Brian Flores – September 9, 2020
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Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(We saw WR DeVante Parker to some extent at practice yesterday. How does he look? Is he going to have more of an increased workload as the week continues?) – “Yeah. He was out at practice yesterday. We expect him to be out there today. The injury report will be out after practice today, so we’ll let you guys know then.”
(You mentioned WR DeVante Parker. Him and I guess CB Xavien Howard and WR Preston Williams have been on load – it seems like you guys have been on load management trying to deal with their injuries. If they are able to play, do you guys expect them on some kind of rep count given that they are coming off injuries?) – “I think we kind of talked about this maybe last week. Given no preseason, no one has played a football game in a long time. It’s hard to think somebody can jump out there and play 60, 70, 80 snaps. There will be a handful of guys who we will expect to go the whole way; but for the most part, we are thinking along the lines of somebody is probably going to need a blow here. I think every team has that same thought process. We have a game tomorrow night, so we’ll see how that one shakes out. Load management, I don’t know if I’d call it that. Guys are dealing with nicks and bruises. We are going to try to take care of our players as much as we can. (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle Johnston does a great job and the training staff does a great job from that standpoint. All of those guys are working, they are trying to get back as soon as they can, and hopefully we have them out there for as many plays as we need them on Sunday.”
(Not talking about any particular players, but just as a matter of your coaching philosophy, how comfortable are you starting rookies on opening day?) – “Well I guess I started as a rookie on opening day once. (laughter) If those guys, if we feel like they are ready, we’ll put them out there. If they are active, we expect them to be ready to play. Rookies play every year. We never want to put anyone in a situation where they are playing where they don’t feel like they are ready. I think these guys are working hard. They are all competitive, they all want to play and we will play them if we feel it’s the best thing for our team.”
(I thought we’d see you in a Heat t-shirt this morning but I guess you’re saving that for later.) – “I’ve got it back here. I decided not to put it on. But it was a good game last night. I’m happy for them and getting to the Eastern Conference Finals is a great accomplishment. I’ve got my Heat shirts ready to go. (laughter)”
(Now that you’ve had a solid month in the protocols and you’ve seen the protections that the NFL has in place, what is your level of confidence that we’re going to see a full 16 game season? Obviously the testing numbers are looking really good for the league. Where is your confidence right now in that?) – “I think our staff headed up by (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle Johnston and our medical team from a protocol standpoint and a transparency standpoint, we’re trying to get everyone on the same page and they’ve done a great job. I think the numbers, where they’ve been, they’ve been positive. A lot of times, good numbers or good reports may lead to some complacency. That’s not what we want. We need to be vigilant about wearing masks and wearing tracers and keeping distance and being responsible outside of the building. I don’t want to put any type of message out there like we are doing a great job and everything is great, because things can turn quickly as we know with the virus. We need to continue to be vigilant and we need to be responsible and make smart decisions as a team. Guys who are on the team, guys who are around the team, if we are not vigilant that way, it’s only a matter of time before it catches up to us. It’s been good thus far. That’s going to continue to be my message – to do the right things on the field, obviously in the building and then outside of the building. Those guys have a lot more time, or more time, than they did in training camp. I would say the first phase, we got good numbers – well the league had good numbers – and let’s not take our foot off the gas.”
(We spoke throughout camp about wanting to protect player health, while also making sure that the defensive players are as best prepared as they can be to tackle effectively early in the season. How do you think that went?) – “I think in every first game, there are a lot of things that – tackling, penalties, just overall understanding of rules. Without a preseason, some of those things are not up to the standard that you’d want them to be, really across the league. You learn through experience. To me, that’s the best way most people learn, really in whatever field it is. Without those preseason games, the tackling, the throwing, the blocking, the defeating blocks. You talk about tackling, but there are a lot of other fundamentals that guys have not been able to do under game circumstances. We’ve practiced it. We’ve practiced it to the best of our ability given the circumstances that we are in. We’re not going to sit here and make excuses, saying we missed a bunch of tackles because of this or we couldn’t complete a pass because of this. That’s not what we’re saying. But to your specific question, obviously in my opinion, probably – it would be better if we had live games to tackle. That’s where we’re at.”
