Brian Flores – November 27, 2019
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Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Any roster moves in regards to anyone coming up to the 53-man roster if WR Jakeem Grant goes to IR?) – “Yeah, we’ll bring Isaiah Ford up, so that will be the move there with Jakeem going down.”
(Are you optimistic about having WR Albert Wilson this week to give you a fourth healthy receiver or do you need to bring somebody else in as well?) – “We’re still kind of discussing that. Obviously Albert is doing everything he can to get out there. I expect to see him to some degree today and he’s doing everything he can to work his way back.”
(Do you have any Thanksgiving plans?) – “Yeah, I’ll spend time with my family and have turkey with the kids and my wife. It’s my favorite holiday, to be honest. I think we have a lot to be thankful for. I just have a lot of memories of spending time with brothers, parents, cousins, uncles. Yeah, it’s a good holiday.”
(What do you have to be thankful for?) – “I have a lot to be thankful for – my family, health, friendships. I’ve had a lot of blessings and great opportunities and it’s a great opportunity and a blessing to coach this team and be part of this organization. I wake up every day and I’m excited and happy. I have a lot to be thankful for.”
(Effort has not been a problem with this team. I think you’ll agree with that. Is that right?) – “Yeah, I would agree with that. I think this team, they play hard. They work hard. It’s important to them. Yeah, I would say that’s something that we – we give good effort. But I think every team gives good effort. I think if you play in this league, that’s almost standard operating procedure.”
(But it is a long season and you are 2-9. In these last five games, where does the motivation come from?) – “I think guys love to play football and they’re competitors. I think I’m competitive. Those players in the locker room are competitive. Our coaching staff is competitive. Everyone in this organization is competitive. From that standpoint, if you are a competitor, you go out there and try to win every week. I don’t think we’re lacking in that area either. I expect these guys to come out and practice hard today and get themselves prepared to play a tough, physical and very good Philadelphia team.”
(With the decisions at left tackle and guard, are you going week to week or at this point would you like to see T Julién Davenport and G Shaq Calhoun out there moving forward?) – “I think we’ll go week to week like we have every week. We try to stay consistent that way. I think practice is an important part of this but I think Shaq and Julién, I think those guys understand that and I imagine they’ll practice or do everything they can to practice well and put themselves in position to play well. If they do that, I would expect to see them out there.”
(I know guys like WR Isaiah Ford and RB Patrick Laird are going to get opportunities now because of injuries; but realistically, how many skill position guys can a team afford to lose before it really has an impact? Have you ever gone through so many injuries at the skill positions in your career?) – “It’s not easy. You look at Philly and their situation, they’ve had a lot of guys go down as well. I anticipate that they’ll get some guys back this week but I think every team goes through some injury – not every team, but a lot of teams go through injuries like we’re dealing with now. Other guys have to step up whether it’s the tight end position or the running backs. The receivers we have, they have to play. They have to go. All of that, we have to take that into consideration as we’re game-planning and as we’re putting things together. We have a lot of confidence in our receiver group and I think they’ll prepare themselves to get ready to play. I think they’ll all play hard and give maximum effort and hopefully be productive.”
(What did you learn about Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson’s offense when you faced him in the Super Bowl?) – “It’s a tough offense. They’ve got a lot of good skill players. It’s a good scheme. It’s a good mix of shifts, motions, gadget-type formations/plays; but also your core runs, core passes, from dropbacks to play-action to the screen game. They do a lot. They’ve got good skill players. It’s a good scheme. We’ve got to play with really good communication, good fundamentals, good technique. We have to tackle well, like we talk about every week. It’s a good offense.”
(Did you go back ever and watch that film or were you just kind of…) – “No, I’ve watched it. I think you can – like anything else, you learn from that game, things you could have done better, things you may do the next time around. Yeah, I’ve gone back and watched it. I’m not afraid of watching a loss or something where it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. No issue there.”
(What did you learn from going back and watching it?) – “It was a couple of years ago. It’s a totally different set of players, situations. I mean I know that it’s a good offense. I know that they’ll have plays schemed up for us (and) what we do to try to take advantage of some of the things that we do. But I think every team is like that. They’ve got good players. That’s what I’ve learned. A lot of them are still there.”
