Brian Flores – June 11, 2021
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Friday, June 11, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I wanted to get your thoughts on generally the attendance of these voluntary – and I stress it as voluntary practices – and is it your understanding that everyone will be present and participate in the mandatory minicamp next week?) – “Yeah, I expect to see everyone at the mandatory minicamp. Like you mentioned, it’s voluntary; so we’ve gotten a good number of guys here, I would say over these last few weeks. We’ve been happy with it and we’re happy to work with the guys that we have here and get them coached up and help them improve and get better at their fundamentals, their techniques, their communication and things of that nature.”
(We’re going to talk to WR William Fuller V here in a little bit after practice and I’m wondering if you could share why him as a free agent signing and what you see in him that attracted the team to him?) – “I think he’s smart, he’s tough, he’s competitive, he’s talented. We had multiple conversations during that process and (he is a) team-first guy and just felt like he would bring competition and talent into the room. As many talented players as we can bring in and guys who are willing to compete and improve our team, that was the goal.”
(And if I could ask, obviously speed is a big deal in part of his game. How attractive was that, even though I guess you guys already knew you guys were going to add a speed receiver in the draft?) – “Just overall talent. He has obviously very good speed, but good hands, good after the catch, good as a route runner, smart, can play multiple positions. That’s one area that obviously we feel good about, but he does a lot of good things and I think he’ll bring a lot of competition to the room.”
(I wanted to ask you about leadership. A lot of the leaders from the past years have either left via free agency or been released. How do you fill that void? I know you’ve got a young team. You do have some veterans here. How do you get guys to step up and become leaders?) – “We have good leadership on the team. I think that’s something that you’re constantly trying to develop each year, especially with younger players, and I think we’ve got some veteran players who will provide us leadership as well. And you need it. Every team needs it offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. I think as a staff, we try to pinpoint guys who have some of those qualities and try to empower them and try to help them grow in those areas. I think that’s part of the job as well from my standpoint and us as a coaching staff, and really us as an organization. I think we have some guys who fall in that category and will try to help them grow and develop. And we have some guys who are older and have been in those roles as well and we’ll continue to try to help them grow as well.”
(How do you help those younger guys grow and develop into that role? What’s the process? Putting them in the leadership council or making them lead team meetings? What does the process look like?) – “I think it’s different. It’s different for each individual. I think I’m going to lead differently than you would or (someone) else would. Everyone is a little bit different. Some people are more outgoing and louder. Some people are by example. Some people say nothing and then when they speak, people listen. I think there’s different types of leaders and they come in all – it’s not a one-size-fits-all. I think there’s a little bit of – you can develop it. I think it’s something that, yeah, you put them in situations where they have an opportunity to speak up and I think it’s something that people have to get more comfortable with. There are times where there’s guys who that’s not what they want to do and if you don’t identify as a leader, then there’s no point in kind of putting them in those situations. Again, it’s case-by-case. It’s a much longer discussion than this and the discussions that we’ve had here – obviously this year and last year and the year before – it’s something that I think it’s important and we’ll continue to try to develop with guys on our team.”
(We recently heard from Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander talking about what awaits CB Noah Igbinoghene this season as he’s introduced to some reps inside versus last year’s focus which “G.A.” said was on things like technique and transitions. I was hoping with your personal coaching experience and background, if you could share some insight as to the unique challenges that DBs face when asked to play inside as compared to on the perimeter, and any traits you feel are needed to excel in one role versus the other?) – “I think ‘G.A.’ was right in that Noah played predominantly on the perimeter last year. I think that in itself, in this league, it’s not easy, so it was stick him in one position, let him learn the techniques, the fundamentals, feel the speed, feel the quickness of the receivers, go through the different combinations that happen in different coverages and once you feel more comfortable in that specific role; then this year obviously we feel like he’s ready to move and at least take some reps inside. Versatility is important to our team, so we’re going to move guys around – not just Noah, but really everyone in that corner room, in the secondary, really across the board. As far as what it takes to play inside, I think it’s obviously speed and quickness and ability to tackle. I think those guys who have played the nickel position end up in run fits a little bit more than guys on the perimeter, so just an understanding of fronts and what’s happening in front of you – more opportunity to blitz. And then just from a coverage standpoint, you don’t have the sideline, so they can go inside, they can go outside. You don’t have that as an extra defender or a place you can kind of push either a receiver or two. It’s tough playing in there. It’s not easy and from a mental standpoint, there’s a lot going on as well. So as many guys as we can get to play inside and play different roles – I think Nik Needham has grown in that role. Justin Coleman has played that position in the past and Jamal Perry as well. We’re just going to continue to train guys and help them improve, grow and I think a lot of times if you can play inside and you’ve played outside and you understand what’s happening as an outside corner to the inside corner, if you have that kind of understanding when you’re making calls and those guys are working together, there’s a little bit more of a, ‘Hey, I know what you’re going through. I’ve been in that spot.’ And oftentimes it works better together.”
