Brian Flores – August 19, 2021
Download PDF version
Thursday, August 19, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(With the T Greg Little pick-up a couple days ago, was the thinking for you and General Manager Chris Grier that we need more depth on the offensive line, this is a guy who can come in and compete? Or was it the case that maybe this guy can come in here and challenge to be a starter here? I know you have invested in T Austin Jackson.) – “We have some familiarity with him from the draft a couple years ago. (It was an) opportunity to get a young player, come in and compete. Look, it’s a new environment and new locker room. He’s got to learn the playbook. He’s got to learn his teammates. He’s got to figure out the surroundings here in our building and this area. The message to him is let’s take it one day at time, let’s try to improve, get better, learn the system, get to know your coaches, get to know the players on the team, figure out where the bathrooms are, figure out where the meeting rooms are, figure out where 595 is. That’s kind of where we’re at right now. We’ll take it one day at a time and just try to improve and get better. We will coach him up and see where it goes. We’re happy to add him. My conversation with him was very good. He’s excited to be here and excited for the opportunity to compete.”
(When you evaluated T Greg Little in college, what were a couple things he seemed to have going for him?) – “We had a 30-visit with him so we sat down and talked to him. There was some good rapport there. As far as his love for the game and passion about working and getting better. Obviously on film, he’s athletic and has size. He was competitive on film. We are happy to have him but look, this is a process. We will just take it one day at a time and try to improve and get better.”
(Any decision on how you’ll manage snaps for the veterans for the final preseason game? Will it be that dress rehearsal?) – “That meeting is tonight. We are trying to get through – well not get through, but have a good practice today against Atlanta. I expect most guys to play but as far as how much and who exactly, we will talk more in depth about that tonight. We’ve had some, lets call it early conversations, about that. But that’s a meeting for tonight. Right now we are just focused on this practice against Atlanta.”
(Falcons Head Coach Arthur Smith said yesterday that he didn’t have a great deal of familiarity with you before going into this offseason. From afar what were your thoughts on him as a coach and why was it appealing to have this with him?) – “We’ve gotten to know each other pretty recently. From afar, (I have) a great deal of respect for him. I think just in meeting with him and having conversations with him over the last few months about these joint practices, I’ve seen he’s a guy who’s tough, who’s smart, who’s competitive, who loves to coach, who is team first, who is humble, down to earth, very bright. I think he’s an excellent teacher watching him out there yesterday. I think he’s an excellent teacher, excellent coach. I understand why he had so much success in Tennessee and why he’s been granted the opportunity to be the head coach of the Falcons. (I have) a lot of respect for him and hopefully we can continue this professional relationship. Yesterday was good and we talked about the practice and the competition in the practice and how we both felt good about the structure and the things we were able to get done and the conversations we were able to have with our teams. (I have) a lot of respect for Arthur and I look forward to working with him and his team today.”
(I wanted to ask you about being a 30-something first-time head coach coming from a coordinator level. What advice can you give him?) – “I’m 40 now, are you trying to get that out there? (laughter) This year they’ve been asking about my weight, my age now. (laughter) Arthur, he’s very bright, very organized. I think he’s just going to continue to do the things he’s done in the past. I think he’s going to be himself and he’s going to be just fine.”
(Through your two-plus years here you have not been afraid about turning some things over on the team. You’ve gone through some coordinators, some players. Do you think that sends a message to the players?) – “I think we try to do what we feel is best for the organization. I don’t know if having a Boston guy in here is that. (laughter) We’re always going to do what we try to feel is best for the organization – for the team, for the organization. That’s always going to be the case. I preach that we need to be team-first. I think when we are making decisions – myself, Chris (Grier), our coaching staff – for anyone who comes into the building, we want to make those decisions with the best of the organization in mind. We are going to continue to do that.”
(QB Matt Ryan said yesterday that he was joking with you about the 2003 Boston College days and not to treat him hard like that. What do you remember most about those days and practicing against him?) – “I remember he was a very good player. I was a senior when he was a freshman, so he was a very good player right off the bat. He was carving us up as a scout team player and we wanted him out of there. That’s the true story. (laughter) I’m sure that’s the one that’s more believable here too. He’s had an incredible career. He’s a good friend. It’s just been a joy to watch him grow, get drafted and have the success he’s had. I’ll tell you this, he’s a better person than he is a player. That’s the one thing about him that I’ve always had a great deal of respect and admiration for him because of that. I think he’s a great ambassador for Boston College, I think he’s a great ambassador for this league as well. Nothing but respect for him but when we step in between those white lines, we’re trying to go after him.
