Robby Brown – December 1, 2020
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Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Quarterbacks Coach Robby Brown
(What did QB Tua Tagovailoa do on Sunday while he was on the sidelines? I saw he made the trip and he was out there even though he didn’t play. What instructions did you give him for Sunday?) – “What we did, the backup quarterbacks and the guys that are down there, we always have things for them to look at. Just for him, per (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) and ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores), just use it as a learning experience. Look at all the pictures, try to look at it as if you are playing – in that way. So you go over all of that and he just tried to treat it as if he were playing or as if he were trying to help out. He saw some things and really did a good job of trying to use it as a learning experience.”
(I’m curious, we talked to QB Tua Tagovailoa a little bit about the balance between throwing it into tight windows versus waiting for receivers to separate. How do you teach a young quarterback when is the right time to take that chance for maybe a 50/50 ball versus holding on to it?) – “We stress a lot of things to him and he has a great feel for football in general. He’s a competitive guy. So I think the more and more reps he gets – whether it’s routes versus air in practice, 7-on-7 reps, team reps in practice, game reps – all of that kind of stuff is where you get a feel for that and I think his natural instinct will come in. You talk about it, you watch it on film, you pull those up, (and say) ‘hey, what did you think here or what did you think there?’ I think his natural instinct, he’ll get better and better at it as he goes. I think he has a wonderful natural instinct for the game of football.”
(During the Broncos game, it looked like QB Tua Tagovailoa was very uncomfortable. He didn’t show that he had a great feel of the offense or you didn’t see those natural instincts like you’re talking about there. What were some of the things the Broncos were doing that really affected him, in your opinion?) – “If I had the answer to that, I’d probably be the richest man on earth. You have games where you play good, you have games where you aren’t feeling great and those types of things. I’d say for us as coaches, we just go back and look at it. ‘How can we do a better job to make him more comfortable? How can he do a better job?’ I think the great thing about this team, and more so than some I’ve been on, but what’s really good with this team is everybody looks at themselves and says ‘how can we help, how can we make this better?’ I think that’s what makes this team special. It starts from the top. We’ve just got to try to figure out how to fix that when it comes about, and it comes about. It’s the National Football League, so there are going to be games where you play great and hang 38 (points), and there are going to be games where they get you. We’ve just got to figure out how to fix that.”
(I was curious about QB Reid Sinnett, obviously a developmental quarterback who dressed for the first time. I have no idea anything at all about Reid Sinnett. What do you think are his strengths, upside? What does he seem to do ok?) – “We brought Reid in for a workout early on in the year and signed him. Reid does a really good job on the mental aspect of the game. He studies like he’s supposed to. He does everything the right way. He really works hard when he is running the look squad. We’ve been pleased with what we’ve seen so far. He’s got to come in and do the same things that we’ve talked about with the other developmental guys. It doesn’t matter what position it is, he needs to come in and try to get better mentally, try to get better when he gets individual throws during special teams and whatever it may be. He just has to continue to try to raise the bar for himself and see what happens.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa has had four starts, so there is a little bit more tape on him for defenses. How do you guys go about adjusting maybe some tendencies he may be showing that defenses may lock on?) – “You’re going to try to do that. It doesn’t matter who is playing quarterback, you are going to try to look at tendencies that you may have as an offense, that you may have in different areas of the field, that you may have in all kinds of places. We’re always trying to do that, and look at things through the lens of who you are playing against. I don’t think it really matters who the quarterback is. It’s just Coaching 101. You try to figure out the best way to do things and then you go from there. I don’t think the quarterback really plays a role in that. You look at you as an offense and as a football team to try to fix that from a self-scout perspective.”
