Brian Flores – December 4, 2019
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Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(You have a 37-year-old quarterback who is still lowering his shoulder and getting after it. Have you seen any at all diminishment in QB Ryan Fitzpatrick at age 37 or is he exactly what you thought he might be this year?) – “I think he’s a good player. He’s a tough, physical leader. If anything, I think he’s improved over the course of the season. He’s very diligent as far as – let’s call it injury prevention and taking care of his body, like a lot of our guys are. I think that’s just part of his routine. He’s done a good job.”
(Is there kind of a re-thinking as to the lifespan, I guess, of an NFL quarterback as far as playing is concerned? You see guys in their late 30s in the league now. Is 37 even a big deal anymore?) – “Yeah, you see a lot of guys playing later in their careers. I think it’s a testament to how they train and how they work out in the offseason. ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is part of that. How they take care of their bodies in-season. ‘Fitz’ has obviously done that as well as some other quarterbacks throughout the league. It’s a tough position to play, I know that. Guys take a lot of hits. It’s tough mentally, physically, emotionally, and not everyone can do it. We’re happy with the way ‘Fitz’ is playing right now but we’ve got to continue to play that way.”
(You had 40 passes, 20 runs, the Wildcat, trick plays, the most points in the season, the most yards. Is that sustainable? Do you think you guys can really sustain these next four games, especially with how you guys are at the running back position?) – “The offensive output?”
(Yeah.) – “I think it’s – look, every week is different. We’ve got a lot of challenges this week with the Jets and their style of play. (They’re) a good run defense. They have been playing well defensively, I would say, over the last four weeks. Every week is a little bit different. We’ll try to game plan and scheme up a few things to put our guys in the best position. If that’s Wildcat, then that’s Wildcat. If it’s 40 passes like you said, then it’s 40 passes. If the run game is working, we’ll do that. But every week is a little bit different. We’ll just try – like we always do – to play to our strengths, try to take advantage of their weaknesses and try to play good offense and a good ball game in all three phases.”
(What do you attribute the improvement in the red zone offense to?) – “Practice and execution and players making plays in those situations. We had a couple of guys – DeVante (Parker), Mike (Gesicki) and Patrick Laird (make plays). Look, in the red zone in this league, the field is condensed so you have to make good throws, you have to make good catches in tight coverage. It’s harder to run the football down there because the safeties are right there. I think we’ve got guys – we’ve practiced well in the red zone. We’re having better execution in the red zone; but at the end of the day, players have to go up and make plays, as well. We’ve had that.”
(I know in different sports over the years, I’ve encountered when the team is not in playoff contention anymore, sometimes management will ask the coach to see a certain player. Marlins Manager Don Mattingly mentioned that to us last year that Marlins management said ‘Can you play these guys so we can take a look and evaluate them.’ Does that happen with General Manager Chris Grier at all? Does he tell you that he’d like in the final month to see this young, this young guy, etc.?) – “Chris and I, we have conversations like that all year. That would be no different than it’s been the entire season. We’re trying to – we’ve had as many guys play – I’m not sure of this but as many guys as anybody in the league. We’ve taken a look at a lot of guys. We’ll continue to take a look at different guys and see what combination is the right combination, what different guys can do with different groupings, and try to give guys an opportunity to see if they can help this team this particular week and also in the future. I think that’s something we’ve done all year and we’ll try to continue to do that.”
(What can you tell us about RB Kalen Ballage’s injury and if it’s very serious and if it could affect him in 2020?) – “Kalen obviously went out with a leg injury. Look, if this were earlier in the season, I think we’d be able to get him back. But because we had just four games left, we decided to put him on IR. (Is it) serious? To a degree. But this isn’t a six month or four month (injury). I think if this were earlier in the season, we’d put him down for a few weeks and then hopefully get him back.”
(You’ve mention on occasion how special your former high school coach, Dino Mangiero, is. As you head home to coach a game on Sunday, can you reflect on sort of the impact he’s had on you and where you are today?) – “Well, it’s not just me. There are a lot of guys who went through the program there – our high school program – in Brooklyn and now he’s coaching in New Jersey at Mater Dei. He’s impacted a lot of young men and I think you learn a lot about life playing football. I’ve told a lot of people this: everything I learned to be successful in life I learned in those meeting rooms and on that practice field in Brooklyn and from him. Hard work, great effort, compete, preparation, being on time and then just overall just doing things the right way. It will be nice to see him this weekend. It’s always great to see him and his family, and hopefully we’ll get some of the guys from high school at the game as well.”
