Brian Flores – September 11, 2019
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(What was the thinking in hiring two guys as coordinators who hadn’t done it before and what qualities have you liked in Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea and Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham that made you go in that direction?) – “Well, they’re two guys that I know very well, that I trust, that are bright, that are good football coaches and guys I felt like have all of the qualities and have what it takes to be good coordinators. I’m confident in both guys and I’m looking forward to watching them grow and improve and get better as we’re all trying to do.”
(Can you recall a specific lesson or memory that you have from New England that’s helped you since you took over here?) – “Specific? I mean there’s a lot of moments. One specific (one that) I tell my players a lot of times is I hope my expectations – my goals and my expectations – aren’t bigger for you than they are for yourselves. I was in a meeting once and Nate Ebner was the player. He asked me ‘Hey, Coach’ – and I was a position coach (at the time) – ‘Hey, Coach, when you’re calling plays one day, are you going to call this or that?’ I said ‘Nah, that’s not in the cards for me.’ This was in 2013 or 2014 or something. And he says to me, ‘I hope my goals for you aren’t bigger than your goals for yourself.’ That was one thing that, as a memory, was something that I’ve thought about and I took that. That night, I thought to myself, ‘You know what? He’s right.’ I kind of took a whole new outlook on things from there.”
(More generally, what do you think is a reason that the New England organization has been able to sustain prolonged success?) – “Continuity is the first thing that comes to mind. Then they have good players, good coaches. There’s a system in place, a culture in place, and it’s a group of guys that work hard, that understand the game and have good leadership, really across the board. All of those things amount to sustained success, I believe. They do a good job at all of those things.”
(What impressed you most about their performance on Sunday night?) – “They played well in all three phases – offense, defense and the kicking game. They coached the game well. They play with good fundamentals and technique. They played well all around. It wasn’t one particular area, which I think that’s impressive. They put pressure in all phases. Every snap counts. That’s the kind of approach they take. It’s a good approach to take.”
(This defense – the one you called plays for – it’s one that Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea has seen for many years as well. This is the defense for you guys to get the offense back on track this week, right?) – “Excuse me?”
(Is this the defense that you guys have insight on that can help the offense get back on track?) – “That’s a good defense with a lot of good players on it. It’s a veteran defense. They can make adjustments. They’re big, they’re fast, they’re physical. We’re going to have to play well, really across the board – from a communication standpoint, from a technique/fundamental standpoint, from a make-a-play standpoint – to have success against this defense. They’ve got a good scheme. They’re very multiple. Yes, we know them; but at the same time, we have to do a good job of executing.”
(What needs to happen to improve the running defense?) – “First, I would start with communication – identifying what they’re in, communicating and getting aligned, and then defeating blocks and tackling. I would say at the forefront of that is tackling. There were a lot of yards after contact last week. It’s something that we’ve harped on the last couple of days and we’ll work at that today. The hope is to get better at that. If we tackle better, that will go a long way for us as a total defense.”
(How do you work on tackling in practice?) – “Well, we have pads on today. We’ll work a couple of tackling drills. Some of them – we’re going to have some contact in practice today. I think we need that. I think we need that as a team. I think we need that defensively. I think we need that in the kicking game. We’ll just continue to work at it.”
(As a league, do you think that tackling has sort of waned because of the rules about what you can and can’t do in practice?) – “No. I think that’s something that as a defensive coach, that’s something I’ve harped on. I think it can be a little bit of a lost art at times. I think it’s something that we try to place a major emphasis on from a technique standpoint, from a keeping-your-head-up standpoint, from a running-your-feet standpoint, from a wrapping-up (standpoint). In every game, you see one of those nuances that isn’t performed correctly; but that’s every – that’s us. We’re part of that as well. But it’s something that we need to train our players on better. The rules are the rules. We’ve got to coach through that and find ways to continue to work on tackling and get better at it, regardless of the rules. They are what they are.”
(I think QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was hit 10 or 11 times on Sunday. What are you doing this week to limit that and are personnel changes part of that calculus?) – “I think it starts with communication. I think it starts with identification of the front, identification of the possible blitzers, and then winning our matchups. Just playing inside-out, better fundamentals and better technique – I think that’s what it is for us this week. This week, to me, is about the Miami Dolphins. It’s about us improving and getting better individually. If we do that, hopefully we improve as a team. That’s kind of where my focus is – this team, the individuals on this team, this coaching staff, and improving on what wasn’t a good performance last week.”
(Are you considering lineup changes for the offensive line?) – “Oh, yeah. We’re considering lineup changes. We’re considering – we have to be better. Everything has been considered, I would say, over the last couple of days. There’s a lot of self-scout, a lot of reflection. (There’s) some things that we need to do better. We talked about that. We’re going to try to improve those. It starts today in practice. That’s the great thing about this game or the great thing about this opportunity. We have an opportunity to go out and practice, improve and get better, and right some of the wrongs from last week.”