Josh Boyer – December 1, 2020
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Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(I’m curious, what was the story of you going from the South Dakota School of Mines to the Patriots? How did that – kind of an odd step to take and I’m just curious how that happened?) – “Basically how it happened is Dean Pees was the linebackers coach for the New England Patriots, I believe in ’04 and ’05. I coached for Dean at Kent State. I was a graduate assistant. I worked heavily with the secondary with him, pretty closely with him, and after the ’05 season, Dean was made the defensive coordinator at New England and he called. That’s basically how I ended up at New England. It was really kind of by word of mouth, and I just went in there as a quality control coach and kind of worked my way up through the system that way; but I’d worked pretty closely with Dean Pees at Kent State, so that’s kind of how I went from South Dakota to New England.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores talks about how there’s a lot more to playing cornerback than intercepting passes. What is the thing that pleases you the most about the way CB Xavien Howard is playing?) – “I would say he’s really put in consistently some good all-around performances from a run-game standpoint, a pass-game standpoint, as far as his technique at the line of scrimmage, his leverage in pass coverage, his technique at the top of the route. I would say in the run game, making sure that he leverages the ball, being able to crack replace, really becoming a complete corner and doing it very consistently for a long period of time. It’s getting better and he’s working hard at it. That’s a credit to him and I know our guys in the secondary – (Coaching Assistant) Charles Burks and ‘G.A.’ (Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander) – they work extensively with those guys and Xavien has put in a lot of work. I think the good thing about Xavien is he knows it’s a week-to-week league, so he’s got to put in that work each week and he’s striving for improvement. It’s really a credit to him and his work ethic that we’re seeing strides on a week-in and week-out basis.”
(I wanted to get your thoughts on why the run defense improved last week and were there a couple of guys that really stood out in that regard?) – “I think each week that we go into things, there’s things that we work on. Like the things that we’re doing well, we try to build upon that; and the things that we’re not doing as well, we try to correct because ultimately in this league, you’re going to see it again the next week, which we did. The Jets – they ran some of the same plays that Denver ran and I would say it’s a credit to the guys. Their work on their technique and their fundamentals, which is crucial this time of year because – we’ve had 11 games this season so there’s a lot of tape and film on us and coaches do a good job of scheming to get angles in the run game. And then obviously me personally, I just need to do a better job of putting those guys in position so they can make plays and I would say it’s really a credit to them to stay on task and work at their fundamentals and techniques, because that’s what’s going to carry us for the rest of the year.”
(I’d like to take you back to when Head Coach Brian Flores called you in whatever day that may have been and said, “Josh, I want you to be the defensive coordinator.” What was going through your mind at that point? Was it “Yeah, this is something I’ve been working toward for years.” Was it “am I ready for this?” How did that go? What was going through your mind?) – “Not much, to be honest with you. This was pre-pandemic. It was just after our season. We had some people coming over to our house and it was a pretty quick conversation. ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) – obviously we’ve known each other for a long time and he basically just kind of said, ‘hey, I’m thinking about this.’ I said, ‘yeah, that’s great.’ I said, ‘whatever you need, whatever you want me to do.’ And then it was getting ready for the dinner party that we had coming in. So there wasn’t a lot of worry, thought. Like I said, I’ve been around football my entire life. Things come up. Whatever my job is, whether it’s a position coach, coordinator; you take it very seriously. You work hard at it. I always feel like you can get better. Usually you feel like whatever you’re doing, that it’s not good enough and to me personally, I think if you ever got to the point where you’re like, ‘hey man, this is easy,’ then it’s probably time to call it quits or be done because I think you can always be better. I don’t think things stay the same. I think they get better or they get worse. It wasn’t a big – it was just, ‘hey, this is what I’m thinking.’ I said, ‘yeah, whatever you need.’ And that’s kind of how that happened. Probably not a very exciting story for you, but that’s how it happened. (laughter)”
(I know you want to be different as a defense more or less every week – multiple, as you say – what is the identity of your defense? What are your – what can you count on every week?) – “What I hope you can count on is that our guys are going to play with great effort, which they’ve done. It doesn’t matter the situation or what the score is, our guys are going to go out and they’re going to play with great effort. We’re going to get 11 hats to the ball and we’re going to tackle well and we’re going to play a physical style of football. Whatever people want to label it, they can label it. I think those are the things that we stress – the fundamentals, get everybody to the ball, be physical, tackle well – and week-to-week the scheme varies a little bit; but at the end of the day, we just want to play good sound football and get the ball back to our offense and eliminate as many points as possible from our opponents.”