(With your running backs, which one do you think has separated themselves the most from the rest of the room at this point in camp?) – “We like all our backs. They’re all a little bit different. They all have the ability to play multiple downs. We are going to try to use them all. From Malcolm (Brown) to Myles (Gaskin) to Salvon (Ahmed). Patrick Laird has gone in there and done some good things. (Jordan) Scarlett has gone in there, he had a couple good runs last week. (Gerrid) Doaks has gone in there and had some good runs. We try to use them all.”
(What does that do to an opposing defense when you can give them guys with different skillsets and multiple looks? How does that compare when that person is just a …) – “I think every back has got a little different skillset. If you got a big back and he’s more of an inside runner, that’s what you’re ready for defensively. If on the next play you’ve got a fast guy who is going towards the perimeter, then your edge guy has got to set the edge. If you have somebody that is good out of the backfield and they’re going to line him up in empty, then you have to be ready for that too. Offensively, we have the ability to move those chess pieces and each guy has shown themselves to be dependable when they’ve been in there. To me, that’s a big thing. If you’re a dependable player and you’re going to be where you need to be and be productive when called on, you will probably get an opportunity to play here.”
(What is WR Jaylen Waddle giving you compared to what you thought you were getting when you drafted him?) – “Jaylen is a tough, smart kid. Football is important to him. Improvement is important to him. He’s a good teammate. He’s as excited about someone else making a catch or having a good run or a good block as anything he does. There’s a selflessness there. We knew that. It’s been fun working with him. He’s still got a long way to go. He’s a rookie. He’s still getting used to practicing in this league and the competition in this league. These preseason games, these joint practices, are good for him and really all of our rookies. I’ve been very pleased with him.”
(Where have you seen the most improvement in WR Jaylen Waddle over the last three weeks?) – “For all the rookies, I think when you come into this type of environment, all of it is so new. I think creating a routine for yourself and learning how to be a professional and what that is. For all of them – you asked specifically about Jaylen Waddle – but learning or figuring out a routine for yourself that’s going to help you perform at the best of your capabilities. I think that’s something all of our rookies are still trying to figure that out. Do I cold tub after practice? Do I get a massage on my off day? Do I get in the cryo chamber? They’re listening; they’re taking the coaching. We’re coaching them up. I know you talked specifically about Jaylen but Jaylen in particular is just trying to find the best things and asking a lot of questions about the best ways to keep his body healthy and keep his mind healthy so that he can go out there and perform.”
(Having missed some time, how close is CB Xavien Howard to returning to his peak form?) – “It’s hard to get into peak form without games, I would say. Even in Week 1, no one will have played 60-70 snaps. Even if you call a dress rehearsal – let’s say if we did that in the preseason, it’s not going to be four quarters or else everyone would be yelling at me to take the guy out. Peak performance, you can get close but there is no way to mimic a 60-minute football game unless you do it. I think the first time out is different than the sixth, seventh, eighth time out. So if you’re talking midseason form, I think midseason form is midseason.”
(What are you looking forward to about being back at Hard Rock Stadium?) – “I’m excited to get back into our home stadium. I’m excited to see the fans, for sure. I think that was the first thing that came to mind, especially with last year. We had fans but it was capped at maybe 13 or 14,000. I think compared to some other places it felt like it was 113,000. I’m excited to play in front of our fans. I think we have a great fan base, a supportive fan base and we are excited to get in front of them. We love feeling their support and I would say that’s the No. 1 thing.”
(With this being your only preseason game, do you view this as a way to get ready for the regular season in terms of your coaching staff and players getting used to the stadium and the locker room?) – “We’ll walk through. There are a lot of guys who have haven’t been over there. We’ll go over there. Hey, we park here. Locker room is here. Training room is here. Weight room is here. This is our sideline. That’s the play clock. That’s the game clock. We’ll go through that. I think you have to do it. To assume that these guys know exactly where all that stuff, where to go, I think you make assumptions and we know what happens. From that standpoint, we are going to try to do as much as we can to make game day as comfortable and seamless as possible knowing full well that the first time out there is always going to be something with a tablet or a headset or whatever it may be.”