(Will you at any point this week work on the Philly Special?) – “I think it’s – we may, we may not. Again, that was a different set of players there. That was (Trey) Burton throwing it. He’s not on their team now. It’s very different. They’ve got a lot of different players than they did in 2017. We’ve got a totally different set of players as well. We may work on it, we may not. We’ll definitely show it to them. They’ve got gadgets. They’ve got a lot more gadgets than that play, I’ll tell you that right now, if you’ve watched them over the years. We’ve got to be ready for everything. I’d say, if you spend too much time on those types of plays – in a lot of instances that’s what the offense wants you to do is spend time on that, then they hit you with their core runs and core passes while you’re thinking about the Philly Special and it never shows.”
(You’ve tried several times this year, more than a handful actually, to do something different – onside kicks, fake field goal, something to give a spark for your team. I understand the roster and all of that, but is that who you are at your core where when you get a better set of players, that you’re still going to be doing that?) – “I think it’s case by case, season by season, team by team, day by day. If we feel like we have something we think will work, we’re probably going to run it – offensively, defensively or in the kicking game. I think if you can get an advantage in any phase, you need to try to do that. Regardless of the situation, I think that’s just coaching football. It doesn’t matter the phase, it doesn’t matter offense, defense. If you can try to take advantage of any little thing, you try to do it. When the opportunity presents itself, you’ve got to call it. I think I’m not afraid to call it. Maybe that will change. I doubt it will, to be honest with you. (laughter)”
(During a week, how much to you study opposing coaches and coordinators tendencies versus just the team they have on the field?) – “I think you study all of it. You study all the tendencies. I think it’s easy to fall into a rhythm or routine. ‘Hey, on this we’re doing this, on that we’re doing that.’ I try to do that for our coaching staff. We try to do that on the opponents as well. I’d say for this staff (in the Eagles that) breaks a lot of tendencies. At the end of the day, you see that every week. You think they’re going to run it every time on third-and-1 and then they hit you with a pass and there it is. I thought, everybody thought, the statistics say this, the analytics say that, and it’s a big play. That happens at times. You’ve got to be ready for everything. I tell our players ‘read your keys.’ I know it’s run 99 out of 100 (times) but read your keys. Don’t come back and tell me it was 99 out of 100 and it’s a pass now. That’s always been a coaching point of mine. I think every coach to some degree – or not even to some degree, I think every coach is teaching that.”
(This franchise has a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, LB Zach Thomas. I don’t know how familiar you are. Can I ask your opinion?) – “Yeah. First, I think I’ve met him once. He’s a very, very humble, kind individual. In that instance and from everything that I’ve heard, he’s a great teammate, great leader and a great human being. So I’ll start there. I think he was a very, very, very good player. (He was) instinctive, made a lot of plays, really good tackler. I would say the ball found him or he found the ball in a lot of instances. I just think turnover after turnover, (he was) tough and physical. He made a lot of plays and they played a lot of great defense here and he was right at the forefront of a lot of that.”
(So you’d like to see LB Zach Thomas get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?) – “Absolutely. I’d love to see him get in.”
(What do you hope your team can accomplish in the last five games of the season?) – “The same things I’ve been saying all year. Let’s improve, let’s get better in all areas – running, blocking, defeating blocks, tackling, footwork, hand placement, communication, overall execution, coverage on kicks and punts, punting, field goals, coaching – you name it, we need to improve and get better. That’s our job. That’s our job as coaches to teach and try to help people improve and get better. It’s not just on the field, but off the field as well. It’s Thanksgiving. I talked to our players this morning, it’s a great opportunity for you to – instead of you going on Instagram or Twitter, why don’t you write a note to somebody who has done a lot for you – a mentor, a coach, your girlfriend, your wife, your kids, your parents. It’s a great opportunity – not opportunity, you should do it all the time; but it is Thanksgiving and we all have a lot to be thankful for. They should go out – I try to encourage them to do that as well. There is a lot of areas we can get better. That’s my job. That’s what I like to do is help people get better.”