(I wanted to ask you about some of the youngsters, who it seems have made improvements from the first game. You talked earlier about how you think that the unit and individual players will continue to improve throughout the year. I was thinking about guys like DT Zach Sieler, LB Andrew Van Ginkel, CB Nik Needham, S Brandon Jones, DT Raekwon Davis. They’re all young guys who seem to be improving. When you think about that group, what do you think are some of the reasons that they are, as Head Coach Brian Flores says, their arrow is pointing in the right direction?) – “I’d say it’s a credit to them and their work ethic and their consistency of coming in and striving to be better. Again, we preach this and I know I sound like a broken record: things, they don’t stay the same. You either get better or you get worse and you may hit some bumps in the road; but at the end of the day, the foundation – it’s like anything else in life – it’s your profession, it’s your craft. If you don’t practice it, you don’t work at it, your skillsets will diminish. I would say a lot of our guys, they put in a lot of extra work. There’s a lot of guys that maybe aren’t playing, but you can see the improvement in practice and we really push that with everybody. I would say it’s the same for the coaches. We try to get better from week to week and like I said, sometimes you have bumps in the road here and there, but I think it’s the process of constantly striving for improvement.”
(I wanted to ask specifically about CB Nik Needham. He kind of represents a player you guys were trying to identify and develop here since Head Coach Brian Flores has become the coach here. What can you say about his progression the last two seasons to becoming a key contributor on that defense, especially in the nickel role?) – “I think Nik’s becoming a true professional. I think he really comes to work like a sponge. He just wants to absorb as much information, whether it’s from coaches, players; and then his work ethic has really taken off to a new level. The extras he does before and after practice, the film study. It’s really an awesome thing to see as a coach that he’s taking his own initiative and again like I said earlier, I think Gerald Alexander and Charles Burks, they’ve done a good job with these guys in the back end. They push them and the players have really responded. And I think good things – whether you have success or you experience failure – that constant drive and work ethic has been the consistent thing and I think we’re starting to see a lot of improvement. I think Nik has made some great strides and I think he’ll continue to do that as long as his work ethic and drive and call it a chip – call it whatever you want to call it – that desire for him to be better, and he’s really put in the time and the work to that. We’re going to ask him to do more. He’ll probably willingly do it to see improvement out there on the field.”
Chan Gailey – December 1, 2020
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Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey
(How is QB Tua Tagovailoa feeling and how difficult was it for him not to play last week?) – “I think we all realize how competitive he is. I didn’t really get a chance to talk to him after the game about how he felt but just knowing him, I know he wanted to play. I don’t know until we get back into the office Wednesday exactly what the status is, but I know he’s working hard to get ready. He’s a tough guy.”
(I wanted to ask your thoughts on slot receiver. I know WR Antonio Callaway only had about a half-dozen catches out of the slot in Cleveland. Do you view him as a viable slot option for the rest of the season? Where is WR Lynn Bowden Jr. in his development? And your thoughts on RB/WR Malcolm Perry, who seemed to be playing well obviously before getting hurt?) – “Yeah, we’ve got some options there and obviously we have to be able to use everybody at our disposal here. We try to not pigeonhole too much where guys are going to be. We know that DeVante (Parker) has been more of an outside guy, but we have played him inside and we can still do that. He’s good in there. He’s done it and he can go make some plays inside in the slot. We try not to pigeonhole guys, but I think as the rest of the season unfolds, we’re going to have to use these other guys in different and varied ways to be able to move the football in the best way. We’ve got to use them all. Malcolm has come a long way, Lynn has come a long way, Antonio is learning as he goes; but it’s going to take everybody.”
(We know that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has a good mastery of this offense and has the ability to alter and change plays. Does QB Tua Tagovailoa have that same level of mastery and same ability to change plays?) – “Not to the level of ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick). Very few people have that ability. He’s an amazingly smart guy and Tua hadn’t been in the offense six games yet. It’s like comparing apples and oranges. Is he where ‘Fitz’ is? No, he is not. But has he come a long way and is he making progress? Yes, very definitely.”
(What is the identity of the offense right now?) – “I think it’s week by week. We’re one of those offenses that tries to take what the defense gives us. I don’t want to pigeonhole who we are offensively. I think we try to run the ball effectively, we throw it when we need to throw it. We’ve got to be more consistent with what we’re doing. If people are going to stack the box and we have to throw it, then we’re going to throw it. If they play soft and let us run it, we’ve got to be able to run it effectively. It gets back to execution and being consistent with the things we’re trying to get done. I don’t like to worry too much about identity. I just want to make sure we’re being consistent and moving the ball on a consistent bases.”
