Brian Flores – August 2, 2021
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Monday, August 2, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(On free safety – just your thinking on how S Jevon Holland has looked so far and also obviously you have a background with DB Jason McCourty. What made you feel like he’d be an effective safety at this point in his career? Obviously he’s played some in the past but mostly corner for you and for others.) – “Jevon (Holland) – I think he’s doing some good things. Obviously it’s still very early in training camp. We’ll have him put the pads on; but up to this point, just from an alignment, assignment, responsibility standpoint, he’s moving in the right direction. Smart kid. He’s hard-working. Football is important to him. He’s trying to take in as much as he can. He’s really, I would say, trying to be a sponge with these veteran players. You mentioned Jason (McCourty), but also (Eric) Rowe, Byron (Jones), ‘X’ (Xavien Howard). He’s doing a good job from that standpoint. As far as Jason (McCourty) – yes, I obviously have some familiarity with him. I was there with him one year. More familiarity with his brother, but he’s a smart, tough, experienced (player). He’s got leadership qualities and I think – obviously you mentioned he’s played safety in the past – he’s played the position in the past, so it’s not the first time he’s done it. I think he’s done a good job so far along with Eric Rowe and the rest of the guys in that safety crew – Brandon Jones, ‘Fej’ (Clayton Fejedelem), etc. We’re pleased with all the guys and hopefully we can continue to string good days together.”
(I wanted to ask you about the players that are out because they’re on the COVID list. And obviously these are new rules. We’re still trying to figure these rules out, but technically because they’re not testing on a regular basis, players and people who are vaccinated can contract COVID and spread COVID. Is that a concern of yours that maybe one week somebody can come in contact with COVID and by the time he’s tested again in two weeks, the virus could be possibly spread more rampantly throughout your team?) – “I think it’s something the entire league is dealing with and we’re going to follow league protocols. I think just common courtesy is if you have any symptoms, whether you’re supposed to test 10 days from now, you should probably test. I think that’s just (common courtesy). We’ve mentioned that to players and really anyone in the building. That’s really kind of the case throughout the league. But we’re going to follow league protocols. You mentioned we’ve had to put guys in the tight end group on the COVID list and we’ll make our adjustments as a staff as far as who’s practicing where and how we handle that. But yeah, this is something we’ve been dealing with for a year and a half now and I think we’re just going to continue to follow the protocols and do our best with this COVID situation which it’s ongoing. It’s not over.”
(It’s been reported that Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey tested positive for COVID. What can you tell us about his situation and if he is going to be absent today and how that might affect the team and what happens out there on the field and in meetings?) – “George (Godsey) won’t be out there today for medical reasons. Again like I’ve said, I don’t go into people’s medical situation. I think that’s a private matter and individually they can speak for themselves whether it’s vaccination or whatever the situation is. How we’re going to handle that – obviously Eric (Studesville) and the rest of the guys on offense, they’re just going to fill in for the things that George does. We’ve talked about that. We have a plan. We had a plan. This is no different than last year. If I go down, then we’ve got a plan for that. If George goes down, we have a plan for that. If (Josh) Boyer goes down, we have a plan for that. I think that’s the case throughout the league. It’s not just the coaching staff, but really every department because this is not specific to one group. We all have the potential of contracting COVID. We just have to be ready to make adjustments and be flexible as a staff, as an organization and make the best of the situation.”
(Is Godsey the only coach or staffer that you know of at this time that is expected to be absent?) – “Again, I’m not going to go into anyone’s situation. Obviously we have some players who are on the COVID list and we’ll make the adjustments we need to make within our staff specific to the coaching staff or anyone else in our organization.”
(Pads are coming on tomorrow, correct? So what are you looking forward to seeing from linemen or anyone else?) – “Good fundamentals, good technique, good pad level. Again, good communication. I think our overall communication leads to hopefully good execution. That’s really it. I think pads, no pads; now those are things I’m looking for. Good huddle, good communication, get aligned, know your assignment, know your responsibility. Once the pads come on, then we get to see the techniques and fundamentals we work on, on a day-to-day basis, in action in pads. We want those in action out of pads, too; so just more protection for the players. We can be a little bit more aggressive. It’s real football so we’re looking forward to it.”
(I wanted to ask you for some clarity on G/T Jesse Davis. We’ve seen him practice, begin practice, participate in 11-on-11s and then kind of sit out the second half of 11-on-11s. Is it a veteran pacing? Is it injury-related? Is it just coaching decision to look at other guys?) – “It’s probably all those things and Jesse (Davis) is not the only one. We’ve had a few guys kind of – let’s call it ‘take a modified approach to the day’ – I think we have a plan for each player. We try to execute that plan. Obviously there’s reasoning behind why we’re doing what we’re doing. We just feel like that’s in the best interest of Jesse. If we do it with another player, it’s in the best interest of that player.”