(Is there one specific thing that Dino Mangiero may have instilled in you that you still utilize when you’re out there on the sideline to this day?) – “There’s a lot. If there’s one specific thing, he was big on being mentally tough, obviously being physically tough, but being mentally tough and dealing with adversity and dealing with good times and bad times. Never get too high, never get too low. You’ve got to try to stay even. That’s something that I’ve taken with me since 1995 when we first met. He’s a great coach, and I was lucky to learn from him, along with a lot of young guys.”
(Do you anticipate going back to your childhood home or having people from your childhood come to the game this week?) – “It’s kind of a long ride from Jersey, but I was in Brooklyn this past summer. It’s hard to get back up there, but there’s a lot of good people there and I learned a lot about – I got a lot of life lessons growing up in Brooklyn and there’ll be some friends and family there, but I probably won’t get a chance to get back there.”
(What is it about high school coaches and the impact they have because you see guys get to the NFL and a lot of times you can ask them who had the most influence on your life, and they’ll talk about their high school coach even when they get to the Hall of Fame. Sometimes those guys, they’re presenters.) – ”I think that time – (age) 14 to, let’s call it 18 – mentally, physically, emotionally, kids are going through those adolescent years and trying to find themselves as men. They’re right in that maturing process. That mentorship, that leadership, the impact that’s made in that time, I think it goes a long way to shaping a young mind and that’s why I have so much respect for high school coaches in all sports – football, baseball, basketball, soccer, men’s sports, women’s sports – all of it. They have such an impact that’s made, and it’s something that, the lessons that I learned and kids learn on the high school level, I think they take with them really throughout their lives. I think they get shaped in a way that is positive, and that’s always a good thing.”
(Have you gotten any messages this year from your high school coach or your coaches maybe through some of the highs that maybe made you smile?) – “Yeah, I talk to Dino (Mangiero) a lot. He’s always got words of encouragement; but whether it’s college coaches, other coaches I’ve worked with, I’ve gotten a lot of messages. I’ve gotten support in the good times and the bad times, and those are your real friends. Those are people who are going to support you (through) good and bad. It’s been nice.”
(Regarding the CB Eric Rowe contract extension what was it that made you guys want to make sure that he stayed around?) – “Eric, he’s a versatile player. Obviously he’s played multiple positions this year. Again, another conversation between (General Manager) Chris (Grier), myself, (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon (Shore). It just felt like an opportunity to extend the contract, do the extension. If we feel like that’s the right move on a particular player – they’re all case-by-case – then we’ll try to get it done. They don’t always get done, but in this case, both sides were able to work it out and we got it done.”
(CB Eric Rowe can play corner and safety, but is it about his strengths and skillset that have actually worked out quite well at safety?) – “I think he’s got good length. He’s a good matchup for tight ends in coverage. He’s still got a ways to go from a run game standpoint, which it’s hard to (do). Going from corner run fits to safety run fits is very different and something that he’s picked up quickly, but he’s got some improvement to make there. He can also still go out there and play some corner as well, so we’re not saying that that’s out of the (question) – we’re not doing that. He’s versatile. He’s played some deep-half, middle-of-the-field safety, played corner, safety, kind of understands the run fits now. That versatility helps, will help us defensively and hopefully just continues to improve and we expect that. We expect him to improve, and we wouldn’t have done the deal if we didn’t think that.”
(Did you have an idea or picture of what this team would look like by the end of the season, and are they on pace to be that?) – “No, you never really have an ‘ideal’ picture of what it’s going to be. Every year is different. There’s so much change on a team every year whether it’s through transactions or injury; so I never have a ‘hey, I want the team to look like this.’ You hope everybody stays healthy and the team you put out there on Day 1 is the same as Week 16, but that’s very highly unlikely. Things are fluid in this league, and I think we’ve got to be able to adapt and adjust and make the best of whatever situation comes up. And I think we’ve done that to a degree. We’re still learning to do that, and this team’s still growing and trying to improve and build. I think if we just stay on that path, then we’ll be okay. We’ve got a tough game this week. The Jets are a good team. They’re talented. They’ve won three of four. They’ve got good coaching. They’ve got good players, and this is going to be a tough challenge for us, so we’ve got to go get them. We have to have a good week of practice if we want to give ourselves a chance to play well.”
