Brian Flores – October 2, 2020
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Friday, October 2, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(What’s the status of both CB Byron Jones and QB Tua Tagovailoa for Sunday’s game?) – “Tua will be listed as questionable. He was in today and practiced on a limited basis, so he’ll be questionable. Byron, we’re listing him as doubtful. He was out there on a limited basis as well. We’ve still got to – we’ll see on that one, but we’ll put him down as doubtful.”
(I was going to ask you if you might use that extra spot that you have with the 55-man rule this year to bring up CB Tae Hayes again this week?) – “We’ll see. (General Manager) Chris (Grier) along with myself and the coaching staff, we go through how we want to handle the roster on game day. Obviously we made a move last week. If it fits, we’ll do it. If not, then we won’t do it. We’ll see on Sunday.”
(Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll announced that S Jamal Adams is out of Sunday’s game. What kind of player does that remove from the Seahawks’ lineup?) – “Thanks for the information. I didn’t know that, just coming off the practice (field). Yeah, he’s a great player. I think we all know that, having played against him in the division. He’s fast, explosive, playmaker (in the) run game, pass game, pressures, sacks. This is one of the top players in the league. I don’t like to see guys miss games and go down. I hope he gets better quickly and that’s for he and anyone else that’s injured around the league, on our team or not. That’s just me. They’ve got a lot of good players. I think they’ll figure out a way to play offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. They’re well coached. It will still be a tough, tough battle with whoever they put in there.”
(Obviously the biggest story on the planet is President Trump testing positive for coronavirus. I wanted to get your reaction to that and have you addressed the team with another message to just stay diligent when it’s still out there?) – “I address the team pretty much every day in some form or fashion. I didn’t address that this morning. Honestly I didn’t know if it was confirmed. I honestly still don’t. Look, no one is exempt. If it is confirmed – I’ve been on the practice field here. Has that been confirmed? I’m asking you guys, honestly.”
(Yes.) – “Okay. Look, no one is exempt. No one is exempt from coronavirus. No one is exempt from cancer. No one is exempt. It doesn’t matter who you are. I think we just have to continue to wear the masks and (socially) distance and act responsibly and even then, people still get coronavirus. That’s the kind of disease it is, virus it is. We need to be responsible. That’s always been my message to the players. I think they understand that. I think everyone needs to understand that. But again, you can do everything right and still get it. We just all have to be careful.”
(We talked about after the Buffalo loss how you wanted to get back on the field as quick as possible on Thursday. After a win, you’ve got to be itching, 10 days out, to get back on the field after the win, right?) – “Yeah, I need to see some new film. That’s kind of how I feel right now. I’m competitive. The guys on this team are competitive. Everyone in this league is competitive. We want to play, we want to coach; so yeah, I need to see some new film. That’s kind of where I’m at. I think everyone is that way. I’m sure they’re itching to play too. Look, they’re a good team. It will be a tough test; but yes, it’s been awhile since we’ve played so I want to get back out there.”
(On the topic of the Seahawks, I wanted to ask you, you’ve been pretty aggressive in the past with going for it on fourth down and being willing to kind of do some trick plays on special teams. How much does Seattle’s 37 points per game, the second-most in the NFL, change your approach to the aggressive nature of how you call the game?) – “I think you always want to call the game aggressively, whether it’s offensively, defensively or in the kicking game. I guess that’s how we want to be by nature. We want our players to play physical and aggressively. I don’t think we want to – we want to be smart, also. Every situation is different. Every game is different. The timing of making a more aggressive call versus a different type of call, every one is a little bit different. It can’t be all one thing. It can’t be all aggressive. It can’t be all – I guess non-aggressive is the opposite of that. I think you’ve got to mix things up. But you want to try to put your team in the best situation to win the ballgame and I think that’s what we always try to do. If that means going for it on fourth down, if that means punting on fourth down, if that means a trick play, then again, I think we’re no different than any other team. Seattle has a bunch of trick plays too. We’ve got to be ready for that.”
(I noticed that S Clayton Fejedelem was a full practice yesterday and both Dolphins and Seattle’s special teams units have been good. What kind of impact do you think Fejedelem could potentially have when he’s able to play?) – “Well he was having a really good training camp prior to the injury, so we’re looking forward to getting him out there. Again, it’s going to be his first game. Obviously he’s played in this league. We’re excited to have him out there. He’s a captain. He’s been itching to go. I’m excited to get him out there and get him playing. I think he’s practiced and prepared well, so hopefully that translates to good play on the field on Sunday.”
