Brian Flores – December 8, 2021
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Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(How would you assess how the offensive line has played in the last couple weeks? Is it up the standards you want and T Liam Eichenberg’s play as well seemingly has improved?) – “I think the guys are working hard. I think they’re making improvements as a unit – individually and as a unit – and I think they’re going to continue to just try to get better on a daily basis. It’s a young group and they’re developing, getting a lot of experience and I think they’re improving every day.”
(And one quick follow-up on that. Was the decision do you think to move G/T Robert Hunt to guard this year in your mind, in Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre’s mind, has that been validated? Do you think he is at the right place? Are you glad you did it? Do you think he’s playing at a high level?) – “I think Rob (Hunt) works hard every day. I think he tries to help the team as best he can and that’s what we ask of all our players.”
(Do you think that pass protection is maybe a step ahead of run blocking at this point?) – “You’re talking overall with the entire unit?”
(For the offensive line, yeah.) – “What was the question again?”
(Do you think that pass protection is perhaps a step ahead of where run blocking is?) – “I think our guys work hard and I think they’re improving in all areas – pass protection, run blocking, getting out on screens. Yeah, I think our guys work hard and they’ll continue to work hard in all areas.”
(With the – and I might be wrong – but the presumption that this time of year practices would taper a little bit. Just wear and tear on bodies, where you are in the calendar and all of that. How has QB Tua Tagovailoa been able to be so effective and so sharp guessing that you guys aren’t having the same number of reps you would have, say in July or earlier in the season?) – “I think he’s preparing the right way. I think he’s getting a good amount of reps in practice. That always helps – practices, walkthroughs, meetings. He watches extra film and it’s showing up on the field.”
(One of the things that players and coaches have said a lot this week is about the opportunity to self-scout and I was wondering if you can kind of dive into explaining some of the things that you guys look for and what exactly goes into the self-scout?) – “Really everything. Our operation as a coaching staff, how we practice, how we schedule things. Obviously on the field, first down, second down, third down, red zone, two-minute, four-minute, punt, punt return, field goal protection. Really everything. And what are some things we can do better, what are some things that we should continue to do, some things we should stay away from. What are the best things individual players do within in a coverage or a concept offensively, who our best blockers are in the return game, who our best blockers are in the run game, who our best protectors are. You can kind of go through all of that.”
(I guess it’s a constant throughout the year. I think self-scout is probably a term that gets used more in a bye week than any other week of the season, but is it more in-depth when you don’t have a game?) – “Yeah, certainly more in-depth. When you have an opponent coming up, there’s only so much you can, there’s only so much time. So we have more time to devote to us and what we’ve done in certain situations throughout the year as opposed to we’ll be working on the run game for the Jets or third down for the Jets or punt protection for the Jets.”
(How do you sort of assess and evaluate the opportunity to tendency break vs. “you know what, we do this a lot in this situation because it works, we don’t need to tendency break that?”) – “I think there’s a lot of good coaches in this league. I think anything you do, there’s something to beat it. That’s just the game. That’s just how the game is. If you play a coverage, there’s something that beats that coverage, so I try to basically assume that our opponents are looking at that and they’ll try to come up with some answers.”
(One area where I’m sure you want improvement still is the run game. It’s at 3.3 yards per carry now. Are you optimistic that RB Phillip Lindsay’s ankle will be healthy enough for him to be a factor the last four games and your thoughts overall on where the run game is?) – “I think it’s something, an area, we need improvement. I think we’ll keep putting an emphasis on it, keep running it and hopefully we’ll get the improvement necessary to get the results we’re looking for.”
(With RB Phillip Lindsay, does it look like he’ll be healthy enough to help you this last month?) – “We have a walkthrough today. He’ll be part of the walkthrough and we’ll see how he feels next week.”
(What did you think about P Michael Palardy getting AFC Special Teams Player of the Week?) – “I thought he punted well the other day. He helped us from a field position standpoint. I think he’s gotten better over the course of the year and we need those kicks. He was a big part of the game on Sunday.”
(LB Jerome Baker was named your guys’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. I just wanted if you could speak on what that nomination means and what he does in the community here in South Florida.) – “I think being nominated to be Walter Payton Man of the Year is a great honor. I think it highlights the player on the field, but more importantly off the field, and in the community. I think Jerome has made an impact obviously with our team on the field and certainly in the community as well. Just thinking about the Haiti situation, I know he was very involved in helping them during that situation. He does a lot for the community. I’m proud of him for that. It’s certainly an honor for him to be nominated.”
(Will either WR Will Fuller or RB Malcolm Brown participate in the walkthrough today? Is there any change to what they are now able to do, compared to what they couldn’t do in recent weeks?) – “No, they won’t be part of the walkthrough today.”
(Knowing you, your attitude and how hard you coach, is it difficult to stop for this week, to take this time off?) – “In some ways, yes. You get in a routine. I try to stay on my routine. I’ve been watching the Jets, trying to stay on my routine, but without a game I would say it’s a little bit – for someone who tries to go, yeah I think it’s something that’s tough. But I’ll spend the weekend with my family.”
(In other sports, guys talk about getting on rolls. A basketball shooter gets hot, a baseball hitter gets hot, these sorts of things. Can that happen in football? CB Xavien Howard just said that he feels on a roll. He can’t manufacture an interception. The ball has to be thrown his way and he has to make a play. But is there something to that, how a guy could get hot in football as well? Whether it’s karma or whatever, that things just sort of break for them?) – “It’s the ultimate team sport. If you’re talking individually, it’s just not an individual game. Somebody can get hot in basketball and make every shot. You can go out there and hit four home runs. That can happen. But in football, you need help. Somebody has to throw you the ball, somebody has to block for you, somebody has to rush. There are a lot of things that’s got to happen. It’s a team game and a lot of people have to play well to get the results you’re looking for. A lot of people have to communicate, a lot of people have to trust in each other, so it’s different. That’s kind of the beauty of the game. That’s my take on that.”
(With so much time before your next game, is there such a thing as over preparation, or looking at too much film, too much time?) – “I think that is case by case and person by person. You may need to watch 10 minutes and be good. I may need a little bit longer. I’ve heard that before, over prepare. I think everyone is a little bit different. I think that’s the case when we were all in school. I was good at math, so I didn’t need to spend a lot on time on that. There are some people who aren’t good at math and may need to spend a little more time. I was no good at science, so I had to spend more time on that. I think it’s case by case. Each person individually has to figure out what they need and only that individual person knows whether they’ve over-prepared or not. That’s kind of my feeling on that.”
(So you’re not telling players to take some time away and don’t study this every single day, don’t over-saturate your mind?) – “No. I’m certainly telling them to take some time, relax, get off their feet, get some rest, get away from it. I think you need that too. I think you need balance. I thought you were talking about just a normal week.”
(No. I was talking about during the bye week, or the mini-bye, when you have so much time before your next opponent. Is there a such thing as being too prepared or studying too much, like you were saying in school.) – “Yeah. I think it’s case by case.”
