Brian Flores – August 8, 2021
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Sunday, August 8, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(We just got the news that you guys re-worked CB Xavien Howard’s contract. Can you talk to us a little bit about the process and what this two-week or multiple-month journey has been for the team and for “X?”) – “We’re excited. I’ve been up here multiple times saying we’ve been making progress. (You guys) were asking me question after question about progress. We were making progress. I know you guys probably felt like we were – or I wasn’t giving you all the information, which I wasn’t; but we were working on it. I’m not going to give you guys the details, but we’re excited to have gotten this done and we are just looking forward to continually improving with ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) and really his teammates on a day-to-day basis and just try to build and get better offensively, defensively and in the kicking game.”
(Do you feel like this is a Band-Aid or this is a solution that will take you throughout the length of the contract?) – “We’re excited to have ‘X.’ He’s obviously a very good player, a good teammate. You can see that by the way his teammates support him and look, I’m a one-day-at-a-time guy, so that’s how we’re going to approach things. And any negotiation – I think compromise is important, which we talked about the other day. And at the end of the day, we want all sides to be happy. We feel like that’s the case right now and that’s how we’ll move forward.”
(When this thing first started to unravel, what was your level of concern given that CB Xavien Howard was your MVP last year?) – “Look, like you said, he’s a very good player. We want him back. We wanted him here. We want him here and he’s here, and we’re excited to have him. So the level of concern was – I can’t say that there was much level of concern. I think Chris (Grier), Brandon (Shore), ‘X’s’ representation; there was always communication, so like I said a few weeks ago, I think any time there are lines of communication that are open – there’s dialogue, there’s concessions, compromise, whatever you want to call it on both sides which obviously on our side there was definitely some concessions – and you do that on a case-by-case basis with certain players. In this instance, we felt like we were doing – we’re always going to do what we feel is best for the team and we’re excited to have him.”
(You had previously talked about not setting precedent. Is this not a precedent?) – “I think every situation is different. That’s the case in football. I think there’s instances where there’s some defenses you wouldn’t run or plays you would run and then you can run them with certain players or certain coaches or schemes or whatever it maybe. So I think it’s case-by-case. It’s situation-by-situation and in this instance we felt – I would say in any instance we’re going to do what we feel is best for the team and something we think at the end of the day will help us.”
(Should we assume CB Xavien Howard will be a full participant in practice?) – “He is – obviously was dealing with the ankle which was day-to-day. He practiced yesterday, practiced the day before. We’re probably still going to be on a modified kind of process here and work him back in. That’s the case with him and some other players as you guys have seen and noted throughout training camp. That’s how we’ll move forward with him.”
(There was a report this morning from Michael Lombardi – you know the former Patriots executive – saying the Dolphins are calling around looking for offensive line depth. Is that accurate? Are you happy with the depth you have right now behind the group that’s been getting both the first-team snaps?) – “Yeah, we’re happy with the guys we have. Like always I’m not going to get into conversations that we have with other teams, but I think we’ve got good depth along the offensive line. But look, this time of year, there’s conversations that are had on a daily basis about players offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. Those conversations will only pick up moving forward. It’s that time of the year. I’m not sure that’s big news. I think that’s just the time of year it is. Everyone is kind of having conversations as we get into preseason games. I was a scout. I went to those preseason games and was looking for offensive tackles, offensive guards, defensive tackles, safeties. I’m timing the long snappers to just see if there’s anyone that you feel like is going to get cut loose that could potentially help your team. I’m not sure if that’s big, big news. I think everyone’s looking for different ways to improve their team and we’re definitely part of that. We’re no different than any other team.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle yesterday – he’s got a compression sleeve on his right calf and he seemed to be – I know we’ve gone through this before – a little bit of a limp or modified walk. Is there an injury that is a concern with him? Still looks fast.) – “I think after nine practices – nine training camp practices – he’s a rookie. It’s his first time kind of going through it at this level, at these speeds. I know he went to a great (school) – Alabama – they’ve got a lot of great players, but it’s his first time in this environment. I would just kind of chalk it up to soreness and he’ll be out there today and we’ll just take it one day at a time, try to get better and that’s the case – we’ve got a lot of guys who are sore and tired and they’re pushing through and working hard and we’ll push through again today.”