Elandon Roberts – October 1, 2020
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Thursday, October 1, 2020
LB Elandon Roberts
(I wanted to get your thoughts on the Titans and Steelers losing a game because of COVID, or postponing it. We’ll see when it’s made up. I wanted to know what your life has been like, trying to stay away from it. Have you been able to go out to eat at all? What has your life been like when you’ve left the building?) – “Us as players and the Miami Dolphins we do a great job of treating it like a bubble. We know the responsibility we have to our families and our Miami Dolphin families with the personnel in the building, with our coaches, with our teammates. With us, we’ve still been on a ‘come to practice and go home’ mentality and stuff like that. As Miami Dolphins, that’s just how we’ve been controlling it.”
(I don’t know if you’ve heard the news that Florida’s relaxed in some of it’s protocols. Restaurants can be full, bars can be full – does that make you nervous? Do you think that you are still in good hands? What is your reaction to what the state has done?) – “You can’t control what goes on outside of what you can control as Miami Dolphins. We just still are following our protocol here in our building. You can look at it as a job; we look at each other as family. We’ve just been doing what we’ve first came in doing and that’s coming in, washing hands, wearing our masks at all time – I just took mine off to get on this call – our contact tracers and stuff, doing everything that’s put in place for us to do. I think we’ve done that well as an organization. We’re just going to have to continue doing it more and more with everything opening back up.”
(I’m writing a story on LB Kamu Grugier-Hill. What have you learned about him? What are you impressed by with what he has done? Did you know him back in the day in New England?) – “Yeah, me and Kamu were drafted in the same class in New England. We’ve always had a relationship on and off the field. Kamu is a great guy. I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re getting from everybody. He comes to work every day, works hard off the field. He’s an exciting guy to be around and stuff like that. That’s my guy.”
(I wanted to ask you about this Sunday’s matchup against the Seahawks. We’ll see who is out there; but I know they’ve got a few guys like G Mike Iupati who can really roll up to that second level and really bring that physical mentality. Is that something you embrace as a player, that really takes pride in your own physicality, going against a team that wants to smash you in the mouth too?) – “That’s what the game is all about. It has it’s physical aspects to it and whatnot. Hey, it’s football. Just come to play.”
(How much are you restricting your contact with the outside world? When was the last time you ate at a restaurant or went to a store and stuff like that?) – “It’s been a minute. We went right from training camp to playing games. There really was no time for none of that. My wife, she loves to cook, so it’s all good.”
Jerome Baker – October 1, 2020
Thursday, October 1, 2020
LB Jerome Baker
(I wanted to ask you about something away from football here for just a moment. You’re pretty involved in the community both here and back in your hometown. I wanted to ask you what it was like during the pandemic to still try to find a way to give back, and if there is any specific event you can tell us about from this past summer that you were involved in?) – “A lot of my events, they didn’t get canceled. They either got changed quite a bit. I had the backpack giveaway at my high school. It was originally supposed to be a camp and everything, but with the pandemic, we just decided to give backpacks away and that’s pretty much all we did. It was hard. It’s definitely still hard, but you’ve just got to find different ways to try to be safe and just get through it.”
(I wanted to ask about you going up against the rookies – G Solomon Kindley and T Austin Jackson – in practice. What have you noticed from them specifically on Austin and it just seems like the offensive line is very new, but they’ve held it together here in the first few weeks?) – “Just right off the bat, they go hard and they’re willing just to get better. It doesn’t matter who they’re going up against. They’re not afraid to ask questions. Pretty much most of our rookies, they all just come in and pick everybody’s brain and just do things the right way. Guys like that just come in and have that hunger to them. You can just tell they’re going to have success and you can just tell our o-line has definitely gotten better and just continues to get better.”
(What was your reaction when you heard about what happened to the Titans – the outbreak they’ve had – and are you confident that something similar won’t happen here?) – “My reaction – I was actually surprised. With all the protocols, with all the things that we have to go through just to stay safe. For me, I’m not going to say it’s easy, but now we’ve adjusted to it. You definitely have the tools to stay safe and I’m pretty confident that we won’t have anything like that here; but you’ve just got to be safe and just be cautious of everything you do on the field and off the field.”
(I actually wanted to ask you about RB Myles Gaskin. He’s from the Seattle area, so I don’t know if he grew up a Seahawks fan; but I’m sure he’ll be jacked up for this game. Some of us are kind of surprised that he’s gotten so many touches in the first few weeks. What did you see from him even on the practice field and in training camp that was kind of impressive?) – “If you’ve been around here, you’re not surprised at all about Myles (Gaskin). He goes hard. He’s smart and he truly works hard not just during practice, but outside of practice. Even this week, we had a few days off. If I come in and just do some stuff in here, he’s on the field doing ladder drills, running. He’s a guy that does way more than what they ask him. For me, I’m happy to see guys like that just work hard and get what they deserve; and for him it’s more carries, but nobody’s – if you’ve been here – nobody’s surprised. One-on-ones – he does great in one-on-ones, pass protection, he does it all. It’s not a surprise. For me, I’m definitely happy for him.”
