Brian Flores – September 12, 2019
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Thursday, September 12, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Is it possible to build a team in the likeness of the New England Patriots? For years, this team said it was going to build a team to beat New England. Now it kind of seems as though this team is taking a New England path to building. Is that possible?) – “No, it’s not. There are different players in this building. We’re trying to build the Miami Dolphins. I’ll say that first and foremost. New England has their players, their coaches, their own organization. We’re the Miami Dolphins, and we’re trying to build something here. Each player is different. Each coach is different. How you coach differently, it’s all different. To build something in the likeness of someone else – that’s not how it works. We’re going to have our own personality as a team, our own culture. That’s the goal.”
(How is that going? How do you think instilling your culture to this franchise is going so far?) – “I think it’s a work in progress. I think we’ve got a group of guys who understand the work that it’s going to take to prepare and compete every week, and we’re learning to do that. I think we practiced that way yesterday, and we’ll continue to build and try to improve and get better.”
(One of the things that you talked about or have learned in your previous stops is “team first” and “selflessness” – that those are part of the core values.) – “Absolutely.”
(When you encounter resistance to that, what is your plan to overcome it?) – “(The plan is to) continue working and continue preaching the message. I think ultimately, at the end of the day, in this game when there are 11 guys on the field and 53 guys on the team, it’s a lot of individuals. I think to get the most out of the team, to get the most out of the groups that are on the field, you have to put the team first. So I just keep preaching that message. Hopefully, it sinks in and guys start to really take it to heart, understand it. It’s my message, and hopefully it becomes their message, which I think we’ve got some of that already.”
(It’s no secret you guys are heavy underdogs this weekend. Is that anything that you tell the team, you make that known or…?) – “We just come to work. We’re going to prepare like we do every week. They’ve got a good team. We know that. We understand that. Our preparation doesn’t change. I think every week they go out there, we’re going to go out there and compete regardless of who the team is. It’s hard to win in this league. It’s a challenge every week. That’s kind of where we’re at. We’ve just got to come to work, practice, try to get better and then we’ll go compete on Sunday.”
(What does it take to pull off a big upset?) – “It takes all 53 guys on the same page. Obviously, 46 on game day, but 53 and really 63 with the practice squad – (and) all the coaches working during the week. It starts in practice. It doesn’t just happen on Sunday. It starts in practice, and then you execute in the game and you just string good plays together. I think that’s – you call it an upset – I just call it playing good football.”
(What do you think of WR Jakeem Grant’s performance last week? He had the muffed punt, he had the touchdown-saving tackle on the fake punt. I know QB Ryan Fitzpatrick went at him deep one time, but overall, what did you think of Jakeem’s performance?) – “I think we’re kind of moved on to this week. I think everyone had plays they wished they had back, and some guys – as a coaching staff, we have things we have things we wished we had back, but we’re kind of moved on to – I shouldn’t say kind of. We’re moved on to this week.”
(How do you foresee him being used in the next few weeks, and what do you expect from WR Jakeem Grant?) – “I have a lot of confidence in Jakeem as a returner, as a receiver. I have a lot of confidence in him. He’s a guy who with the ball in his hands, he’s very explosive, and we’re going to try to put him in positions where he can make some plays.”
(What’s WR Albert Wilson’s status after he tweaked that calf last week?) – “Albert’s doing everything he can to get back. Obviously, he didn’t practice yesterday. He’s doing everything he can to get back. Obviously, when he’s in there, he’s an integral part of the offense. The guy’s dynamic with the ball in his hands. He’s doing everything he can to get back, and hopefully he’s back sooner than later.”
(Is it realistic to have WR Albert Wilson Sunday?) – “That’s the hope. That’s the hope. That’s the hope.”
(After S Walt Aikens, CB Chris Lammons is the one who got the most snaps on special teams. What is it you like about him as a special teamer?) – “He’s worked extremely hard to better himself, both on the field and off the field. He’s tough. He’s fast. He’s physical. The game’s important to him. He puts the team first. He went out and made a lot of plays in the preseason. He’s a guy who we like his toughness. You need that on your team, especially in the kicking game. I think he’s done a good job.”
(What do you want to see out of your tight ends this Sunday against that Patriots defense?) – “The first thing that comes to mind is we want to see them block in the run game, block in protection if that’s what the offensive play call calls for, get open, catch the football and then just 100 percent on their assignments. That’s kind of my checklist for really every position.”
(You made some roster moves this morning. Why DE Tank Carradine? Why’d you bring him back?) – “We put (Jonathan) Ledbetter on IR. We just felt that was a one-for-one, end-for-end.”
(What did DE Tank Carradine show you in preseason to warrant getting re-signed for example?) – “Tank’s tough. He’s physical. He’s a good teammate. We liked a lot of things about him, and we’re happy to have him back.”
(You guys have made a habit these last couple of days – coaches and players – of saying, “we’re not talking about the Ravens game.” Is that going to be the norm throughout the season? After a victory, will you stick to that same line, or do you take good stuff and…?) – “No. I think you have to move on. I think every week, you’ve got to put your energy and your effort towards the next opponent because if you take your eye off that team and you start worrying about some other things, then you lose a little bit of preparation that you’re going to need for the following week, so that’ll be something you’ll hear from me on a weekly basis. You learn from both wins and losses, and we just try to make the corrections in either case and try to move on, get better, improve and really move on to the next opponent. That’s simply because I really firmly believe that the moments, however – five minutes spent on the last game is five minutes you could spend on the next game, and I don’t know what the difference would be, so we try to move on.”
(WR Allen Hurns got a lot of snaps – I think he was second on the team in wide receiver snaps in that opener. He had kind of a quiet preseason from him, but what do you like about what you’ve seen from him? Obviously he’s a veteran guy.) – “(Allen Hurns is) veteran, tough, blocks in the run game, good hands, tough. I like Allen a lot. (He’s) smart (and) can play multiple positions. (He’s) clean on his assignments most times. I like him. I think he’s a good player.”
(How does the, I guess the uncertainty of whether Patriots WR Antonio Brown is going to play affect how you guys prepare?) – “We’re preparing for everyone, so ‘AB’ (Antonio Brown), (Julian) Edelman, (Josh) Gordon, (Ryan) Izzo, the backs – we’re preparing for everyone. They’ve got a good team. There’s a lot of guys to prepare for but he’s as dynamic as they get from a receiver standpoint, but they’ve got a lot of good players there. We’ve got a big task ahead of us.”
(When S Reshad Jones was on the field last Sunday, how did you feel he performed?) – “I thought he played well. I thought he played well. I think he tackled well. I thought he was aggressive. I thought he played well.”
(I know it varies from week to week. Do you think S Reshad Jones can do more?) – “Yeah. This is an experienced – this is a very good player. This guy’s made a lot of plays in this league. I think he can do a lot, and we’ll try to put him in positions to do that.”