(I wanted to ask you about G Durval Queiroz Neto. It’s been a while since you’ve talked about him and I know early on when he was with the team, there was talk about fundamentals. I want to know where he is at the moment and what are you expectations for him in 2021?) – “He’s one of our hardest-working players. It’s very important to him that he improves and gets better at whatever technique, fundamental that he’s working on. I think that he’s talented, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast. I think he’s still learning the game; but I also think he’s made a lot of improvements over the last couple of years. I’m excited to see him in training camp, obviously today, and then the veteran minicamp, and training camp and preseason games. He’ll have an opportunity to compete and I think he’ll do well.”
(I wanted to ask you something along your lines of your comment to Peter King a couple of weeks ago where you said the guys we got in 2019, the guys we got in 2020, the guys we got in 2021 in the draft, that’s the team. They will be the reason we make noise or don’t make noise. Where do you see the team right now? I know we’ve used the word rebuild. Is it kind of after that stage of the team right now? What would you call the stage that the team is kind of at right now and where do you see it?) – “I think we’re trying to improve and get better on a daily basis. I think that’s in meetings, walkthroughs and practice. I think that’s the goal. It’s one day at a time, it’s building camaraderie, building chemistry and I think you build that through reps and practice. That’s where we’re at. So we’ll take it one day at a time. We’re trying to get better offensively, defensively and the kicking game. As coaches, I think we understand that this doesn’t just happen. You’ve got to put time in and work in, and when you’re dealing with 53 players – counting the practice squad, 69 players. I’m talking more regular season here, but right now (we have) 90 players. You have to work to create the execution you’re looking for during the regular season. You do that one day at a time, so that’s where our focus is.”
(Just the fact that you guys had 10 wins last year, a lot of success; but still on the cusp of the playoffs. Just having that in your background, how do you think that drives everybody’s focus and wanting to improve even more from last season?) – “I think we’re more focused on this year, and last year was last year. It was a different team, different players – we were in a pandemic. It was a different season. It was very different. The focus right now is this year and really today. That’s kind of where we’re at; trying to improve today, trying to get better today and if we string enough good days together, hopefully we’ll put ourselves in a position to be successful.”
(How close is the team to any vaccination goal that you’d like to see hit? And how important is it to reach any goal that may allow greater flexibility in meetings, scheduling and movement?) – “I think we’ve talked about this the last couple of weeks. We educate players and the staff. We’ll give them all the information as far as the pros and cons of vaccinations and the different types of vaccinations – Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna. But at the end of the day, each player, each coach, each person within the organization makes their own decision and we’re comfortable with that. We’re not going to get into anyone’s medical situation or who’s doing this or who’s that. I’m happy to talk about my own, but as far as getting into how many people we have vaccinated, not vaccinated, I think I’ve been pretty consistent about not talking about anyone else’s medical situation.”
(One thing you do is plan for every scenario. Have you thought out the fact that some teams could have a competitive advantage over others based on their vaccination rates?) – “As of today, there are no – we don’t have information that would kind of support that. If that were the case – we’re really talking about hypotheticals, and if that was the case, if there was a competitive advantage – it’s hypothetical. I don’t really like to get into hypotheticals.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Jerome Baker. He’s led the team in tackles over the last two years. Where is he from a developmental standpoint and what do you want to see next from him as a player?) – “Jerome has made a lot of improvements and has gotten better in really all areas. I think he’s tough, he’s smart, he’s competitive, he loves to play, he’s team-first. He’s really gotten better in every area – pass coverage, run defense, really across the board. He’s a very good player. We’re excited about working with him and he’s a team guy. I think that’s the thing I liked most about him is he’s a team player. He wants to win and we’re excited to have him.”
(What particular skill or trait do you feel might make Robert Hunt better suited to play guard than tackle?) – “I think Robert’s a good young player. I think you saw him improve over the course of the last year playing tackle. I think he has a chance to be a solid offensive lineman. Whether that’s guard or that’s tackle or that’s the right side or that’s the left side, I think it’s hard to say. I think we’re going to play our top five guys and I think he’s got the opportunity to be one of those five. Where he lands – whether it’s guard or tackle – it’s going to be up to him. Like we talk to all of the players, your role is what you make it. Those guys, Rob in particular since we’re talking about him, he’s got an opportunity to play. Whether that’s guard or tackle, we’ll figure that out as we get to training camp. Right now, with no pads on, it’s hard to really see if he’s a better guard or a better tackle. We don’t have pads on. We’ll make that decision come training camp.”
