Brian Flores – September 26, 2019
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Thursday, September 26, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I know obviously you want all your players to play well, but there’s a handful of veterans on the team who aren’t playing at the level they have in the past. I know it’s a small sample size. Do you go to them and challenge them saying, “I need more?” What’s your approach with that group?) – “I challenge everybody. Everyone in the building – players, coaches, security, weight staff – everyone gets challenged. It’s a total team effort. Individually, we all have to do a better job. Even the guys who are playing well or playing well in spurts – everyone gets challenged. We want everyone to play at a – we have a high standard. I have a high standard. We’re not playing up to that standard right now, and we need to try to work towards that. It starts in practice. It starts in meetings. It’s never just one player in a team game like this. From play to play it could be one or two guys; but collectively, it’s everyone. We all have to try to meet that standard and play to our potential.”
(Who challenges you besides Chairman of the Board/Managing General Partner Stephen Ross and General Manager Chris Grier?) – “Our coaching staff. I like communication. I like to be challenged. Our coaching staff – we sit in meetings. We go back and forth about things we feel like are best for individual players, the team, etc. At the end of the day, I have final say; but I’m always going to do what I feel is best for the team. That communication sparks a different line of thinking at times. I think that’s needed in really any field and any environment. It’s something that I relish. I want communication from players, from coaches, from personnel. Again, I’ve never sat here and said I have all the answers. At the end of the day, somebody’s got to make a final decision. That falls on me; but in order to make that decision, you need to have all the pertinent information. I’m trying to gather that at all times in a myriad of areas whether it be offense, defense, special teams, personnel. There are a hundred different areas where I’m trying to gather information to make the right decision for this organization.”
(What do you think of Chargers DE Joey Bosa?) – “(laughter) I think he’s one of the top young players in this league. His combination of size, speed, athleticism and just strictly pass rush. His pass rush technique is at the top of the league. He’s got an array of rushes. He’s got power. He’s got speed. He’s got – we can get into the technical terms – doubles – we can get into all the technical terms but he’s got it all. The one thing he has is a very, very high motor. Even when he doesn’t win on the snap, he can win with his second effort and third effort. That’s what you’re looking for, so that’ll be a major test for us. Just from a pure effort standpoint, we’ve got to finish every snap on that particular player. It’s not just him. (Melvin) Ingram has an array of moves and the type of tenacity – it’s coming from both sides. Really, that’s the case throughout the entire defense. They do a good job. Obviously those two are the two guys who you definitely have to have eyes on. From (Brandon) Mebane to – they’ve got the young guy (Jerry) Tillery in there who’s a good young player as well. Obviously Thomas Davis, Casey Hayward – they’ve got a good team. It’s not just one guy, it’s not just two guys; they’ve got 11 and some guys who come in the game as (backups). I think of (Desmond) King – their nickel – who’s a really good player as well. So it’s a good team.”
(From a player evaluation standpoint, where do you rank high motor and effort as traits when you’re looking for players?) – “I think it’s something that is one of those things to me, that’s just a standard operating procedure. That’s how you should play the game. It’s a privilege to play this game. Our guys play with good effort and you see it. It’s just, ‘hey, that’s the way it’s supposed to be played.’ At times, it’s not always the case. Guys get tired, they’re not conditioned, etc. But effort, motor, tenacity, willingness to put in the work to have the conditioning to play at that level over the course of an entire game – I think that speaks volumes for a player. I know we’re talking about (Joey) Bosa, but a guy who has all the talent, has all the height, weight, speed – you can tell there’s no complacency to that young man. That’s why he plays the way he plays. They’ve got a lot of players like that. To me, that’s how you’re supposed to play this game. I think we’ve got a group of guys who play that way as well.”
(I know there are some reports out there that Chargers RB Melvin Gordon is going to report. He may not play but in the event that he does play, is that something that you are prepared for?) – “Yeah, we’re prepared for everyone. The second that got reported, I went to my Melvin Gordon tape and took a look. I have some familiarity with him. This is one of the best backs in the league running the football. He runs hard, breaks tackles, catches it out of the backfield. He’s a good player. But they’ve got good backs. We talked about (Austin) Ekeler yesterday and (Justin Jackson). They’ve got an array of backs. Just add one more to the preparation and away we go.”
(What did you see from C/G Evan Boehm after he came into the game?) – “I thought he played hard. I thought from an assignment standpoint, he knew where to be and what to do. His communication was good. Again, it’s a tough environment (with) crowd noise (and) good players. It wasn’t all perfect, but he’s a guy who has gotten better since he’s gotten here every week and getting more comfortable. Hopefully that continues.”
(With QB Josh Rosen, DT Robert Nkemdiche and DE Taco Charlton, you guys have acquired some first-round players. Do players who are first-round players, do you think that when they don’t pan out immediately, that they have adequate time to develop in this NFL climate where expectations are so high for those players?) – “First round, second round, undrafted, I think you can get players really anywhere from a draft selection or undrafted. Really what matters is when you get into a building and you learn the offense or the defense or the kicking game, you apply yourself in the meeting room and through walkthroughs and in practice, and you just try to be the best player you can be. To me, the round doesn’t – I’m not really locked in on the rounds. My focus is on the individual player. If you get caught up in rounds and things of that nature then that kind of takes some of the focus off of the individual and in this case, his ability to reach his potential for his skillset. That’s kind of my thinking on that. I throw the rounds out and I just focus on the player.”
(How do you kind of help a player deal with those expectations?) – “It’s the same message I give to the players every day: let’s focus on today. Let’s not worry about what round you’re in. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the work you put in on a day-to-day basis and whether or not you are doing the things necessarily to become the best player you can be. Worrying about what round you’re in, I don’t know if that necessarily helps you. Conversely, worrying about not being drafted or getting drafted late or whatever the circumstances are that you end up on a team, worrying about that doesn’t help you on the field. Maybe it gives you a little bit of motivation; but to me, if you aren’t motivated to play in this league – maybe that gives you a little extra but most guys are motivated to play and compete and get better. I see that on this team. I see that from (Robert) Nkemdiche, from Taco (Charlton), from really everyone. It doesn’t matter (if they were selected in the) first round, second round, undrafted, Canadian – the CFL – it doesn’t matter. That’s what I’m looking for. I think those are the kinds of guys we have on this team and I think those are the guys who develop.”
(Do you like to watch Thursday Night Football, like the whole game? Parts of it? Can you watch football for enjoyment or the whole time will you be like scouting the Eagles because you know you have them?) – “The game is on in the background. A lot of times, I’m watching situations so the end of the half and how they’re using their timeouts and would I have challenged that. That’s kind of how I watch the game. I wouldn’t say it’s – I feel like I’m still working in a lot of ways. Thursday is a big night for us. It’s red zone and 2-minute and kind of finishing up – like every other team – the installs and preparation for the next opponent. So no, I’m not sitting there watching the entire game with popcorn. (laughter) I’m not doing that. But it’s on in the background. I love watching football. I just watch it a little bit differently than I have in the past.”
(What about Saturdays?) – “College football?
(Oh yeah.) – “I have yet to watch one.”
(You haven’t watched any college football?) – “I watched the end of the Georgia game. It was after meetings. Georgia vs. Notre Dame – it was actually the last play. It was a Hail Mary at the end. That’s all I’ve got. (laughter)”
(No Boston College?) – “No. Unfortunately I haven’t watched much of that. We’ve got some other things going on here. (laughter) I think the guys at BC will forgive me for not watching every one.”