(In light of what happened in Denver – obviously all the quarterbacks missing the game – some teams are separating their third quarterback from meetings and all of that. I’m just curious did you guys take any precautions like that beyond the normal mask wearing and all of that?) – “The thing about it is right now in the situation we’re in, we are all separated. We’re doing all of the meetings at home. We’re spread out at practice. So it seems like a moot point at this time to talk about that because we do try to keep them separated at practice where they’re not standing huddled together without proper precautions. Meetings from home are kind of handling the separation there.”
(I wanted to revisit a topic we talked about last week at various points about contested catches and the quarterback having the confidence to trust his receiver to make a play. We saw QB Ryan Fitzpatrick do that with TE Mike Gesicki and WR DeVante Parker on Sunday in New York. Where is QB Tua Tagovailoa now in his development in terms of having that confidence, and how do you bring him along to get him to make those throws that the receivers have to make the play?) – “I think there are a couple of things involved there. I think one, ‘Fitz’ had last year with all of these receivers, so he knows what to expect, how to read them and how to read body language and know break points and things like that. Tua has had four games with these guys. I think there is a learning process that goes on there, that you have to get a feel for it and you have to understand that. Is Tua at that point yet? No. But I think we will get there at some point in time. I’m hoping it’s sooner than later. I think he’s getting a better idea of it. He threw a couple of balls in Denver that were sticks right on the right side to DeVante that was like that, where he’s not just standing wide open and you’ve got to throw it and give him a chance to make a play. I think we are getting there, but we don’t have that kind of experience yet with these receivers with each of the guys yet to be able to do that.”
(You guys have had a lot of guys leading your backfield throughout the season for different reasons. It seems like you guys are getting close to getting RB Myles Gaskin and RB Salvon Ahmed back. Do you anticipate Gaskin presuming his previous role? How do you think that’s going to work out not that you have had different guys in the backfield?) – “I think it depends on everybody’s health. I can’t answer that question today. I think we’ve got to see how healthy everybody is. Somebody like Myles who has missed three weeks, what’s his conditioning level? There are just so many things up in the air right now to try to answer that question. I think that’s a question for maybe even all the way until Sunday before we really know what’s going to happen on that.”
Danny Crossman – December 1, 2020
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Special Teams Danny Crossman
(We all know that K Jason Sanders makes all of his field goals. I don’t know a ton about him other than that. Since you met this guy, is there something kind of interesting that you’ve learned about him other than he kicks the ball straight all the time?) – “I think Jason is an outstanding young man, first and foremost. Obviously he’s very, very talented. We feel very, very fortunate to have him. There are a million things I can talk about, just like with a lot of these players – a lot of them I’ll keep private. Just a great kid and a joy to work with on a day-to-day basis.”
(It seems like in a league where touchbacks are so often the outcome, that you guys are consistently forcing returns and getting stops inside the 25-yard line. Jason, like you’ve mentioned, can put it into the end zone anytime he wants to. So I’m wondering, is that just a confidence thing in your kickoff team’s ability to win some of the hidden yardage there?) – “I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. I think it’s something that we look at on a week-to-week, game-to-game basis based on our opponent, based on other situations once we truly get into the game. But we feel good about Jason. We feel good about the coverage guys. There are a lot of things that go into it, but to be able to have some of that ability – for lack of a better term – to dictate what’s going on is something that ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) talks about. I’m sure you guys have heard it from him time and time again. That’s an advantage we’re trying to take advantage of.”
(K Jason Sanders is so consistent and so dependable that it’s almost easy to assume he’s always going to make kicks. I’m wondering going back into your career, I’m not asking you to name any names but have there been times when you were a special teams coordinator and had a kicker that just made you nervous as hell when he went out there? What’s that like?) – “I’d tell you it’s not fun. I’ve been very fortunate in my almost 20 years in this league that I’ve got to work with a lot of very good kickers, a lot of very dependable kickers. But when there is not that feeling – and maybe not as much for me, but in my opinion, when you send that guy out on the field for the team, the organization, the guys on the sideline, they are the ones who have that great feeling of who that guy is when he runs out on the field, that we’re coming away with a positive result. That’s very important for the team”
(I think you guys rank No. 1 or No. 2 in kick and punt coverage. I believe you are No. 1 in punt return average. You’ve got K Jason Sanders. At what point in the spring or in the summer did you have a sense that you might have a really special group?) – “To me, it goes all the way back to last season when we started working towards our goal of building this team, of the type of players in the classroom, on the practice field, to games – the kind of players and people we were looking for. We have a long way to go to really build a vision of what we’re all trying to gain. But when you have a good nucleus of guys who work hard and take a lot of pride in what they are doing, we felt that we were going to have an opportunity to have a solid group. Like I said, we have a long way to go and there are a lot more things that we can be a lot better in a lot of situations.”