(I’ve been looking back at some of your snap counts over the last couple years and you pretty much play every snap, and you do come off the field sometimes. I’m curious if when they call you off the field for the couple of snaps a year that you do miss, are you kind of like, “no, I don’t want to do that” or is it hard to get you off the field?) – “Some of the time it’s a little hard just simply because you can be going – you only can get a play off, two plays off. It drains your energy more to run off the field then run back on. You really don’t get any water. You just pretty much run off the field for nothing; but overall, it’s good. I just try to stay healthy, try to stay ready and try to stay in the best shape I can, and that’s just a credit to it.”
(I wanted to ask how much do you miss Raiders LB Raekwon McMillan? How’s he doing? Have you kept in touch with him over the last couple weeks?) – “Oh yeah, ‘Kwon’ – that’s my boy. Yeah, I talked to him a little bit. We talked a little bit of football, but he’s good. He’s doing his thing over there. Yeah, I definitely miss my boy, but I’m definitely happy for him.”
(It’s the first time you guys haven’t been on a team.) – “Yeah, in a long time. Yeah. We end up playing them later on, right? So it’s definitely going to be cool.”
(I wanted to ask you about the pass rush. What are you seeing out of it that has improved since the first couple weeks? What did you see in the Jacksonville game that was so much better?) – “We’re starting to jell together. We’re starting to really understand every guy’s strengths and weaknesses, so that just comes with time and we definitely are moving in the right direction when it comes to that. I know the DBs, they’re happy because it helps all of us. It’s starting to come together, but we’ve just got to constantly just improve and get better and we’re doing that.”
Byron Jones – October 1, 2020
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Thursday, October 1, 2020
CB Byron Jones
(The question we are all thinking: how are you feeling, how has your rehab gone and what do you think your chances of playing on Sunday are?) – “I feel really good. Rehab has been on schedule, which is great. Honestly, it’s just day by day. I felt really good today, so we’ll see where we are at.”
(I understand that you are going day by day, but what kind of challenge does the group of Seahawks receivers and also TE Greg Olsen present, knowing QB Russell Wilson is their quarterback?) – “Yeah. They have a really good receiving corps. It’s really a combination of the receiving corps and also the quarterback, and how he can get the ball to those receivers. As we’ve seen in the past three games, they are taking deep shots. They’re getting big explosive plays so as a secondary and really as a defense, our job is to eliminate and really minimize those deep shots and those big plays. They have fast guys, they have strong guys, they have savvy vets. It’s really impressive to watch Russell and how he can pinpoint those deep balls. That’s something we have to take care of going into the game.”
(Do the doctors and trainers think the groin is anyway possibly related to the Achilles?) – “Not at all. That wasn’t a conversation. No, not at all. Groin – muscles are like a weird, finicky thing man. They come and they go. I’ve had hamstrings in the past. I’ve never really had a groin like that, but it’s just a part of ball. If you play long enough, you’re going to get hurt.”
(I’m sure you’ve gone against your fair share of quarterbacks that are on a roll before, how do you describe this roll that QB Russell Wilson is on? He has not failed to throw at least four touchdown passes in any game this year. How do you describe how hot this guy is?) – “What he’s doing down in Seattle is impressive. Like I said earlier, his receiving corps and what the entire offense over there is doing is really creating big and explosive plays on a consistent basis. That’s a challenge for us, but that’s an exciting challenge. You’re really going against one of the best in the league at this point. It’s really a good measuring stick as to where our secondary and where our defense is going to be going forward.”
(WR DK Metcalf seems like a Deebo on the field for a lack of better term with his size and his strength. What do those challenges present for you guys as a secondary?) – “He’s a guy that really has it all. He’s got big speed, he has a really big catching radius, he runs good routes for someone who is that big and he has a really good quarterback who puts it on the spot. It’s a challenge, like I spoke about earlier. It’s one of those things where it’s a really good opportunity to see where we’re at as a defense and as a secondary. We know what the challenge is, we’ve seen the film, so lets go out there and stop it.”
(Is there a certain threshold you need to reach for you to be comfortable on the field? Obviously your speed and agility is a big part of your game. You’re not going to be 100 percent – no one is during the regular season, but what do you have to feel like to play?) – “You just have to keep running through the paces. Today was a really good challenge today with what we did, and tomorrow is going to be a bigger challenge. As we go along, you continue to push yourself and you gain that confidence. You start at 50 percent, then you go to 65 percent, then 75 percent. It’s just about the workload and the speed and how the recovery is and how I feel the next day. I’d say we’re on a good track.”
