It’s a team effort. We try to talk to the players about that. With there being 11 guys on the field, it’s the same as the coaching staff. Obviously Chan, Josh, Danny – they’re the leaders of offense, defense and special teams. I think they all do a really good job – and have done that thus far – of trying to implement a scheme under the current circumstances and teach the fundamentals, teach the techniques, teach the basic terminology – offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. The virtual period was good but now getting them out on the field for walkthroughs and practice and seeing it live and seeing who can learn and who learns better in the classroom – does it translate to the field? Some have been better from in the classroom – they weren’t as good in the classroom and they’re better on the field; and some guys, it was better in the classroom and it doesn’t look as good on the field. We’ve just got to work through it. Every player is a little bit different. I think Chan, Josh and Danny have a good grasp of trying to figure out the best way that each individual player learns, and trying to find the best 11 guys or combination of players. I think they work at it. They work extremely hard at it. Obviously I’m part of those conversations; but yeah, I’m pleased with those guys.”
(With the pandemic, one of the challenges for players has just been to stay in shape, and now you’ve got the limited scheduling in training camp – the limited practice scheduling. How satisfied and how comfortable are you with your team’s conditioning given all of this?) – “There’s always room for improvement but I would say by and large, most of these guys came in in fairly good condition. Obviously there’s some guys who need some extra conditioning and need to work at it. I’ve been – I don’t know if you want to call it surprised, but I think for the most part, I think these guys are working. I think they were working in their garages, wherever they could during the quarantine. But we still have a long way to go. We do. A lot of that is – for us as coaches, let’s make sure we’re hydrating. Let’s make sure we’re (using the) cold tubs and hot tubs and doing all of the things off the field correctly, so that we can get out there and practice and work the fundamentals and techniques and get better. There’s a lot this year. Let’s do a good job off the field from a protocol standpoint as far as wearing a mask and distancing and trying to quarantine as much as you can; but it’s also from a football standpoint, let’s hydrate, let’s stretch, let’s do some extra conditioning on your own. I think they all understand that there was no offseason program. We didn’t have OTAs or minicamp. Specifically for the young guys, this will be the least amount of practice or OTAs probably in NFL history for these rookies – for any rookie class. Just knowing that and understanding that and putting some extra work in, I think our guys have done that. It’s one thing to do it for two or three days. It’s another thing to string together two to three weeks, months, etc. That’s the goal for us and we’ll continue to hit that as a coaching staff. Hopefully our players will do those things.”
(With CB Xavien Howard still on PUP with the knee injury, given how close the season is, do you have to prepare as if he won’t be ready for you guys Week 1?) – “There’s a lot of competition at that position with Byron (Jones) to Noah (Igbinoghene) to Nik Needham to Jamal Perry to Tae Hayes to Ken Webster. There’s a lot of competition. We’re kind of focused on the guys who are here. Obviously Xavien is one of our top players so we’re hoping to get him back as soon as we can. He’s on COVID/IR right now and we’re just working through the protocols from that standpoint. To answer your question, as of right now, we’re working without him. As far as answering that specific question, yes, we have to. It’s really our only option. But as far as the season goes, we’re really just taking this one day at a time. Yeah, we’re working without ‘X’ right now. When he comes back, that might be a different conversation. I hope that answers your question.”
(RB Malcolm Perry is an intriguing guy to me because of his versatility and his college production. What part of his skillset do you think might translate well to the receiver position?) – “He’s got good quickness. He’s got good hands. He’s an instinctive player. He’s just got good feel for the game. But look, he’s a college quarterback. The receiver position, the running back position, they’re all different. We’re asking him to do a few different things. The techniques, the fundamentals, playing at this level for a rookie against a higher level of competition, getting used to that, getting used to the speed of the game – all of those things, that’s kind of what he’s going through and really all of the rookies are going through right now. I think so far he’s done a good job, but we really have a long way to go in a short amount of time. He’s doing a good job but he loves to play. He loves to compete. There’s a lot of things we like about him. We’ll see how this shakes. Obviously there’s a lot of competition in the wide receiver room as well.”
(You’re really good at challenging guys and getting the most out of them by pushing buttons. What do you have to do with WR DeVante Parker this year to make sure it’s not just a one-year wonder with him?) – “With DeVante, I don’t really have to push many buttons. He’s a self-starter. He’s self-motivated. He’s a competitive guy. I think he pushes himself and occasionally I’ll find the right buttons to push. For him, there really aren’t many. That’s been my experience over the last 18 months. I like where he’s at. If I feel like he needs a nudge, I’ll give it to him. I don’t have a problem doing that. He’s a motivated young man. I don’t – there are other players who may need a nudge. He’s one who competes every day.”
(I wanted to ask you about S Kavon Frazier. He was a late addition to the team. We saw him out there yesterday working with a prominent group. What is your vision for him and what does he add to the defense?) – “Well, Kavon we got as a free agent. He played in Dallas. He’s tough, he’s fast, he’s had a lot of production in the kicking game. I liked him coming out of college. (He’s) smart. He’s done a good job thus far. He’s a physical player. Right now, we’re working a lot of guys in a lot of different groups, just trying to find the right combination of players. He’s shown up positively so far in the OTAs and the walkthroughs and now one padded practice. I’m happy with where he’s at and hopefully we can continue to grow and improve over the course of training camp. He has some experience in this league, provides some leaderships – or has the potential to provide some leadership. We’re pleased with him as well.”