(WR Mack Hollins, what makes him so successful as a gunner? I don’t even know if you call it that position; but in terms of taking on two blockers and still getting where he needs to be?) – “I think No. 1, you have to have great desire to play that position and really any position on punt. When you look at anybody that plays on punt, I have a great amount of respect for players because of what you’re asking them to do. When you talk about the punt play, you’re taking really all the elements of football and putting it into on play. When that play starts, those inside guys are protection players like offensive linemen. Then you’re asking them to become defensive players to be able to shock and separate and get off. Then you’re asking them to sprint, 30, 40, 60 yards down the field, and then go make a play. It’s the same thing with outside guys, whether you’re dealing with single or vice or stack. In a lot of those situations, you try to defeat two players, and that is just the start of it. You’ve got to defeat those guys but now you have to go make a play. I think desire is No. 1 and then he puts the time and effort into the practice field in studying and taking notes. When you put all of those things together, you give yourself a chance to be successful, which is the least you can do.”
Xavien Howard – November 30, 2020
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Monday, November 30, 2020
CB Xavien Howard
(I know a lot of times you talk about the team and you guys are doing well, but you individually are having a hell of a year. You’ve got seven interceptions this year. What do you see as a realistic end for you? Pro Bowl, All Pro, even Defensive Player of the Year? Do you aim for that sort of stuff?) – “Right now, I’m worried about taking it one day at a time. Those things I do see in the picture, in the bigger picture for us. I feel like the sky is the limit for me if I keep on balling. If I keep doing the things I’m doing each week, I feel like all of that is on the table. I can’t forget about those things, those achievements, that are out there.”
(Right now it seems like you are playing a different game than the competition. What is it right now that’s going right for you? Has the game slowed down? Is your body responding better than it ever has? Why are you playing at such a high level?) – “I feel like I’m just getting better. I kept that attitude coming off of injury of just being hungry. I want to focus on improving each day and proving to myself that I know what I can do on the field when I’m healthy.”
(You and WR DeVante Parker both had big days yesterday. I was curious to get your take on whether it’s training camp practices or throughout the course of the season, what does it do for you to go against a receiver of his caliber in practice, and how does that make your game better?) – “It’s been great. Me and DeVante have been going at it since I came into the league. We just kept that competition going. We just make each other get better. I feel like we’ve been doing a great job getting each other better, and it pays off on Sundays when we go against other guys.”
(I was doing some research and it turns out it’s been 38 years since anybody in the NFL got interceptions as often as you do. That’s a long time, 38 years. I also looked up some of the great corners of all time – Deion Sanders, Rod Woodson, Champ Bailey, Darrelle Revis – none of those great players got interceptions as often as you. It’s two parts, what do you think when you hear all of that? And then does any of those names jump out to you? Is it special to be compared to any of those guys in particular?) – “Those are some great guys, Hall of Famers and stuff like that. I don’t focus on stats and stuff like that and what I’ve been doing. I feel like everybody is different, and I feel like I just focus on getting better. With me just being in the same category of talking similar numbers, just doing that, I feel like that’s great. If I stay healthy and just keep going, that’s what’s in the future for me, the things that I want to achieve. I’m just focused on getting better each week.”
(The Jets threw the ball your direction 10 times yesterday. Are you surprised at this point when quarterbacks throw the ball your way?) – “No, I’m not surprised. Each week, I’m probably on the best receiver on the team – on the best receiver they have – so I’m expecting for them to throw the ball to that guy, no matter who’s on him. I feel like they feel like they want to give their guy the best opportunity to catch the ball. I’ve just been making the plays on the ball and just really just doing my thing.”
(What’s next for you in the developmental standpoint as a player and as a man?) – “I feel like you just got to keep growing and just make sure everything on and off the field, make sure everything is good. Just growing as a person, doing things right and doing stuff like that.
(I know we talked two or three weeks ago and you said this year wasn’t your best year yet because you had seven interceptions in 2018. Now you have seven now. Has this one made your list as the best year yet so far?) – “I just keep going. I focus on improving each year. At the end of the year, everything that I’ve reached or the things that I’ve accomplished, I’ll celebrate or do that. But I’m just focused on getting better each year and learning and taking advantage of everything that I do.”