(You mentioned that playing long enough in this league, you’re going to get hurt; but you haven’t missed many games in your pro career. Something I’ve heard before is that sometimes it helps a player to get mental reps in from the sideline. Have you had any of that experience the last couple of weeks?) – “Of course. I’ve played in every single game since I’ve been in the league. I missed my last game last year, which was the first game I’ve ever missed. This year, this is the first time I’ve had to prepare throughout an entire week knowing that I wasn’t going to play last Thursday. That was different. It was just different. It’s something that I didn’t go through (in the past). I actually called one of my past friends whose gone through it in the past and he’s given me some really good advice. Like you said, it’s really going through the mental reps, it’s putting yourself through the paces and seeing how a play will develop on the left side of the field, on the right side of the field. You get a chance not just to focus on your matchup, but you get a chance to really focus on, ‘what it looks like from the nickel position or if I’m at the left corner position, or if I’m at the right corner position?’ It really does give you that exercise, that mental exercise, that really keeps you sharp. I’ve probably taken more notes now than I typically do, but I’m just trying to keep my mind and my body fresh.”
(We were hoping that for most of the season, the team will have you Xavien Howard, and Noah Igbinoghene all available at the same time. When that does happen, what in the first few games have you learned about the potential for the three of you guys as corners?) – “We’re still growing. There is no question about that. We have Noah who is a really talented young rookie, but he just hasn’t seen a lot. I can tell you this, he’s probably one of the most impressive young guys I’ve seen in a very long time. The way he approaches the game, this kid is here early. He’s here early with the coach looking at film. He’s there late. The way he practices and the way he really approaches practice is really impressive for a young guy to understand that. For me just to see ‘X’ (Xavien Howard), when he came back towards the end of camp, I think his first couple of days, he got like two or three picks. You can see his play-making ability right away. It’s going to be special but it’s going to take work. You really have to bond together as a unit. It’s not just about having really good players on the roster. You really have to develop a bond and really develop that level of communication that can really lead us to a different level. There’s a lot than just the physical talent. There’s a lot of mental talent. There’s trusting each other, knowing that this person is going to be where he’s supposed to be, knowing that you have inside help, outside help, whatever it may be. We’re still developing that but that’s a fun challenge going through the year.”
(How long do you think it will take for you and CB Xavien Howard to develop the kind of understanding that you would really like to reach so that you automatically know what each guy is going to be doing?) – “That’s the exciting part because there is really no timetable on that. There is no script to it. As I watch more film with him and of him, I understand more about him and the same thing for him watching me. There is really no timetable to it. It’s just playing and getting as many reps as you can, talking in the locker room about it, talking off the field about it, talking while on the field about it and whatever play you saw, how you’re going to play this, how you’re going to play that. It takes time, but there is no timetable. That’s just something you work on every single day. Every single day, let’s keep working on this, let’s keep getting right and let’s keep preparing so we can be great.”
Preston Williams – October 1, 2020
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Thursday, October 1, 2020
WR Preston Williams
(I noticed at practice, every time Pop Smoke is on, Six Nine is on, you’re always loving the music, loving the energy. What makes you want to bring that juice when you’re on the field and on the practice field?) – “It’s kind of my style of play. I just like to have fun. The team, if someone is upset, I go cheer them up, warm them up, make them feel better. As long as you keep your mind straight the whole game, I feel like you’ll produce well and have a decent game. I just try to stay positive all of the time.”
(When CB Noah Igbinoghene covers you in practice, going back to training camp, what’s the skill about him that you think will make him a good NFL cornerback over time?) – “He’s got all of the tangibles to be a great corner in this league one day. He’s young right now. He’s still learning. He’s a real patient – for a rookie corner, he’s really patient. He’s going to get hands on you. He’s very physical, and I like that. I like Noah out there. I think he’s going to be a great ballplayer in the years to come.”
(We’re a few episodes into WR DeVante Parker’s cartoon now and I’m just curious, when are you going to get that cameo?) – “(laughter) I’ve got to ask DeVante and his team how all of that works. Hopefully I can get a feature in his cartoon. I’ve been watching it myself. I think it’s pretty cool. Hopefully I can get a feature in it.”
(There are specific routes – Week 2 near the goal line and then last week in Jacksonville on the slant, I thought that was much tougher coverage against that corner. What did it just mean mentally for you to be able to haul that touchdown in, knowing that it followed up the drop from the week before?) – “It was more of just having a clear mentality. I dropped that pass in the Bills game and they came to me later that game, but you have to just move on to the next play. The league is full of contested catches. A lot of DBs are pretty good. It’s all about creating space and making contested catches. That’s one of the things you’ve just always got to do. There’s always going to probably be a contested catch of a DB in the area.”
