Brian Flores – August 26, 2020
Download PDF version
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I wanted to ask you about having practice officials out there yesterday and kind of the benefits of those guys out there for you and for especially the rookies with no preseason, just kind of getting them used to the NFL game.) – “Yeah, I thought it was great to have the officials out there and get more of a live, real look at what the game atmosphere would be like. As you would imagine in a training camp setting, there’s a lot of chatter about ‘that would have been a foul,’ or ‘this would have been holding,’ or ‘this would have been pass interference.’ It was good to get them out there. I tried to talk to the players about not worrying about the officials and moving onto the next play, so it was nice to let them call it, let them handle it and whether you agree or disagree, we just have to move on. There’s also just some things that we could have done better. We had a couple of delay of games yesterday. There was a potentially close 12-men in the huddle (situation). Those are penalties that we can take care of ourselves as long as we’re paying attention to detail and we’re, as a coaching staff and as players, on top of things. It’s always great to have the officials and to have a game-like atmosphere. It really felt like football.”
(I just wanted to get your thoughts on what your philosophy would be in the organization about draft picks. You could have obviously held onto DE Curtis Weaver for another year with another administrative decision. How do you view draft picks? And some teams might hold onto them longer than others. In your view, if you have a feeling on a player right away, is that enough to move on?) – “There’s a lot that goes into that question. Obviously draft picks are very valuable but every situation is a little bit different. I liked Weaver. I thought he was a good player. I thought he had some potential. But his situation – like I said yesterday, when we make these decisions, there’s a lot of things that go into them that, quite frankly, you guys don’t know much about – whether it’s the injury itself, salary cap implications, depth at the position, next year’s draft. There’s 10 different things there. We make the decision that we feel is best for the organization. Obviously there’s a lot of – when we make a selection, we feel good about it then and the transactions that happen after that, we live with them and we move on.”
(On that DE Curtis Weaver situation, like you said there’s stuff that maybe we don’t know or aren’t as informed on as you. I wanted to ask, can you kind of educate us on the rule on maybe why you decided to go injured/waived rather than putting him on IR directly?) – “I understand the question; but look, we waived/injured Curtis Weaver. He was claimed. I wish him all the best. He’s a good kid. He had a great time here; but I’m more focused on the team today and trying to improve and trying to get better. We’ll basically leave it at that.”
(I’m curious about your evaluation of the running game and the running backs, in particular. How do you evaluate running backs in a situation where maybe the tackling isn’t necessarily live, and how would you evaluate your running back room so far through seven days of camp?) – “I think there’s a lot of competition in that room with Jordan (Howard), with (Matt) Breida, (Myles) Gaskin, (Kalen) Ballage, (Patrick) Laird and Chandler Cox. I think there’s a lot of competition in that room and guys each have their own unique skillset. It’s been a physical camp. Obviously we’re not taking them to the ground but there is contact defensively on our offensive and defensive lines, so you get a pretty good feel for who is getting yards, who would break what tackle. But at the running back position, are they making the right cut? I think each guy has had some good moments, has had some not-so-good moments. We’re all kind of getting better after each rep. The blocking, from a protection standpoint, has been good for the most part, at least as far as knowing who to block and where to go. In the pass game, I think they’re doing a good job in the pass game as well. It’s a good group, a lot of competition. We just still have seven training camp – I don’t know what day it is – seven or eight training camp padded days left, and they’ll keep competing.”
(What was your reaction to the Detroit Lions protest yesterday and how much discussion was there with your team about staging some type of protest in response to the shooting in Wisconsin?) – “Well, I know (Lions Head Coach) Matt (Patricia) very well – and (Lions General Manager) Bob Quinn over there in Detroit. They’re great friends. (I have) a lot of respect for them and that organization. A lot of history with that organization. I know a lot of the players there. Their protest, I have a lot of respect for what they did there; but our focus is on us and what we’re doing here and practice. Yeah, we had some conversations about that. We’ve had conversations about the many injustices that have gone on, in our locker room, with this team. We’ll continue to do so. As far as what they’re doing in Detroit, we respect it. We respect their organization.”
(CB Byron Jones was a pretty big acquisition this offseason. What have you thought of his camp so far in terms of how he’s getting acclimated to new surroundings, new teammates and obviously the personnel?) – “I think he’s done a good job; but as you put it, he’s getting acclimated. I think the heat down here for a lot of players is something you’ve got to get acclimated to. I know when I showed up here, it was something I had to get acclimated to as well. I think he’s doing a good job. I think practices have been competitive between he, DeVante (Parker), Preston (Williams), Jakeem (Grant) – really that receiver/DB competition that’s gone on there has been good. Byron’s a good player. I think he’s improving every day. He’ll continue to improve. He puts the work in. He’s very diligent. Obviously it’s a new system. He’s still learning some of the nuances within the system, but I think he’s progressing well.”
(Without live action, it’s hard to judge or assess or maybe I’m wrong, the run game and what’s happening in the trenches. Do you feel like you need a live period and maybe a scrimmage? And if you do plan to have a scrimmage, when do you think is the right time for that and how many can you handle before the season?) – “You really want to see some live tackling. (laughter)”
(Oh, I do. I do, absolutely.) – “It’s very evident. (laughter) That’s something we talk about on a daily basis. Look, the health of the team is the most important thing. Maybe at some point we’ll get some live tackling. I think, at least I can evaluate the run game without live tackling and get a sense of whether or not we’re getting yardage or not getting yardage. But again, I think it’s something that as a staff, we’ll talk about. As far as the live tackling in the scrimmage, we’re actually going to go to the stadium and practice on Saturday. We may have live tackling there; we may not. We’ll see then.”
(Obviously you guys lost some reps at that slot receiver position with WR Albert Wilson and WR Allen Hurns opting out. I wanted to see what your comfort level is with that particular position and if you see WR Jakeem Grant as an option to maybe get some of those reps inside.) – “I think there’s a lot of competition at the receiver position. As far as a slot, we’ve had a few guys working in there. We’ve had some of the outside receivers working there, as well. DeVante (Parker) has been in there a little bit. Preston (Williams) has been in there a little bit. Jakeem, like you mentioned – Isaiah Ford, I think he’s done a good job in there, Jakeem as well. I think there’s a lot of competition at that position. We’re going to bring – let’s call it the five, six or seven best guys, that we feel are going to help us win and will be productive and block and do things in the kicking game and do things in the slot. I think that whole group has done well. Jakeem is part of that. You mentioned him specifically and he’s part of that, as well. I think they’re all working and all competing.”
