Brian Flores – December 30, 2020
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Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I wanted to ask this question because you’ve been to the playoffs quite often. What does a playoff ready team look like?) – “I think if you get into the playoffs, you’ve got a good team. Your team’s talented, they are tough, they are smart, they play well together. It’s hard to win in this league, so to get in means that you’ve accomplished something and made a lot of strides and improvements over the course of the season. Playoffs, any team that’s in is a good football team.”
(I was curious as to what you took from what Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott said yesterday about how he is planning on using his players and kind of the subterfuge, I guess, trying to keep information away from you all. How are you preparing for this weekend?) – “I expect everyone to play. Sean is a competitor. (Offensive Coordinator) Brian Daboll is a competitor, Josh Allen is a competitor, (Stefon) Diggs, (Jordan) Poyer, (Micah) Hyde. I expect them all to play. That’s how we’re preparing.”
(As it relates to today’s practice, can you please tell us if you are hopeful that any of these guys will try to do something today – DE Shaq Lawson, G Solomon Kindley, WR Preston Williams.) – “I’ll talk to (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle Johnston and the medical staff after this about those guys. But I would say that they are all doing everything that they can to get out there as soon as possible. Everyone is nicked up and got some bumps and bruises this time of year. They are all working to get out there.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa has the lowest interception rate in the NFL. Obviously that’s a good thing. How heavily does that weigh in your evaluation of the way he’s played?) – “That’s a good place to start at the quarterback position. I think he’s done a good job from that standpoint. Obviously there are a lot of other factors like at every other position. That’s one of them, which we evaluate. I think he’s done a good job in a lot of areas. Like every position, there are 15, 18, 20 different things that you are looking for at every position. Obviously the turnovers are a big, big one. He’s done a good job from that standpoint.”
(We’ve talked about the quarterback position a lot on this platform. What stood out to me is that no matter what you’ve chose this year, you’ve been sort of convicted in whatever your decision is without really worrying about the outside or how the impact is. What gives you sort of the confidence to make maybe these tough decisions, at least in my mind, without any worry about any consequences so to speak, for lack of better word?) – “I have a lot of peace with the decisions that I and we make because it’s sincerely genuinely and authentically based on winning football games and the people in this organization and our fans. I have a lot of peace with the decisions because of that. There are people here who work hard from the grounds crew to equipment to the medical staff to people working the cafeteria to Hubert (in housekeeping) who is here every day. It’s important to them, so it’s important to me that we try to do everything we can to win football games. Honestly, whatever consequences you’re talking about – when those people are at the forefront of my mind, I could care less about the consequences to be honest with you, whatever those consequences are. I’m not necessarily sure what those are.”
(You guys have done a really good job this year of the defense, making sure that red zone trips either stay scoreless or are field goals instead of touchdowns. How important is that going to be to continue this week with that offense in Buffalo?) – “It’s always important. Those are four-point plays, holding them to three instead of six, possibly seven. Those are critical in this league when every game – or most games – are tight and come down to the last four or five plays. Those four points can be critical. Any time you get a stop down there, it’s important. Conversely, punching it in in the red zone is equally important. We want to do a good job offensively and defensively in that situation.”
(Two guys that got hurt during the game, how is LB Elandon Roberts and then the second part, if WR Jakeem Grant is unable to participate in punt and kickoff returns, what would be your message to the three rookies that could be in the mix – CB Noah Igbinoghene, RB/WR Malcolm Perry and WR Lynn Bowden Jr.? What would be your message as far as how to approach returns, if and fact they do it in Buffalo in a big game?) – “Well, Elandon’s injury was significant as you guys saw with him being – you guys saw that. He’s obviously not going to play this week. Those three rookies that you mentioned, we talk about ball security every day here and how important that is. Making smart decisions with the football when you have it, catching it and putting it away. The entire fate of the team is in your hand when you have it, so you’ve got to try to protect it. That’s the message to those three guys but really everyone on the offense – in the offense, kicking game and defensively if we get our hands on it.”
(With LB Elandon Roberts down, you’ve used a number of guys in various roles based on the opponent. I’ve even seen LB Kyle Van Noy move inside to inside linebacker. Can you talk about the options that you have particularly for the Bills? I know you’re not going to give away your game plan, but the thought process on a scrambling athletic quarterback?) – “Everyone’s gotta do their job and do it a little bit better. We want to keep (Josh Allen) in the pocket and if he gets out, cover him a little bit longer and try to chase him down. This guy is one of the top players in the league. I think he’s really made a lot of improvement. Sean (McDermott) and Brian Daboll have done a great job with him and he’s tough to deal with. He’s a very, very good player. I know Daboll well. I could see a lot of – it’s almost like Daboll playing football from a mind standpoint. He’s done a good job.”
(I probably used poor wording with consequences. I guess what I was trying to talk about in the last question was when we talk to some of your players, they talk about communication and trust with you. I’m curious what the value you put on those two things when you’re talking to your team about your decisions and how that keeps you guys all on the same page.) – “I think communication is vital. I think if you’re honest and transparent, what more can you do? Hopefully that’s not just a football thing but hopefully that’s a life thing for them. You tell them the truth. You’re honest. The results of it are the results and sometimes you won’t be happy with that, but you won’t feel like someone is being deceitful with you or anything like that. I think that’s important to players. I think they want to just know. I think that’s important to anyone – not just football but relationships, marriages. Hopefully they take that from a football standpoint and apply it to other areas of their lives as well.”
(You’ve had your uphill battles all season, short-handed at times and things like that. Buffalo is playing so well, it’s almost like you guys are walking into a buzzsaw. I wanted to ask what are some things you like about your team or let you know that they’re kind of ready for this must-win game to get into the playoffs?) – “Buffalo is a good team. They are. They play well offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. They’re well-coached, they’re tough, they’re physical. They’ve got good players. We’ve got a great challenge ahead of us. We’ve just got to prepare ourselves the best way we can and go up to New York and play our best game of the season, or try to. That’s what it’s going to take against a team like this. I think everyone has seen them. They’ve got great players, they’re well-coached, they’re tough. They play good situationally. They play aggressive. They’ve got fakes in the kicking game. They’ve got good returners. We’ve just got to play well, or try to play well, which starts with our preparation this week, today. Hopefully if we can build on that on a daily basis, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”