(I noticed that your snaps went from 61 to 35 and I was wondering if that was planned in terms of just maybe taking some pressure off the knee with two games so close together.) – “No. We added more personnel packages. We’ve got different people in the game, a little Wildcat and stuff like that. The snaps tend to go down when you’re not in on certain personnel (groups).”
Brian Flores – October 1, 2020
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Thursday, October 1, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(With DT Christian Wilkins, I know he played well the second half of last year. Have you seen another jump this year? Is his play on par with what it was last November and December or is it better now in your opinion? And FB Chandler Cox, just wanted to ask you about why he’s been incorporated more and the value of having a fullback in Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey’s offense?) – “I’ll start with Christian (Wilkins). I think he’s someone who works really hard, really on a daily basis in all areas – in the weight room, conditioning, obviously football – so he’s definitely improved really from the day he got here through his rookie year and he’s continuing to improve. I’m really happy with that improvement. I think he just needs to continue to do the things that he’s been doing. He’s getting more comfortable, obviously this being his second year in the league, having played a full season under his belt, so he’s much more comfortable with the system and how we want to do things, and I think he understands what type of players he’s going to see on a weekly basis. So hopefully he continues to get better and improve. I know he works in a way that gives him an opportunity to improve and we’re happy with him. As far as Chandler (Cox), I think he’s made a lot of improvement as well from that first to second year. He’s tough. He’s smart. He’s competitive. He fights. He competes. Especially as a fullback, as a lead blocker taking on ends, taking on big linebackers in this league; you need toughness at that position and he tries to bring that on a weekly basis, so we’re happy with him, too.”
(I wanted to ask you about QB Tua Tagovailoa. A. His progress – we haven’t obviously been able to see him practice so I was wondering your thoughts, what specifically is he doing better? What does he need to work on? And has there been any thought given to maybe seeing him in a series or two to get him work and maybe as a change of pace quarterback?) – “He’s doing well. I think we kind of do a Tua breakdown every week in some form or fashion, and it’s the same, really the same answer. He’s doing well. He’s improving in meetings and walkthroughs, when he gets his reps in practice. He’s making good throws, good decisions. He’s learning. He’s getting better. I think every time he’s on the field for a game, there’s something that comes up where he’s got a question or wants to have a conversation about a situation, so it’s good. We’ve got projects for him that he’s working on as well as practice, and he’s just going to continue to get better. When his opportunity presents itself, I think he’s doing all the things that he can do so that if and when that opportunity presents itself, he’ll be ready. As far as a series, it’s not really something we’ve talked about; but that could change. But look, as the No. 2, he’s one play away from being in the game, so he has to be ready to go. It could be a series. It could be for whatever reason he has to be ready to go, which he’s prepared that way.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Jerome Baker. Last year he logged over a thousand snaps for you and is on track to do that this year as well. Just wanted to get your take on what it is about his game and his leadership and kind of the qualities he presents that allows you to keep him on the field for almost every snap on defense.) – “Jerome (Baker) is very athletic, tough, physical. He’s a smart player, so he can help us in a lot of different ways. From a pass rush standpoint, from a coverage standpoint, he’s got, let’s call it, every-down ability. So we feel good when he’s out on the field. He communicates well. He tackles well and he gives us a guy who’s athletic and can make some plays. Those are guys that we want on the field, so if you can help us in a variety of ways and he can do that, like I just said from a, let’s call it blitz standpoint, a coverage standpoint, a run game standpoint. Obviously he’s got a lot of ability and he helps our team, so we’ll leave him out there.”
(I don’t think we’ve covered this so far. Forgive me if I missed it, but I was going to ask you about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s recovery from illness, how that’s coming along and if he might practice today?) – “He’s still under the weather. It doesn’t look like he’s going to be out there today, so the most important thing is his health and trying to get him better. Again, (it’s) not COVID-related. We test every day and we continue to test every day; but yeah, he’s under the weather and again, in this climate – I should just go ahead and say he’s not going to practice today unless he miraculously gets better here in the next hour – but in this climate, we don’t want to take any chances, so he won’t practice today and we’ll move forward and practice with guys without him.”
(How has the practice squad quarterback looked yesterday in practice, and if you needed to Sunday, could you move him up?) – “Reid (Sinnett) has practiced well. We’ve gone through all of the contingency plans here, and Reid is obviously a part of that. We’ve gone through it, we’re going through it, and we’ll have someone if Tua (Tagovailoa) is not ready. We’ll see how it goes. We have to obviously plan for the worse case scenario, but we’ll see how this goes over the next couple of days.”
