Brian Flores – October 2, 2020
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Friday, October 2, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(What’s the status of both CB Byron Jones and QB Tua Tagovailoa for Sunday’s game?) – “Tua will be listed as questionable. He was in today and practiced on a limited basis, so he’ll be questionable. Byron, we’re listing him as doubtful. He was out there on a limited basis as well. We’ve still got to – we’ll see on that one, but we’ll put him down as doubtful.”
(I was going to ask you if you might use that extra spot that you have with the 55-man rule this year to bring up CB Tae Hayes again this week?) – “We’ll see. (General Manager) Chris (Grier) along with myself and the coaching staff, we go through how we want to handle the roster on game day. Obviously we made a move last week. If it fits, we’ll do it. If not, then we won’t do it. We’ll see on Sunday.”
(Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll announced that S Jamal Adams is out of Sunday’s game. What kind of player does that remove from the Seahawks’ lineup?) – “Thanks for the information. I didn’t know that, just coming off the practice (field). Yeah, he’s a great player. I think we all know that, having played against him in the division. He’s fast, explosive, playmaker (in the) run game, pass game, pressures, sacks. This is one of the top players in the league. I don’t like to see guys miss games and go down. I hope he gets better quickly and that’s for he and anyone else that’s injured around the league, on our team or not. That’s just me. They’ve got a lot of good players. I think they’ll figure out a way to play offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. They’re well coached. It will still be a tough, tough battle with whoever they put in there.”
(Obviously the biggest story on the planet is President Trump testing positive for coronavirus. I wanted to get your reaction to that and have you addressed the team with another message to just stay diligent when it’s still out there?) – “I address the team pretty much every day in some form or fashion. I didn’t address that this morning. Honestly I didn’t know if it was confirmed. I honestly still don’t. Look, no one is exempt. If it is confirmed – I’ve been on the practice field here. Has that been confirmed? I’m asking you guys, honestly.”
(Yes.) – “Okay. Look, no one is exempt. No one is exempt from coronavirus. No one is exempt from cancer. No one is exempt. It doesn’t matter who you are. I think we just have to continue to wear the masks and (socially) distance and act responsibly and even then, people still get coronavirus. That’s the kind of disease it is, virus it is. We need to be responsible. That’s always been my message to the players. I think they understand that. I think everyone needs to understand that. But again, you can do everything right and still get it. We just all have to be careful.”
(We talked about after the Buffalo loss how you wanted to get back on the field as quick as possible on Thursday. After a win, you’ve got to be itching, 10 days out, to get back on the field after the win, right?) – “Yeah, I need to see some new film. That’s kind of how I feel right now. I’m competitive. The guys on this team are competitive. Everyone in this league is competitive. We want to play, we want to coach; so yeah, I need to see some new film. That’s kind of where I’m at. I think everyone is that way. I’m sure they’re itching to play too. Look, they’re a good team. It will be a tough test; but yes, it’s been awhile since we’ve played so I want to get back out there.”
(On the topic of the Seahawks, I wanted to ask you, you’ve been pretty aggressive in the past with going for it on fourth down and being willing to kind of do some trick plays on special teams. How much does Seattle’s 37 points per game, the second-most in the NFL, change your approach to the aggressive nature of how you call the game?) – “I think you always want to call the game aggressively, whether it’s offensively, defensively or in the kicking game. I guess that’s how we want to be by nature. We want our players to play physical and aggressively. I don’t think we want to – we want to be smart, also. Every situation is different. Every game is different. The timing of making a more aggressive call versus a different type of call, every one is a little bit different. It can’t be all one thing. It can’t be all aggressive. It can’t be all – I guess non-aggressive is the opposite of that. I think you’ve got to mix things up. But you want to try to put your team in the best situation to win the ballgame and I think that’s what we always try to do. If that means going for it on fourth down, if that means punting on fourth down, if that means a trick play, then again, I think we’re no different than any other team. Seattle has a bunch of trick plays too. We’ve got to be ready for that.”
(I noticed that S Clayton Fejedelem was a full practice yesterday and both Dolphins and Seattle’s special teams units have been good. What kind of impact do you think Fejedelem could potentially have when he’s able to play?) – “Well he was having a really good training camp prior to the injury, so we’re looking forward to getting him out there. Again, it’s going to be his first game. Obviously he’s played in this league. We’re excited to have him out there. He’s a captain. He’s been itching to go. I’m excited to get him out there and get him playing. I think he’s practiced and prepared well, so hopefully that translates to good play on the field on Sunday.”
