Brian Flores – October 19, 2020
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Monday, October 19, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(There was a lot of work to do here when you arrived and so .500 has been a while and coming. What does a .500 record say to you in the context of what you’re trying to accomplish here?) – “I thought we played well yesterday, offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. There are a lot of things we could have improved on, that we can improve on. A lot of things we need to get better. That’s really where my focus is. I’m just trying to get this team better today, better than it was yesterday. We’ve got a long season ahead of us. I’m not really worried about the past. I’m really just trying to focus on today and making the corrections from yesterday’s game, and hopefully playing better in the future.”
(I wanted to see if you had any preliminary updates on the guys who left with injuries? Are there any that you know for sure will be fine? Are there any that for sure might be a minute?) – “They are all still going through the evaluation process, getting treatment and the requisite tests that they need. So no, I don’t have an update. The good thing is we have a couple of weeks here before our next game. We’re still kind of doing tests. It’s the day after, so we have a lot of guys that are nicked up, bruised up. Most of them feel ok I would say, but we still have a couple of days before we make the determination on whether or not a guy can or can’t play.”
(I don’t know if you saw QB Ryan Fitzpatrick light me up on his media yesterday after the game, but I wanted to ask you with QB Tua Tagovailoa coming in, was it important for you guys or was there anything in the background that made it important for him to play in a home game or appear before the bye week?) – “It was just a situation to get him in and get him some snaps. We thought it was good for him, just like any young player, to get in there and get a feel for what it’s like to play in a National Football League game. That was really it.”
(I wanted to ask you about DE Emmanuel Ogbah and the impact he’s had on your defensive line. He leads the team now in sacks with five. I just wanted to get your take on what he’s brought to your pass rush and run defense in general?) – “I think Ogbah has done a good job. He’s played multiple positons, he’s smart, he’s tough. I think for a lot of people, the sacks are the big stat for a lot of people but I think he’s doing a good job in the run game, setting the edge, tackling. When he has to deal with a double-team block, he deals with it and has no problem taking on a double and freeing up another guy. Those are the plays that aren’t flash plays, but they are important plays for any team. Everyone’s got them at every position. I think the flash stats like the sacks and interceptions and those things, they are just such a small percentage of the actual plays. Those are good plays – they are big plays – but they are such a small percentage. It’s the other plays where he’s done a good job, a really good job. We’ve got a lot of guys who are like that, so I’ve been pleased with him.”
(The third-down defense has been as good as any team around. What, in your experience, separates just an average third-down group from a very good third-down defense?) – “I think there is a lot that goes into it – the communication, the execution. At the end of the day, talent obviously; but communication and overall execution. Offensively, you’re getting their best stuff in those situations, so your communication better be good. And then consistency. It’s one thing to do it for one game, but it’s hard with the athletes in this league, the coordinators, the creative minds offensively, it’s hard to do that. You have to do a good job across the board. It can’t be one-dimensional, it can’t be all of this or all of that. We try to, but it’s hard. It is. It’s hard to consistently get off the field in those situations, because they are good players, and they execute well. You have to first get yourself into those situations, which is hard in itself – stopping the run and defending the pass game on early downs and finishing the drive. It’s not easy. But you’ve got to practice and prepare, and put your best effort out there.”
(You all have done, as a team, obviously a very good job with COVID to this point during the regular season. TE Durham Smythe mentioned today that when players on the team go out, they never go out more than three as a group. Is that specifically something you’ve encouraged? Have you told players not to go to restaurants or bars on the road when you all are on road trips? Like anything beyond wearing a mask that you’ve suggested to them or put in as a rule?) – “I think everyone’s got to be smart. We’ve said this right from the onset here – distancing, masks, not being in large groups. I think those are things we harp on, especially during a bye week when we’re not going to be in the facility every day and they’re not going to be on their normal routine. We just have to be smart as a team – our players, coaches, everybody who has any involvement with the team. I think they all understand that. I think they’re trying to be smart. I think the league – the three people or something – that came down from the league. It wasn’t anything I implemented. We’re trying to follow the rules as dictated by the protocols of the league; but my role on this is just to continue to remind these guys and have them not get complacent on how quickly this can spread, and that’s what we try to do as a staff.”
(As well as you guys have been playing these past few weeks, is this bye week coming at a good week for you per se, or would you rather keep playing since you guys have been playing so well? Or is it just a great time to recharge the battery as you guys move forward going onto the season?) – “We’re just going to – it’s on the schedule. We just play the schedule how it’s kind of given to us. It’s always good to get some time to recharge. As a staff, we’ll evaluate really every aspect of what we’re doing here from schedules to personnel to scheme – what we’re doing from a scheme standpoint offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. What are we doing well, what are we not doing well? Do we need to play somebody more or less? Things that could potentially help our team. That’s kind of what we’ll use this week as, as well as taking some time to rest and get away from football and recharge and see our families and things like that as well. Look, if they put a game on the schedule, I’m always ready to go; but if they give us a bye week then I’ll take the bye week and try to improve our team as best – we’ll try to improve our team as best we can.”
(What are the things that you are most excited about from what you’ve seen from your defense?) – “I think the communication’s been a lot better. I think they just situationally, we understand third down, two-minute, red zone – not that they didn’t understand it, but as far as how important playing well in those situations are. I think they like playing together. They have fun. They have fun playing and they celebrate each other – the good plays; they pick each other up when there’s not-so-good plays and we’re just kind of growing as a team. That’s really in all phases. Not just defense. It’s offense and special teams and defense.”
(I wanted to ask you about the thinking of a couple of the inactives – LB Kyle Van Noy obviously was questionable. I guess he didn’t quite make it. And with RB Jordan Howard it’s been two weeks now that at least from our understanding he’s been a healthy scratch. What is the thinking behind that and how is he handling what seems to be a demotion?) – “Jordan (Howard) is a competitor, so he’s a competitive guy who wants to be out there. That’s why he’s here and I understand that. We’ve got to make decisions and they’re hard decisions. We can only have 48 guys active on Sunday, and a lot goes into it offensively, defensively, kicking game. We just try to make the decisions that are best for our team. Each guy who is made inactive, I know they all want to be out there. If they didn’t, then there’s something wrong. It’s a tough part of this, but we need everyone on this team. Everyone is important. I’ve been in many years where someone who was inactive becomes active later in the year and plays well, so that’s just kind of how it goes. So everyone’s got to be ready. Jordan will be ready. He’s always ready. Every week is a little bit different, so we’ll see what the game plan is for the Rams and we’ll make our decisions once that time draws near.”