(You, more than most coaches that I’ve covered, are very specific in terms of players getting assigned a role and playing that role in your various schemes. I know that’s part of your defensive philosophy, but how does that translate to offense, as well?) – “I think it definitely translates. If it’s third-and-1, which back do you want in there? Which lineman do you want in there? Which tight end do you want in there? If it’s third-and-11, do you want no receivers in the game? I think it’s very specific to the situation, maybe even more so than defensively. I think if you just think about the different situations within a game – two-minute. Do you want to run two-minute with three tight ends on the field or do you want to run it with three receivers on the field? Are you going to run short yardage with a 180-pound back or a 240-pound back? I think it’s very specific to the situation. No different than defense, no different than special teams. That’s just my thought process. Honestly, I know you mentioned maybe some other people, but I think everybody feels the same way. I think we are all trying to – as coaches, at least the guys I’ve been around and talked to – I’ve talked to really most of the coaches throughout the league just trying to pick their (brains), having conversations and talking football – whether it’s offense, defense or special teams. That’s the one thing that continually comes up: let’s put our players in the best position for them to have success and for us to have success. I think situationally, this comes up on a week-to-week basis. I think offensively probably more than defensively, in my opinion.”
(I have another question about the COVID-19 situation. The Marlins ran into a problem when they traveled. That’s when their team got sick. What level of confidence do you have that the league has policies in place that that won’t happen in the NFL and are you doing anything other than what the league mandates to keep the guys safe?) – “(Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle (Johnston) and the medical staff, they’ve done a great job thus far. We have our COVID travel protocols in place. I guess the league has a protocol and a set of standards; but Kyle and his staff have come up with a few other things to try to go above that and try to keep our guys and our staff and everyone in this organization as safe as possible. With that said, I think we all know how quickly the virus can spread. We just have to be diligent. If one person doesn’t have their mask on or isn’t keeping distance, that could affect 100 other people. I think we all – I think it’s just kind of that knowledge and understanding wherever you are, whether we travel, whether we’re at home, going to the supermarket or going to the barbershop or whatever it is. You just have to be smart.”
(I know you’ve faced QB Cam Newton a couple of times in your career. When you look at how unique he is as a quarterback, what are the principles you have to tell your defense on defending a guy like him?) – “Read your keys, play with good fundamentals and technique, follow your rules. I think those are the main points that we’re talking about defensively every week. Communication. A guy like him is obviously extremely talented. He can extend plays and make every throw. Obviously you want to contain him and keep him in the pocket. That’s easier said than done. You want to continue to be aggressive, but he’s a good player. If you are too aggressive and he slips through or finds a step-up space, he can hurt you. It’s going to be a great challenge for us. They are a good team offensive, defensively and in the kicking game. With guys like Matt Slater from a special team standpoint, and (Stephon) Gilmore, (Devin) McCourty, Adam Butler, I mean they’ve got good players defensively and offensively starting with Cam. This is a solid team and they are well-coached. This will be a huge challenge and we’re going to have to play well. We’re going to go up there and play a competitive game.”
(Earlier we mentioned the rookies, and we’re all looking forward to see the newcomers play whether they are rookies or veterans; but specifically on the youngsters, what’s the message in terms of the approach that you want guys playing their first professional game to take on Sunday?) – “One play at a time. That’s always the mindset. Good play, bad play, penalty, touchdown, give up a touchdown – just move on to the next play. Every play is an experience. I learned that early in my coaching career. Good or bad, you learn from it. The one thing you don’t want to do is take the good plays and think about those the entire game. You don’t want to take the bad plays and think about those the entire game either. Move on to the next play; but learn from it. We have to have our best communication, our best execution late in the game. That would be my message.”