(What areas have you seen QB Tua Tagovailoa improve on the most and what are you hoping to see as we move out of the acclimation period into pads with a little more intense level of practice?) – “Tua – I think he’s gotten off to a good start. There’s still a long way to go. It’s still very early. Good command of the offense, his techniques, his QB mechanics, fundamentals, trying to work those every day and get them where they need to be so that his footwork, his timing, that all kind of plays into his accuracy as a passer; but also ball-handling with the backs and things of that nature. I think he’s off to a solid start. It’s still very early. It’s still so early. We’ve got a long way to go. We just need to continue to string good days together. That’s always my message to the team. One meeting, one walkthrough, one practice, one play at a time. He’s taken that approach. We’re seeing small improvements on a daily basis and hopefully that continues. It’s not just Tua. It’s Jacoby (Brissett), it’s Reid (Sinnett), and a lot of players offensively, defensively and the kicking game.”
(Is there any update on CB Xavien Howard regarding his injury or contract status?) – “’X’ – (there was) a little setback on the ankle so we’re going to hold him out today. As far as the contract, we’re continuing to have dialogue with ‘X’ about that. Just take it one day at a time from that standpoint; but I do think we’re moving in the right direction.”
(You’d mentioned last week about collaboration on the offensive side of the ball and coaches working together with one vision. Is there a crossover on the offense to the defense and vice versa? If so, what are the benefits to that?) – “Yes, there is crossover. If you’re an offensive player and understand how the defense is trying to attack you or prevent you from doing what you want to do, if you understand that, then that gives you an advantage. The same thing vice versa. If you’re a defensive player or coach and you understand how the offense is trying to attack you, there are some things you can anticipate. There are some things you can coach your players up on that will hopefully help them either not allow the defense to win or not allow the offense to win. I think it is all encompassing. I talk to our coaching staff and say if you’re a defensive coach, and you can give an offensive player a coaching point, do it. The same thing if you’re an offensive coach and you can give one of our defensive players a coaching point, give it to him. We’re a team. Obviously we’re competing against each other out here on the practice field. I know offense wants to beat defense and defense wants to beat the offense, and when we’re in the kicking game the punt return unit wants to beat the punt team. But at the end of the day, we’re a team; and if there is something we can do to help a player on the other side of the ball, we should do that. And we have. I’ve seen players talk to each other – offensive line, defensive line, receivers, DBs, safeties, quarterback. Some of those conversations, I think you can make a lot of improvement individually just understanding the other side of the ball.”
(I know training camp is a time for experimenting some. With T Liam Eichenberg, we saw him a lot at right tackle in the offseason program. We saw him at left guard on Saturday. Is there conviction that you and Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre and Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey and Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville have where he’s better? Or is it unclear to you whether he’s a long-term NFL guard or a long-term NFL tackle?) – “It’s early. It’s so early. I guess I’m not – I feel like we’re saying the same thing every day. There is no long-term kind of thought here. It’s just one day at a time. I think that position flexibility is important and when you get to a game, you only have eight offensive linemen. If something happens, you have to be ready to move guys to a different spot and you want those players to be ready if they have to move to a different spot. The only way to do that is to practice it. We’ll continue to move guys around. Obviously Jesse (Davis) has played a lot of positions. Rob Hunt has moved around; (Michael) Deiter has moved around. I think we need to do that. Otherwise, if they go in there not ready, you’re going to say we didn’t get them ready. (laughter) It’s just kind of how it goes. We’re going to continue to practice guys at different positions because we feel it’s the best thing for the team.”
(In the vein of offensive players looking at defense and defensive players looking at offense, I know in New England you guys did a lot of cross-training back and forth. Do you have anything set up for that in the offseason where defensive coaches meet with the offensive coaches and there is a dialogue back and forth just to get a better understanding of the other side of the ball?) – “Yeah, it’s constant dialogue amongst the coaching staff that way. Yes, we’ve set a few things up like that to create dialogue, to create conversation. I think it only helps offensive coaches to hear the defensive kind of mindset, thought process, and the same thing for defensive coaches to hear the offensive thought process. I’ve coached on all three sides of the ball. It helped me, I would say that. I can’t speak for anyone else. But it definitely helped me to understand how offenses wanted to attack defenses and conversely how defenses want to attack offenses, and in the kicking game, how to attack a field goal protection and how to attack a punt protection.”
(Is it informal or do you actually set up conversations where there is kind of training exercise?) – “Let’s call it informal. Yeah, let’s call it informal. Formally informal. (laughter)”