(WR DK Metcalf, I want to ask how high was he on the draft board for you guys? I know he went two picks after the pick that went in the QB Josh Rosen trade. What did you guys think about him at the draft and how high was he on your board at that time?) – “I’d have to go back and check the notes as far as – I’m not going to give you the draft position on our board, but he’s a very good player. Big, strong, physical, talented, good player. There was definitely some love for him as there should’ve been. But again, the draft is the draft and there are a lot of things, a lot of other scenarios and things of that nature, and situations. It’s really case by case on who picks who and why. But he’s a good player. He’s certainly a good player. They got a good one and we’re going to have to try to do our best to defend him along with the rest of their team – offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. It will be a good challenge and we’re looking forward to it, playing at home and playing in front of our fans. We’re looking forward to it.”
(You have two very interesting players who actually have played quarterback in WR Lynn Bowden Jr. and RB/WR Malcolm Perry. I’m wondering if this is a situation where you probably kind of have them dust off their quarterback skills and maybe serve as a backup for you?) – “I understand the question. Both guys have played quarterback in college; but quarterback in college and quarterback in the National Football League are two different things. We’ll see. Malcolm has yet to be active. Lynn has played sparingly, so we’ll see. To throw that on those guys would be a lot, especially as rookies. I get it, they’ve played quarterback before. I understand the thinking of ‘hey, we can just put them out there.’ I think that’s easier said than done. Look, we have a plan in place. Right now it’s ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick). We’ll see how Tua looks here over the next couple of days. We’ve still got some time. Yes, we have to go about business as if – or plan for the worst, I should say; not even go about business, but plan for the worse, which is what we’re doing. But we still have a few days. Hopefully Tua gets better and again, nothing is more important than his health, and the health of the players on this team. We’re going to do what we feel is best for this team. If that means playing one of those young guys in that type of role, great. But, I think that will be tough in my opinion.”
Brian Flores – September 30, 2020 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores Conference Call with Seattle Media
(I’ve got to start with a question about RB Myles Gaskin, a local guy from here. What has he meant to your team so far?) – “Myles (Gaskin) is really everything we’re looking for in a Dolphin. He’s tough. He’s smart. He’s competitive. He loves to play. He loves to practice. Team first guy. He’s done a really nice job, especially making the Year 1 to Year 2 leap. Great teammate and he really works at his craft, so a really competitive young guy and always trying to get better. We’re happy to have him.”
(When you look at what Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and this offense have done through three games, just what are your impressions of how they’re playing and how big a challenge is that going to be?) – “It’s a very explosive offense led by Russell (Wilson), but good backs, good tight end, good receivers, good line, good play caller. It’s going to be a very, very challenging game for us. We’ve got to play smart. We’ve got to have good communication. We’ve got to tackle well. We’ve got to do pretty much everything well and try to limit the offense; but they do a great job really across the board – run game, screen game, play-action, drop-back, two-minute, red zone. It’s going to be a big, big challenge for us.”
(Going back to the last time you saw Seahawks QB Russell Wilson when you were in New England in 2016, what’s it like seeing that guy on the other side of the field and trying to figure out ways to slow him down when you see him playing at the level he did? He had a great game that day and he’s obviously off to a fast start here. What is it like just seeing just kind of playing out in front of you?) – “He’s a fantastic player and he’s improved really every year since he’s been in the league. I think my first year as a position coach in ’12 was his rookie year, and he played great in that game. We went out to Seattle and I was coaching safeties. I came out of that game feeling like – (laughter) he’s a young guy. He was just kind of coming along. I don’t know if that was his third or fourth start, but he played really well in that game and that was my first impression of him and he’s been a tremendous player since. But he’s grown a lot over the years. He causes a lot of issues. Most guys scramble to run. Some guys scramble to throw. He’s really a true dual-threat who can extend plays and create big plays or stand in the pocket and fire throws down the field. So it’s a big challenge and he’s a great player. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s a great person also, and you can see the leadership he has on that team and how the players follow him and follow his lead. But there’s great leadership really across the board on that team. It’s not just Russell. It starts with obviously (Seahawks Head Coach) Pete Carroll and (General Manager John) Schneider. They do a really great job across the board as an organization. Defensively it’s (Bobby) Wagner to K.J. Wright. Obviously Jamal Adams. Really good leadership across the board. Really good players and they play good team football, so it’ll be a great challenge for us.