Ted Karras – November 30, 2020
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Monday, November 30, 2020
C Ted Karras
(I wanted to ask you a general league question if I could. We saw what happened yesterday with the Broncos having to play without a quarterback. Now the Ravens are looking at potentially playing a game without practicing for 10 days now. As a player, how difficult would it be to be in any kind of position like that and how worried are you about where the season might be headed from a league standpoint?) – “Playing the game without a quarterback has got to be a nightmare as far as getting everything organized, but we have a responsibility to try and remain COVID-free and they have protocols in place. We’re trying to follow them the best we can, but you never know with these things so we’re not trying to take any chances with having things be traced. If you get contact traced, you’d be out. We have to maintain social distance. But we’re doing the best we can. We’ve been solid so far down here – knock on wood – but December here is going to be big.”
(I wanted to gauge your assessment of the offensive line. I know you guys had a lot of shuffling pieces over the past few weeks so it’s hard to mix together, but after QB Tua Tagovailoa taking those six sacks then QB Ryan Fitzpatrick with 10 hits yesterday, just how much farther do you guys have to go in terms of pass protection?) – “We definitely have to keep working to improve. The last two weeks certainly weren’t our best efforts as far as that; and the third quarter was tough for us. We’ve got to be better and we work hard every day to make sure we are, but neither of those games we want to put our names on as our best performance, so we’re going to keep working to improve.”
(How much of a handful was Jets DT Quinnen Williams yesterday?) – “He’s a good player. He came into the league – high draft pick – and we let him make a play or two, which I never like. He’s a good player and I’m glad we did enough to win the game.”
(I wanted to ask you about I guess the “p-word.” I know Head Coach Brian Flores wants you guys to take it one day, one practice, one week at a time … looking at the landscape?) – “I think I know what he was saying. We put ourselves in a position here to make a run. We have a lot of big games coming up starting with Cincinnati this weekend; but we’ve got division games coming up – one of them on the road – and a five-game season now. We put ourselves in a chance and it’s going to come down to how we work every day and how we execute and perform on Sundays moving forward.”
(There’s a consistent message among the players and coaches for daily improvement and you guys have kind of shown that with your month-to-month record – 1-2 in September, 2-1 in October and now 4-1 in November. And since you’re a captain, I was hoping to get your take on how this team has accepted that message of daily improvement and how can you take it to another level here in the final month of the season?) – “I think we have a lot of great guys on this team – guys that work hard every day and want to be the best football players they can be, the best teammates. We have a lot of really just guys that work really hard and are getting some opportunities and as we’ve been improving and putting ourselves in a chance here with a 7-4 record, games in December are what decide the season. So we’re going to have to be at our best and hopefully reach the peak of our performance for the 2020 season moving into December and January.”
(Obviously you guys have played with both QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and QB Tua Tagovailoa this year. I’m curious from the player perspective what you see as maybe the differences when Fitzpatrick is out there compared to Tagovailoa with how you see the offense?) – “How I see the offense, I just want to execute the game plan that Coach Gailey (Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey) puts forward and Coach Marshall (Offensive Line Coach Steve Marshall) puts us in good position; but we’ve got to go out there and play no matter who the quarterback is. That was an adjustment we had to make going into this game. We did enough to win and as an o-lineman, I have a pretty specific assignment every play and no matter who’s back there, we’re going to work our best to get our job done.”
DeVante Parker – November 30, 2020
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Monday, November 30, 2020
WR DeVante Parker
(You and CB Xavien Howard both had big games yesterday and it got me thinking about your guys’ daily battles and competition in practice, going back to his rookie season in 2016. I’m curious how your competition with CB Xavien Howard in practice has helped make you a better receiver?) – “We used to go at it like every day in practice and during (training) camp. That made us better. It just made us play harder in the games because he made it hard in practice. So that made the games a lot easier.”
(I was wondering when you were on the sidelines yesterday after all of those catches you had, did QB Tua Tagovailoa ever approach you in terms of what you were looking for with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and obviously the chemistry you guys have, kind of a learning moment for him there on the sideline?) – “Nope, he didn’t. He didn’t come to me.”
