Brian Flores – September 20, 2021
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Monday, September 20, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(A couple of things, the league-owned TV network said today that the extent of QB Tua Tagovailoa’s health issue is bruised ribs. He has nothing worse than that. I just wanted to ask you if that’s correct. And also, has WR Will Fuller returned to the building today?) – “Yeah, Tua obviously went out of the game yesterday. We’re still running some tests. He was in a lot of pain yesterday. He’s still in a good deal of pain today. But I think we’ll call him day-to-day right now. As far as Will, Will was here today and we expect him here this week as well.”
(I wanted to ask you, after watching the film of yesterday’s game and evaluating the offensive line as a whole, are you contemplating any changes to the line, whether that is internal or external?) – “I don’t think we did really anything well yesterday – offensively, defensively or in the kicking game. We’ve got a lot of things that we need to improve on. Specific to the O-line, I think it was communication, it was fundamentals and techniques that were an issue. We’ve got to play a lot better on the offensive line and really across the board offensively and as a team. That starts with me. We’ll do a better job of getting them prepared and ready to play. And yes, we’ll take a look at personnel and see if we need to make any changes to play better than we did yesterday.”
(In terms of a lot of those blitzes that were coming from the edge, how responsible were the tight ends and the backs in those situations. And also, what were the receivers’ roles in terms of their hot routes?) – “We’d have to talk specifically on some specific plays but there were some hots and sight adjusts that we didn’t throw that we should have thrown. There were some missed IDs and missed communication on the offensive line between the center and the quarterback, and we have to get that better. We have to get that right. We have to get that corrected. There were also some technique and fundamental issues. You mentioned the tight ends. We’d have to talk specifically about a specific play, but there were some instances where they were in protection as well. We’ve got to do a better job, really, at all positions. Sights, sight adjusts and hots, like you mentioned that’s part of it. Identification – they don’t make it easy. Nobody makes it easy. But we have to be able to see it, recognize it, make the right ID and get it blocked.”
(You’ve seen QB Tua Tagovailoa go through a lot in his first two seasons, just physically coming back from the hip and some of the other injuries. What can you tell me about his toughness that you’ve seen, if it is a question of pain management in his ability to come back. What kind of toughness does Tua have?) – “He’s a tough kid. I would say he’s a very tough kid. Whether it’s the – just coming back from the hip. I think he had a thumb (injury) last year that he played through. He tried to go yesterday. Toughness isn’t something that we question with him. He’s going to do everything he can to get back as soon as he can. I have a lot of confidence in that. No, he’s a tough kid for sure.”
(I’m wondering if you could educate me a little bit on the subject of flak jackets. I know a lot of times when quarterbacks have rib injuries, they wear flak jackets. Is that a possibility for QB Tua Tagovailoa? I have no idea whether these things are custom-made and they take forever to make or whether you’re exploring that option.) – “I think that’s something we would look into. To be honest, I don’t have a lot of familiarity with flak jackets. I think sometimes it’s personal preference for some guys who have dealt with some rib-type of injuries. Some guys just like to wear them for an extra layer of protection. I think that’s definitely something we would look into. Yeah, I think we’d look into it.”
(I wanted to ask you about the second half yesterday. It seemed like after having a rough start, you were still pretty much in the game at halftime. Why wasn’t your team able to step up in the second half and just continue to compete as Buffalo – was it Buffalo stepping up a little bit or was it you guys not making the adjustments?) – “We just didn’t play well. I thought we just didn’t play well. They’re a good team. I think we need to give them credit. They did a lot of good things yesterday. We simply just – whether it was communication or whether it was technique, fundamentals, we didn’t execute the way we needed to. We had some opportunities early. We didn’t take advantage of them and it kind of snowballed on us.”
(How much does the O-line, what they’re dealing with, impact how you deal with QB Tua Tagovailoa this week? Coming back with ribs, obviously that’s not an injury you want to get hit with a lot.) – “I think we’re making the corrections, really, at all positions. I don’t think we go into it thinking, ‘Hey, we need…’ We go into it every game thinking we are going to get the quarterback protected. That’s always a point of emphasis. Obviously, we didn’t do that yesterday so we will make some adjustments to make sure that gets done. That’s not going to be part of it. If Tua can go, he’s going to go. That’s the kind of kid he is.”
(I wanted to ask for quick updates on the team running tests on G/T Jesse Davis and WR Jakeem Grant Sr. Do you have any updates on how they are feeling and when you expect them to practice this week?) – “Still running tests but the early indications are promising, I would say, initially. I’m hopeful to see them out there on Wednesday. Nothing to too serious with either guy.”
(You kind of answered this a moment ago when you said if QB Tua Tagovailoa can go, he’ll go. Because it’s your quarterback, because it’s his left side, his throwing side and the side that theoretically would be more exposed and knowing that the player is almost always going to say, ‘I’m good, I’m going to play,’ how much stock will you put into what his voice says this week? Or because this is such a sensitive area for a guy, do you almost have to protect him from himself a little bit too?) – “I think that’s part of our conversations. As coaches, that’s part of our responsibility is to not put the player in a position – to protect the player from himself like you mentioned. That’s always part of the conversation and part of our process, and knowing that if he’s out there, then we feel comfortable with him out there. That’s the approach we will always take.”
(S Eric Rowe seeing less snaps, S Brandon Jones and S Jevon Holland saw the field more. I know some of it might be packages but certainly it ate into Rowe’s playing time. What went into those decisions?) – “Like you mentioned, there are different defensive packages we come up with on a weekly basis. Just trying to get what we feel is the best group for a particular opponent and that’s the way we went yesterday. Rowe is obviously a big part of our defense, he’s played well. We played a little bit differently yesterday. I thought Brandon played well, I thought Jevon played well and I thought (Jason) McCourty did some good things. It could be very different this week, we’ll see.”
(l wanted to get your opinion on T Austin Jackson. Obviously, he missed the first game with COVID. I don’t know if there was rust involved – obviously everybody struggled, where us Austin performance-wise and mentally?) – “He’s got to play better. I think that’s, I can’t put it any plainer or simpler. He’s got to play better and he’s not alone. We’ve got to play better at a lot of positions. We’ve got to coach it better. We’ll do that. I think that this is a resilient team. We are going to turn the page to the Raiders after we go get done with these corrections. Turn the page, make the corrections, get back out to practice Wednesday, have a good week of preparation and give ourselves an opportunity to have success a week from now.”
