Brian Flores – December 12, 2019
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Thursday, December 12, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(When you bring in a couple new players who don’t have NFL regular-season game experience, as is the case with your two new corners – Linden Stephens and Nate Brooks – do you make a decision on giving them a major role purely on how they do Wednesday and Thursday in practice? How they absorb information? Do you consider preseason tape? How difficult is that? What goes into those decisions?) – “A lot goes into it. Just you see how they practice, you see how they – like you said – absorb information. I would say both guys practiced well yesterday. We take it day-to-day. A lot of it has to do with the amount of guys we have at the position. In a lot of instances, if we’ve got an injury at the position or a guy’s banged up or whatever the situation is, sometimes you’ve got to get guys ready quicker than others. A lot goes into. It’s not one thing. How much volume they can handle from an information standpoint, how they look in practice. Yeah, we’ve already gone through all of their snaps – game snaps – so we have a pretty good idea of what they can do. Then you want to see it in practice, as well; so yeah, a lot goes into it. You just try to make the best decision.”
(Do you have to simplify what you’re doing in the secondary because there are so many new pieces are there?) – “Depends on how many pieces you have there. In some instances, yeah, you do you have to simplify; and some other instances, guys may have some familiarity or just understand conceptually, but Cover 3 is Cover 3 is Cover 3. That’s the same as it was in Pop Warner. Maybe that’s simple, but every team in the National Football League runs it. I think there are some things that every team runs that really across the board guys understand; but yeah, from verbiage/terminology standpoint, there are some exotics that you don’t want to throw a guy in there and say, ‘hey, let’s run this max pressure-pressure, max zone pressure’ or whatever we’re going to do for that.”
(I wanted to ask you about CB Eric Rowe and how important his matchup is with Giants TE Evan Engram this week because of how much he’s kind of like a receiver. Can you move him to cornerback or is it a situation where you have to leave Eric?) – “Look, Engram’s a good player. So is (Golden) Tate, (Sterling) Shepard and (Darius) Slayton; so they’ve got good players everywhere. We have to cover them all and cover the (running) back as well. We’re confident in all the guys we stick out there. Everyone’s going to have to cover. You have to know where your help is, play with good technique, good fundamentals. Eric – we’re confident in him covering a large tight end or back or receiver, that he’ll play with good technique, fundamentals, use his length, try to put hands on in man coverage, play with good zone vision in zone coverage. We ask that of all our players. I can’t – he may cover the tight end, he may cover the back, he might cover a receiver. He might do all those things within the game, so we’ll see.”
(We saw WR DeVante Parker and WR Albert Wilson doing a little bit out there yesterday. Where are they progressing in the concussion protocol and do they have a chance Sunday?) – “They’re still in (concussion) protocol and they’ll be in the protocol really until the end of the week; but both guys are working to get better and getting better, I would say. But a lot of that is out of hands and it’s really a medical decision.”
(How does that impact game plan-wise? Do you plan as if you don’t have them? Do you plan as if you do have them?) – “It’s tough. You have to plan for the worst, I would say; so in that situation, if we don’t have them – they may or may not come out of protocol, so the next set of receivers has to step up and be ready to play. I think in every building, guys are dealing with injuries. You’re not necessarily sure specifically with the concussions because it’s a serious situation. You just want to make sure we’re covered if for whatever reason they can’t go. We’ll see. We’ll be ready either way.”
(How is WR Allen Hurns?) – “He’s dinged up. He played through some injuries last week. I thought he toughed through it and it was an impressive performance by him. (He is) working his way back. I think hopefully we get him out there today in some capacity. This is a tough kid. He wants to play. If he can be out there, he’ll be out there.”
(I wanted to ask you about S Adrian Colbert. He’s started the last two games at free safety. What has he done that has impressed you in terms of earning that starting role after being added?) – “He brings a lot of energy on a day-to-day basis. He’s got some leadership qualities. He’s been here for three weeks and it feels like he’s been here all year. He’s smart. He’s a really good teammate. It’s important to him. He works extremely hard from a preparation standpoint. He’s here early, stays late trying to get the information correct. He’s a guy who brings people together. It’s been good having him.”
(Going back to the receivers, when you look at the next set of receivers what’s your confidence level in the guys like WR Isaiah Ford?) – “I’m confident in Isaiah. I thought he played well last week. Mack Hollins – he’s kind of really stepped in and done a good job, and Trevor (Davis) has really stepped up as well. I like them all. I’m confident in all of our receivers. I think each one of them, along with our tight end group and our running backs and the quarterback and the o-line – it’s a team effort. You’ve got to play collectively to play well as a team against a good opponent, and that’s what the Giants are. They’re talented. They’ve got guys in the secondary, guys at the second level, guys on the defensive line that are good players, that are talented, that make plays, that made plays. We’ll have to play well.”
(DT Davon Godchaux is the Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee for the Dolphins. Why was he chosen?) – “My opinion on why he was chosen? I think he does a lot in the community. He’s shown leadership throughout the time that I’ve been here. This is a guy who’s very genuine and caring about giving back. He’s a good human being and I think he’s deserving.”
(I saw you mentioned LB Raekwon McMillan on a list of players who have taken ownership this season. Can you tell me about how he’s done that?) – “I think just defensively, rallying the guys on the sideline when we’ve dealt with adversity. In games, in practice, he’s a guy who’s taken a leadership position as far as getting groups together and going through the run game or going through third down or going through red zone. I think he’s really starting to come into his own and has played some solid football for us at times. Again, like everybody else – players, coaches, everyone – we could always be better, but he’s a guy who it’s important to him. Guys feed off of his energy and he’s really worked hard. I’m happy to see that leadership start to show itself really on a day-to-day basis.”