(After the game, TE Mike Gesicki was talking about how they kept playing man coverage on you and he was like ‘why do they keep doing it?’ Are you curious sometimes why teams play so much man coverage on you?) – “I’m not really sure but I think that team just has confidence in their defensive backs. We just try to do the best we can to get open.”
(One of the things I saw yesterday was that you actually passed WR Jarvis Landry in Dolphins receiving yards, which is kind of cool. I know you guys were maybe next to each other in the locker room or real close to each other. What’s your reaction to passing Landry, who is obviously one of the all-time great Dolphins receivers?) – “That’s something good but I’m not really focused on that. I just want to win games. That’s it.”
Brian Flores – November 30, 2020
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Monday, November 30, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(We saw on the league wire on Saturday that QB Jake Rudock came in, obviously a quarterback you’ve been familiar with. In light of what happened with the Broncos this weekend, are you and General Manager Chris Grier considering having Rudock or QB Reid Sinnett – or I guess signing Rudock and then having him or Sinnett go into quarantine basically just in case there’s an emergency? I know we asked you about this in August or September and you said it was a consideration at that point. Is it more of one now?) – “Yeah, Chris and I have talked about that. We try to distance the quarterbacks as much as possible, the ones that are on our roster right now. I think the intensive protocol helps that a great deal. The only time they are here together is when they are on the field, so it kind of takes care of itself from that standpoint. As far as having someone who is on the roster but you don’t see them at all, we have those discussions. Given the way things are setup right now, I don’t foresee something like that, but we’ll always try to stay ahead of things. Obviously if we want to bring someone in, there is a whole COVID protocol that we don’t necessarily visit with the guy. Once he takes a test, it’s a visit, then there are five or six tests after that. Chris, myself, (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon (Shore), our coaching staff, we go through every scenario and we’ll always try to do what’s best for the team.”
(When we’re headed into December, a lot of these games become a little bit more amplified for a lot of reasons. I know you’re a one day at a time guy; but if there is anything that you want to see from your team in December, is there anything in particular that you want them to show you as things hit this stretch run before the year is up?) – “I think over the course of a season, the hope is that the team is building. I think execution is probably the thing that you need at this time of year. Again, everyone has 11 games – 11 or more, so you have a pretty good feel for what teams do well, for what they don’t do well. Its about execution. It’s about the fundamentals and techniques. It’s what we talked about in training camp, and we continue to talk about it over the course of the season. It’s staying on top of those then building on the schemes that we’ve run offensively, defensively and in the kicking game and really executing them at a high level when there is a pretty good chance that our opponent has a pretty good idea of what we are going to do. So executing has to be at a high level this time of year. Every team, not just us.”
(I know everything is virtual today, but I was wondering if you anticipate, or have any update on RB Myles Gaskin possibly returning; and if he does or whenever he does, how do you think that will benefit having him back with the offense?) – “Obviously it will benefit us. Myles is a productive player for us running the ball, in the pass game, protection. He plays a little bit in the kicking game as well. He’s productive. He helps us. He’s doing everything he can to get back as soon as he can. He was at practice last week, so that’s a step in the right direction. We’ll just take it one day at a time and see how he feels throughout the course of the week. We’ve got to see it in practice. He’s doing everything he can to get up.”
(I wanted to ask about the offensive line with G/T Jesse Davis at right guard and G/T Robert Hunt at right tackle. How much did they contribute to the success you had running the ball at the end of the game, if at all any?) – “It’s a team game, so they certainly contributed as did really everyone on the offense at the end – the line, the running backs, the tight ends, the receivers, even ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) had a run there at the end. Everyone contributed. I think across the offensive line – offensively, defensively, and in the kicking game – there are some things that we could’ve done better. We’ll get those corrected. Jesse is a captain on our team. He’s played a lot of different positions. He’s played well. You mentioned Robert Hunt, he’s a young guy who’s gone in there and played well. It hasn’t been perfect, but two hard-working guys who when they do make mistakes, they try to get them corrected quickly, like a lot of guys on this team. We’ll help them do that and hopefully get better in a lot of areas.”