(You spoke about WR Jaylen Waddle’s toughness before, that’s really one thing you guys liked about him. Even trying to play in the championship game.) – “Yeah. He’s a tough kid. It’s important to him. He’ll push through – let’s call it minor bruises, soreness, give us what he’s got. But again, it’s training camp. We’re going to be sore; we’re going to be tired. That’s part of building the mental toughness of the team as well.”
(Is WR Jaylen Waddle one of the kids you have to drag off the field?) – “Yeah. We’ve got a lot of guys like that though. We’ve got a lot of guys who want to be out there, it’s important to them, who want to compete. He’s no different. I think he’s done a nice job so far but still a long way to go.”
(With WR Lynn Bowden Jr., where is his development in this offense? I know he’s primarily working with the second team. He’s kind of in that jet sweep role. What progress did you expect to see from him in the second year of this offense?) – “Like any other second-year player, just more comfortable with just the National Football League – the schedule, obviously this area and how we do things. The conditioning we want our payers to be in, the level of execution we’re looking for, alignment, assignment, responsibility, the things that really have nothing to do with athletic ability. We want that be 100 percent. It’s not all the time, but that’s the goal. Those are the things I know Lynn in his second year understands and I think he’s doing a nice job of taking care of those little things. I think like we tell all the players – and it’s not just me but it’s our support staff, coaching staff and everyone in the organization – if you just continue taking care of all of the little things, some of the bigger things that everyone talks about, they normally come to fruition. But it starts with taking care of those little things.”
(Could you say what CB Noah Igbinoghene needs to improve on?) – “There are techniques, fundamentals – but this is for everyone, not specific to Noah. Leverage, footwork, hand placement, where is your help and use your help. You can say that about Solomon Kindley – footwork, hand placement, where is your help, who is your help. You can say that about Tua (Tagovailoa) – go through your progression. If it’s there hit it; if it’s not, check it down. You could say that about some of the veteran players as well. But you asked about Noah and I think he’s making improvement on a daily basis. I think as a young player, there is always a lot to learn. There is still more to learn. He’s tried to be a sponge with some of the older players. I think he’s on the right track and we’ll keep working with him and get him better.”
(In regards with the 53-man roster, let’s just say hypothetically receiver six vs. tight end four. How do you and your staff and General Manager Chris Grier and upstairs balance whether or not their production on offense or defense, how do you weigh that compared to what they produce on special teams when it comes to those decisions?) – “Once you said 53, you were way out there. (laughter) That’s like years away to me right now. But yeah, all of those are conversations we’ll have when we need to have those conversations. Right now, it’s about today, today’s practice and meetings, after practice, make those corrections. We’ll go a few days out – we’ll go to Chicago this week and practice against them and make some evaluations where – yeah, six receivers, tight ends, special teams, how we handle that, the performance in practice and games, will play into the decisions we make when we get to the 53, which feels like – I know it’s close. I know it’s not that far out. But when you take a one day at a time approach, it’s really not something that’s on the radar. But yeah, there are a lot of conversations that are had, whether it’s six – how many tight ends, how many receivers, how many DBs, how many linebackers, how many quarterbacks. All of those conversations are had and we’ll have them. I’m not saying we won’t have them, but right now we’re focused on today.”
(What was your playing weight at Boston College and what is it now?) – “Playing weight at BC, senior year? 218.”
(Now?) – “Want to take a guess?”
(218?) – “219. (laughter)”
(You probably heard the news this morning about Bobby Bowden. Did you have any encounters with him? Did you know him at all?) – “I didn’t. I didn’t hear the news.”
(He passed away.) – “Well, that’s extremely – my condolences to his family. Obviously a tremendous coach, leader, impacted a lot of young men. Man, I’m kind of going back to the Florida State, Peter Warrick days. Warrick Dunn. I’m kind of thinking about those teams just off the top of my head. I’ve never had any encounters with him and I’ve never met him, but I know a lot of people are sad. I know the impact that football coaches have on players, on coaches. I know it’s a sad day for really the football world. I didn’t know that. My condolences to his family and to all the people who were impacted by him.”
