Brian Flores – November 11, 2020 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores Conference Call with L.A. Chargers Media
(You evaluated QB Tua Tagovailoa and QB Justin Herbert during the pre-draft process. What stood out to you about Tua versus Herbert in that process?) – “They are both very good quarterbacks. Both smart, both (have) good leadership qualities, intangibles. They both have good arms, both are accurate. Obviously two good players. That’s why they both went high in the draft. I think Herbert has done a very good job early on. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s athletic, he’s got a big arm. He’s a lot to deal with. He’s a good player and they have a good team, and we have to do a good job preparing this week for a tough, physical ballgame.”
(In regards to QB Tua Tagovailoa, what had Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey meant to his development these eight weeks you guys have had him?) –“Yeah, Chan has done a really good job with he and ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) and really the entire offense. It’s never just one player, or one coach with one player. There are 26 other offensive guys plus our practice squad. We’re responsible to help each guy get better, as coaches. Tua is one of 53 on the active roster and one of 69 total. We’re trying to get all of them better and he’s got to do his part. Each player has to do their part and the coaches have to do their part as well.”
(You guys currently lead the league in defensive scoring. Do you take pride in that? Is that Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer? Are you helping Boyer with that process? Elaborate on that if you would.) – “I think Coach Boyer has done a good job. Our players, they come in and try to prepare the right way, learn the game plan, execute it at practice. They prepare the right way and then try to execute it again in the game. We’ve got a tight-knit group. They work hard, they work well together. Every week is a different challenge. Obviously we’ve got a lot of challenges this week with the Chargers and their explosive players – (Mike) Williams, Keenan Allen, (Jalen) Guyton, (Justin) Herbert obviously extending plays, Hunter Henry. There are players everywhere obviously, as you all know. It’s as talented of a group as we’ve seen. It will be a tough test. I don’t really worry about the statistics or whatever. Each game is different. We’ve got to earn it every week. That’s the message to the players.”
(When you were going through the draft process, what stood out to you most about QB Justin Herbert and were you able to meet with him?) – “Yeah, we met with him several times. The first one was at the Senior Bowl. He’s very smart, very talented, a driven kid, competitive, tough. There is a lot to like about him.”
(There were a lot of questions about QB Justin Herbert coming out. Did you have any of those questions after meeting him? And did you feel like some of those question were just not what you thought when you talked to him?) – “I don’t know what questions you’re talking about. That was a long time ago. Now we’re eight games into the season. There was training camp, COVID, there’s a lot going on. I’m not really quite sure what the questions are you’re talking about; but what I saw is what I just told you, which is he’s a competitive kid, he’s smart, a big arm, talented and the Chargers got a good player.”
(Do you feel like you need to talk to QB Tua Tagovailoa a little bit? Like when fans talk about Tua – the Dolphins fans – they see him as a savior, the next big-time quarterback that the team’s going to have. Do you ever kind of have to talk back down to him and let him know that he shouldn’t have to be facing all that pressure and it’s all about what he does and just staying consistent and just doing his thing and not really hearing the outside noise?) – “We talk about this being a team game every day. He knows that. Every player on this team knows that. There’s 11 guys on the field. This isn’t golf, this isn’t wrestling; this is football. There’s 11 guys. He can’t throw the ball if nobody blocks for him. He doesn’t play defense. He doesn’t play on special teams, so when those guys are out on the field, he can’t do anything to help. He can only do his part on offense and handle his responsibility, and that’s the case for every other player on the team from the offensive right guard to the left guard to the tight ends to the receivers to the holder to the snapper to the kicker to the defensive linemen. So I don’t know if I’d ever use the word ‘savior’ in football. There’s just too many people that you rely on for anyone to think that they could handle the whole thing on their own. Just my opinion.”
(When you talk about your receiving corps and how they’re developing – WR Jakeem Grant, how’s he developing mixed with No. 11 out there?) – “Jakeem (Grant) and DeVante (Parker) – those guys have been here a number of years and they’re very close and they work hard. They’ve made some plays for us and they’re guys that have the respect of the entire locker room. They work hard and it’s important to them. They’re tough and competitive, and they practice every day and they just try to improve and get better.”
(You had an injury last week – No. 18 – you had an injury. Is he playing this week? No. 18 went down. Didn’t your receiver get hurt?) – “Yes. Yes, we had a receiver go down. Preston Williams went down. He’s going to go on IR.”
(In terms of Chargers QB Justin Herbert and going against the blitz, have you been surprised for a rookie quarterback how he’s been able to fare in that?) – “He’s done a very good job against blitz coverage. I think that’s in part due to the protection they’ve gotten, his ability to extend plays and give himself a little extra time to get the ball out of his hands and they’ve got good receivers. It’s never just one person handling it. It’s the team as a group understanding the situation, knowing what’s happening to them. Clearly they’re well-coached and that plays a big part in it. ‘A. Lynn’ (Chargers Head Coach Anthony Lynn) has done a great job from that standpoint. Again, Herbert is obviously at the forefront of it; he’s got to make the throws and extend the plays and give him a little bit more time to step up in the pocket or whatever the case may be for any particular play, but he’s done a good job.”
(And then just in terms of your defense, I know there were a couple games where you were in plenty of Cover 0 blitzes. Just how do you think your defense is performing so far?) – “We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a long way to go in a lot of areas. We have to improve in a lot of areas. I could sit here for a while and talk about the things that we need to get better at, so I’m not going to bore you with all of that, but there’s a lot of things we can do better. We made a couple of plays, but there’s been plenty of situations that we could’ve gotten off the field or made a tackle or lined up correctly or been in the right gap. I could sit here for hours, but you probably don’t want to sit here and watch 0 technique or my nose (tackle) – his hand placement, his footwork and where his hat should be and things like that. So there’s plenty we can work on. That’s what we do on a daily basis and we’re just focused on today and getting better today. We’ve got a tough opponent here. Their record is misleading. I’ll say that. Very much so.”