(I had a question again about the COVID situation. There’s a chance the Ravens might have to play tomorrow without practicing for 10 straight days. Is that something that you ever envisioned when this whole thing came up and do you think maybe the league maybe needs to re-evaluate how it might put teams at risk for having to play without even seeing each other for a week and a half?) – “I think these are very different times than any of us have ever been through. The league has really done a good job, honestly, with the teams and trying to get games played. Again, we all have to be flexible. We all have to be able to adjust; but at the same time, we want to keep the players safe and keep the coaches safe. We want to keep everyone in the building in each facility safe. Playing without practice, I would say that would be tough. There’s no doubt about that. But at the same time, every team’s got kind of core concepts – core defenses, core offenses, core kicking game – core things that they do that I think they’d be able to execute. I’d like to think our team would be able to. So if those were the circumstances, then we would have to deal with them and at the end of the day, we can only control the things that we have control over and if put in that situation, we would do our best. That’s all you can do.”
(This is the first time you’ve been the head coach of a team in a playoff race in December. Will these games feel different for your team? Do you want them to?) – “No. I want them to feel – you need to take this one game at a time. I think this is a game that these guys have played since they were kids. We’ve coached it for a while also. So to make it into something that it’s not; it’s about fundamentals and technique and execution. That’s how we’ll approach it. That’s how we’ll prepare. We’re not going to change anything. We’ll just go out there and prepare the right way in practice, walkthrough and try to execute in the game.”
(I wanted to ask you about RB Salvon Ahmed. How close might he have been to being available yesterday and what’s the prognosis looking forward to the Cincinnati game for him?) – “He’s making progress. Again, another young player who’s doing everything he can to get out there from a treatment standpoint, from a rehab standpoint; so hopefully we get him out to practice this week and we’ll see how it goes throughout the week.”
(I know you guys haven’t practiced yet this week. Do you have any inclination on when you’ll have an ability to see if QB Tua Tagovailoa can go this week? If it’ll be closer to the end of the week or middle of the week, are you able to determine that at this point?) – “No. We’ll see how it goes. Obviously he was limited on Friday and he’s treating, he’s rehabbing. We’ll take it one day at a time. I don’t even want to get ahead into Wednesday’s practice. He has things he did today, he’ll have some things he’ll do tomorrow and just take that, try to improve on a daily basis and see how it goes today, tomorrow and the ensuing days.”
(I wanted to ask you about – I know it’s a one-day-at-a-time approach for you, but for every team it’s about making it to the playoffs, pushing for the AFC East division. Obviously the players know the stakes that they’re playing for. At any point, do you address that with them?) – “No. You can’t get to where you want to get without handling what’s right in front of you. I don’t know – maybe some other people can. That hasn’t been the case for me in my life. You don’t just jump to graduations and things of that – they don’t just happen. You have to deal with what’s in front of you. That’s just been my approach. I understand the question and I know you say that every other team’s thinking about it. Maybe you know more than I do from that standpoint. My dealings with coaches around this league and players around this league is that they try to deal with what’s in front of them. They don’t think about what’s four, five games down the road. That’s just my experience. That’s just me. And maybe you’ve had some situations where you’ve been able to kind of skip steps or I don’t know. I don’t go that – I haven’t been able to do that. So we’ve just got to focus on this next week. We’ve got a big game against the Cincinnati Bengals. It’s a one-game season. That’s the approach we’re going to take and if somebody else wants to approach it differently, by all means. But I just don’t see any reason why anyone would approach it any differently than a one-game season. Just my thoughts.”
(I wanted to ask you a bit about the offensive line. I’m curious, what do you kind of credit the pass-protection issues the last two weeks to? Are some of these rookies do you think starting to hit the wall? Is that something that happens or what happened the last couple of weeks?) – “I think we have to play better. I think as a whole, the communication up front has got to be better. I think the correct communication of what we’re seeing has got to be better. They understand that. We’ve talked about it. It isn’t just one group or one player. I think we need to do a lot better on all three sides of the ball. I think there’s a lot of things that we are doing well. I thought we finished the game well and fourth-quarter time of possession and first downs and the run game in the fourth quarter; in those critical moments, I think that’s something that was encouraging. Defensively, I think keeping them out of the end zone was encouraging. In the kicking game, I think the way Jason (Sanders) kicked it from a field-goal standpoint was encouraging. Some other things obviously that weren’t as encouraging; we’re going to try to get those fixed, those rectified. We have a hard-working group. They want to help each other have success and not only for them, but for their teammates. So there’s a lot of incentive to try to get it right and that’s what they’ve been doing and I’m sure they’ll continue to do that.”