(I know your secondary, you’ve had some injury issues and you’re playing a young guy at one of the cornerback spots and things like that. What’s so far your thoughts on how you’ve played and obviously the challenge of going against Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and WR DK Metcalf and WR Tyler Lockett this week and all that?) – “It’s a great – it’s a very big challenge. And I think it’s a challenge for our young players. We’re playing some young guys at the corner position. We’ve got some vet guys also; but for our team, it’s a young team. This is going to be a big, big challenge against a veteran quarterback with good receivers, good backs and a good o-line, good play caller. I feel like I’m saying the same thing over again. I apologize for that if that’s the case, but there’s a lot of good players on this team. You turn your head and then David Moore makes a catch out of nowhere, you know what I mean? So it’s not just (Tyler) Lockett. It’s not just (DK) Metcalf. You’ve got (Greg) Olsen and you’ve got (Chris) Carson and you’ve got (Carlos) Hyde. So there’s players everywhere and then you turn around and (Jacob) Hollister makes a catch. And Russell (Wilson) does a good job of finding everybody. So as a team, everyone’s got to take care of their assignment, handle their responsibilities, set the edge in the run game, tackle defensively and defend the deep part of the field and play well offensively and play well in the kicking game to give us a chance to compete in the game.”
(When you’ve got a young team like you do, what’s a veteran quarterback like QB Ryan Fitzpatrick brought just in terms of the leadership and his experience of playing so many years around the league; and then on the other side of that, how’s the young rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa kind of developing behind the scenes?) – “I’ll start with Tua (Tagovailoa). He’s done a really good job really since we started training camp. He’s smart. He’s talented. I think he’s improved really on a daily basis and he learns something new really every day. And we go through situations in third down, in the red zone, in two-minute and then he and ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) have a really good relationship, and he asks ‘Fitz’ questions really on a daily basis about being a professional but also about the different situations that we see on a week-to-week basis – game planning, things of that nature. So Tua is doing a nice job and I think he’s got a bright future. Specific to ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), I think he brings leadership. I think he brings experience. I think he brings great energy. He’s competitive and he loves to play. I think our players feed off of that and his leadership has been very important to this young team – these young receivers, obviously Tua behind him, as well as some of the guys defensively. So we’re happy to have him, and we just continue to hopefully build and grow and improve as a team.”
(In Seattle here, we’ve been pretty much locked down the same way since March and from afar, it seems like Florida is more open. What kind of challenge has that been for you guys to keep your players corralled and it looks like maybe the NFL protocols could even be more strict than your state?) – “I think our medical staff as well as everyone within our organization, we try to be extremely vigilant about wearing masks and contact tracers and just protocols in general. It’s important. Florida for the most part – I would say we’re a little more open than some of the other states; but specific to our football team and what we’re doing here, we’re telling our team the same thing I know Pete (Carroll) is saying in Seattle and all the coaches around the league are saying to their team, ‘let’s be smart, let’s make good decisions when we’re outside of the building.’ We’ll do everything we can to keep our facility safe, but a lot of the responsibility falls on the players, the coaches, really everyone. There’s so many different departments. I think people forget about the training staff and the equipment staff and the nutritionists and the strength and conditioning staff, the people who handle our meals. Everyone is kind of tied into doing what’s best for the team off the field from a COVID protocol standpoint, and we’ve just got to continue to try to do the right things and hopefully we’ll all stay safe and healthy. And hopefully that’s the case for really all the teams around the league. We don’t want to see anyone get sick.”
(To follow up on RB Myles Gaskin, you mentioned the growth between Year 1 and Year 2. What specifically has he grown in?) – “I think when you’re a rookie, figuring out where the – again he moved from the other side of the country – and then he was inactive for let’s call it half the season a year ago. He just learned how to be a professional. Not that he didn’t take a professional approach, but in that first year you always – there’s things you don’t know. You don’t know what you don’t know, which I learned that early in my coaching career. So he learned the best way to prepare physically in the weight room from a conditioning standpoint; but also mentally and from a preparation standpoint, as far as how he watches opponents defense in zone coverage versus man coverage versus 4-3 versus over fronts versus under fronts versus diamond fronts and just understanding where the best ways to attack those from a run game standpoint, from a pass game standpoint. But he’s continuing to grow. He’s asking questions today about ways he can get better, and that’s what you’re looking for in a young player. I think we’ve got a lot of young guys who are trying to improve and try to get better and ask a lot of questions, and Myles is one of many young guys we’ve got. Hopefully over time, we improve and we see the fruits of some of the labor that they’re putting in right now.”
