Brian Flores – November 17, 2021
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Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(We saw T Greg Little going on IR yesterday. How was he injured? Is it season ending and who is the backup left tackle moving forward?) – “He was injured in practice. He’ll be out for at least three weeks. He’s been inactive so we’ve had a backup tackle really the whole year. We’ll just move forward the way we’ve been moving forward.”
(I don’t know if this is a competitive thing and if it is, obviously you don’t have to talk about it. But G/T Jesse Davis, at this point would he be…) – “We have a plan for who the next guys would be really at all positions, without going into the gameplan, like you said.”
(One last thing on this topic with G/T Austin Jackson. I know you said you were comfortable with him at guard and I know everything in the league is fluid, but could you see a scenario where you consider him not as an injury replacement but as a left tackle again or do you and Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre and General Manager Chris Grier have a pretty strong conviction that guard is his home?) – “A lot of those guys have flexibility. If there is a need at a position, we’ll make the move. We like what he’s doing at guard but the flexibility is always a good thing.”
(Last week, QB Tua Tagovailoa told us that he took mostly mental reps and rested his hand. What’s the plan for this week relative to throwing as opposed to just mental reps?) – “He’ll take most of the reps, practice.”
(What is your perception of how QB Tua Tagovailoa is doing?) – “Again, he’s got a fracture in his finger. There’s discomfort. It takes a while for the bone to heal. I think we all understand that. He’s had some time since the injury. Took some time. Didn’t throw all that much last week, which was good from a healing standpoint. He played in the game and then we’ve had some time off since. More time equals more healing so he’s doing a little bit better. Still some discomfort but we expect him to practice this week.”
(The Jets reportedly will start QB Joe Flacco. Your reaction?) – “He’s been a good player in this league for a long time. Smart. Experienced. He’s going to try to get the ball to their go-to guys. It’ll be a challenge for us.”
(Where is the challenge between developing guys to play multiple positions versus letting them get comfortable at their natural position and learn their natural position?) – “There’s only 48 spots on gameday so everyone’s got to – there’s only 48 spots and three are in the kicking game. So 22 on offense, 23 on defense, 11 guys on the field, so if you want backups then some guys have to play different positions. I think we all understand that. Some left tackle has to play right tackle. A defensive tackle sometimes has to play defensive end. Corner has to play safety. That’s just kind of the nature of the game. If you can’t play multiple positions, that hurts your ability to help the team, so that’s why most guys play multiple positions.”
(You obviously have the three extra days because of the short week last week. What are some of the benefits to having this mini-bye to work off of going into the Jets game?) – “An opportunity to recharge the battery. More time to prepare for the next opponent. Hopefully we go out there and have a good practice.”
(CB Xavien Howard, I believe was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Obviously it’s the second time he had a critical game-changing type of forced turnover this season. Just in general, how do you feel like his season has gone?) – “’X’ (Xavien Howard) is obviously a big part of this team from a leadership standpoint and obviously as far as his play, I think he’s played well. But for me and for us, we’re just kind of focused on today. We celebrated his Player of the Week (award) in the meeting this morning. We announced that this morning, gave him a round of applause and the next thing he said was ‘let’s get ready for the Jets.’”
(While QB Jacoby Brissett obviously was cleared to return last week, has there been any regression to the point where there was a question of whether he would be available this Sunday that you might have to prepare your developmental guy on the practice squad to be QB Tua Tagovailoa’s backup?) – “No. I expect Jacoby to be ready.”
(One of the many great things about the defensive gameplan last week was obviously LB Jerome Baker, LB Duke Riley and LB Elandon Roberts together for a dozen, 14, 16 snaps. I know as explained yesterday by the assistants, Jerome’s speed chasing Lamar Jackson obviously was a help there. As far as Jerome playing on the outside more, is that something that you and Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer have talked about? You have obviously plenty of good edge guys, but is that something that you think has potential for more of Jerome outside allowing you to play Duke and Elandon more inside or is that just a Baltimore thing?) – “It’s gameplan-specific every week. So the guys we feel like give us the best chance to give us success on the field, that’s who we put out there. So it’s game plan-specific.”
(Have you seen anything different in the last two games defensively since you have gotten good results that was not there before?) – “No. Just better execution.”
(How has RB Gerrid Doaks been doing in practice? We know he keeps being protected from poaching, but we haven’t seen him in a game yet. Is he on your mind as a possibility?) – “I think Gerrid (Doaks) is doing a good job on the practice squad learning the gameplan every week. He takes the approach that he’s going to be out there and that’s good. We want that for all our – everybody on the roster. When his opportunity presents itself, I think he’ll be ready.”
(Does physicality help you without RB Malcolm Brown? I’m sure that’s something obviously you guys have talked about.) – “I think that we’re always going to try to put the best players out there – guys who we feel like are going to help us. If we feel like that’s Gerrid, then he’ll be out there.”
(I think the Jets lead the NFL in yards per game over the past few weeks. Have you noticed anything that they’ve started to do differently later in the season to help kind of jumpstart?) – “I think they’ve got – you’re talking about offensively? They’ve got a good o-line. They’ve got good backs. They’ve got some receivers who make some big plays. I think they’ve done a good job. White did a good job getting the ball, spreading the ball around and making some good decisions. So all that, put all that together and you get a lot of positive plays. It’s a big challenge for us. We’ve got to do a good job really in all those areas – run game, pass game, pass defense I should say, run defense, pass defense, screens, RPOs, play action, drop-back, red zone, third down and conversely all those things on offense. And obviously the kicking game.”
(I know you say you go day-by-day, but do you as a coach look at the standings, look at the calendar and look at your possibilities to maybe turn the season around at this point?) – “No. I focus on today.”
(The old adage says that a team takes on the personality of their head coach and this is your first go up against Robert Saleh for the Jets. What do you think that personality is of him that the Jets kind of embody that type of play?) – “I know Rob. He’s smart, tough, disciplined, intense, high energy. I think you see that from his team.”
(You guys added Andrew Billings to the practice squad. Can you comment on that?) – “Big body. Tough. We liked some things on tape. We felt like he could help us so we’re excited to work with him.”