(Seattle’s defense has really struggled here through three weeks and I know you guys were kind of in a similar circumstance last year as things kind of grew as the season went along, but do you see any correlation between that and the possibility for this team to jump as they kind of ease into each other? How did you get your guys on track last year?) – “You’re not going to rock me to sleep here. (laughter) We know what this is historically. Pete’s (Carroll) a great coach. (Defensive Coordinator) Ken Norton is a great coach. We’re expecting them to come here, play well. They’ve played good defense – great defense, I should say – for a long, long time. Yeah. We’re expecting them to come out ready to play. (laughter) I’m not going to get lulled to sleep here. They’re going to come here, they’re going to play well. They’ve done that since Pete’s been there and even before then. So we know this is going to be a big, big challenge. Everyone talks about the offense, but they’ve played well in the kicking game, they’ve played well defensively. We’re not going to get lulled to sleep, but I understand the question.”
Noah Igbinoghene – September 30, 2020
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Wednesday, September 30, 2020
CB Noah Igbinoghene
(My first reaction to you being a rookie here is QB Cam Newton, QB Russell Wilson and Josh Allen in your first couple of games. That’s got to be a challenge for a guy like you. What do you think about all of that?) – “It’s crazy when you think about it. Like I said, it’s a blessing just to be here. Those are three really good quarterbacks. I feel like we played well against all three of them. Of course we went down on two of them and we won the last one. We’ve just got to keep on that roll and we’ll be good.”
(What’s the No. 1 challenge when it comes to defending WR DK Metcalf?) – “He’s big, physical and fast. I’m pretty sure everybody knows about that. You’ve seen what he did at the Combine. I feel like it’s not really about him. We all have the physical abilities to beat him, but we have to focus on ourselves. We have to do our technique and be disciplined ourselves and focus on that. I feel like it’s not really about the Seahawks. It’s about how we play ourselves, so that’s how we’re going into this game.”
(The Dolphins have very few penalties and that’s been the case since Head Coach Brian Flores arrived. What are some of the specific ways that these coaches help guys and put you in position to understand the rules, to understand the trends, to understand what is more likely or less likely to actually get called?) – “We’ve sat in Zoom calls and face-to-face meetings and he really details and explains to us every single rule. Literally, he’s explained every single rule. He’s brought referees in to tell us about the rules and stuff. It’s been real. He comes educated about it, I would say. Real educated. I think that’s why we’re successful in that area of the game. We just have to keep doing it and keep being disciplined.”
(One more question about WR DK Metcalf. You’ve obviously matched up with some of the better receivers in the league. If Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer asked you to guard Metcalf for 65-70 snaps on Sunday, what have you learned from your past experiences and why do you think it will be better this time around?) – “I just have to be overall better myself. I feel like the Buffalo game, it just wasn’t me that day. I’ve just got to come together. If that was the case, I’d come together and I’d do what I have to do as a man to prepare like I need to and dominate like I know I can.”
(Last game was a good bounce back game. You covered well, tackled well. What happened on that one play where WR Chris Conley got behind you?) – “I really don’t know. I can’t really go into detail with it. I really don’t know, honestly.”
(You had mentioned focusing on your own technique and your own fundamentals and being discipline. Just to piggyback off the previous questions, what would you say you changed in your fundamentals and your technique from Week 2 to Week 3 to have more success on game day?) – “I’d say I took a breath. I just relaxed. I feel like that second game I was tense, just on myself. I was so tight everywhere. In this last game, I was playing relaxed and I hope you were able to see that. I was just myself. I was relaxed and focused on my game, not really focused on my opponent, and just focused on my eyes, my technique and my fundamentals and stuff like that. It was just being focused. It turned out to be a better game.”
(I’m wondering if you can describe the challenges – it’s not just WR DK Metcalf, but WR Tyler Lockett, TE Greg Olson, it seems like they have so many weapons. It almost seems like they make it look easy sometimes. How difficult is all of that when you look at their offense as a whole?) – “Like you said, they are a complete team. They have really good receivers all around, really good players. Like I said before, we have to come around as a team, as a defense. I feel like it’s not really about them. I feel like it’s really about us. If we come together as a team, if we do what we’re supposed to do, do our job and execute, we’ll be fine. I don’t feel like we’ll have to worry about that at all.”
(This is a matchup of two of the best special team units in football. You play a role on Dolphins special teams. What makes what you guys good in kick and punt coverage so good right now?) – “We practice. We do a lot of practicing and we focus at practice and do what we need to do at practice. We take care of what we need to do in this week. We prepare like we need to and I feel like that’s why we’ve been successful the last couple of weeks.”
(This is about to be your fourth game. As a first-rounder, you come with some higher expectations to play here for this team. How have you dealt with all of those things after those first couple of performances?) – “Like you said, I feel like there is a high standard for me. I put a high standard and a lot of pressure on myself, so to play to the standard I know I can and what my coaches preach on me – like I said, I put a lot of pressure on myself but I don’t really feel it from my coaches. It’s just a standard. I need to meet that every single game.”