(I wanted to ask you about the anniversary of 9/11 as a native New Yorker. I’m guessing it might have impacted you in some way. What do you remember about that day, and how did it affect you?) – “The first thing I think about is my uncle. My uncle Darrell Patterson – he actually got me into football. He was a fireman. During that time, he was on sick leave. He was part of Ladder 118 in Brooklyn, which was the first truck to go in, so nobody came out from that group. He was on sick leave. He had cancer, so he was obviously still devastated by the loss of all the guys in his firehouse. I spent a lot of time at that firehouse. 9/11 brings back those memories. I was in college at the time. Obviously, it was a tragic attack. I remember football bringing a lot of people closer, so that’s what I love about the game. It unites. Even in times of – when there’s anger, pain, distress, displeasure, the games and teams unite people. That’s one thing I love about the game. Take us, for example. There were guys who were disappointed. There were players who were disappointed. There were coaches who were disappointed. There were calls that we wish we had back. There were plays we wish we had back. The good thing about the game is you’ve got 52 other guys and a bunch of coaches who, they’ve got your back. Despite your flaws, they take care of you, and they still love you. That’s the beauty of the game. That’s why it’s so near and dear to me, and that’s why I love going out here. If you guys let me out of here, I’ll get out there a little bit faster. (laughter)”
(How often do you think back to those small rooms you were in early in your career? Whether in scouting department or as a position coach.) – “I think back to them a lot. This role is very different. Back in those days, I was one of the guys. I’m not one of the guys anymore. I’m the guy everybody kind of walks away from. (laughter) A big thing for me in coaching and in this business – to me, it’s about relationships. Building trust with your players, with your coaches, with everybody within the building – equipment to IT, to my security team that everyone’s always messing with me about (laughter) – I think that’s what this is about. I try to build relationships. I think that’s important. I think that’s how you build a team. I think our team is starting to do that. I think when you go through tough times, those relationships, they either get stronger, or they don’t stronger. I think last week was a part of that. Hopefully, we come out of this stronger.”
(What were the chess matches like in practice when you were running the defense going against Patriots QB Tom Brady every day, and do you have something that you can take from that where you get inside his head and maybe have some thought on what he might be looking for in any particular play?) – “No. Not a lot of people get inside his head. (laughter) He’s a great player, and he’s somebody I have a lot of respect for. I have a lot of respect for a lot of guys on that team, but him especially. He’s a great leader. He’s a great person, but he’s a competitor, and so am I. We’ve competed against each other, and we’ve gone back and forth, but he’s a good friend also. He knows that we’re going to be ready to compete. I know that they’re going to be ready to compete. That’s the challenge this week. We have to play against a great player, a great team. They play well in all three phases. Between he and (Patriots Head Coach) Bill (Belichick) and the ownership there – they lead the charge, and it’s going to be a great challenge for us. That’s why we love the game – because we love challenges. We love to compete. To me, this is fun.”
Patrick Graham – September 10, 2019
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Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham
(So last year, if you look at metrics, they would show that S Minkah Fitzpatrick was probably the best in the league on slot receivers in your nickel package. I know he played some there on Sunday, but why not play him there most of the time and limit him to one or two things as opposed to having him do other things? What’s the thinking in not doing that?) – “I can’t speak on last year. I wasn’t here last year, nor am I worried about last year. I just know this past week, we tried to do what was best for the team and for the defense and tried to deploy players in the right spots and seeing what we thought was the right way to go. That’s how we’re going to approach defensively – how we’re going to use guys and where we put them at.”
(Was S Minkah Fitzpatrick used correctly because he said that players weren’t always put in the right spots?) – “You’ve got to speak to Minkah about that and anything we had privately about talking discussions, but we tried our best to put guys in the right spots. I could’ve coached better. There’s no question about that. I feel like I definitely could have done that. Guys could’ve played better; but you know what, today’s Tuesday. It’s a new day, and thankfully, we still have another opportunity this weekend, and we’re going to try to get better starting with today.”
(One last thing on that topic – have you figured out the correct way to use S Minkah Fitzpatrick, or do you think you have not yet done that?) – “Well, we haven’t practiced this week.”
(I meant – not this week, but in general.) – “(It’s the) early part of the season. We’re working through things, and we’re trying to figure out the best spots for everybody and the best way to deploy everybody, and we’re just trying to look to improve.”
(Do you feel like it’s important to listen to players and how they feel like they should be used, or do you feel like players should kind of go with how coaches tell them?) – “I think we’re all doing this job together. There’s definitely a leadership role. It starts with our head coach. It trickles down to me and then to the players and then the leadership within the player group, as well; but my door is always open. I’m always open to hear and listen and get communication from the players and input because we are doing this thing together. We spend so much time with one another. I think that’s a big part of it – just having clear lines of communication and understanding what each one expects from one another.”
(You said a minute ago, “we tried our best to put players in the right spots.” That’s half the equation. The other half is, once they get the call, they have to go to those right spots before the snap. Was that happening Sunday?) – “I think what happened on Sunday was, first off, I’ve got to do a better job of coaching. I’ve got to tip my hat to Baltimore, and again, we don’t want to be stuck talking about Baltimore – we’ve got a big game this weekend – but they did a good job. Their head coach, the offensive coordinator, those guys – they’re well-coached. They’re a good football team. They’ve got good players, and they executed better than we did, and they coached better than we did. The goal is to get better today, try to improve upon that so that we have a better showing on Sunday; but we’ve got to start with today. We’ve got to win today. We’ve got to win today.”
(Were you surprised at how effective Ravens QB Lamar Jackson was with his arm, particularly deep down the field?) – “We spoke about it. Again, here’s what I’ll say about Baltimore – then I’m going to really move on to New England. For me, this team (Baltimore) was in the past, a very successful rushing team. (They were) very good at running the ball. Statistically, from the film, it popped off. They added (Mark) Ingram. (He’s a) good player. Again, was I surprised that Lamar grew as a passer? No. That’s part of the NFL. I expect for those guys to grow and improve. I’m sure that’s what the offseason was meant for. Again, they executed better than we did, and they did a good job. They out-executed us, and I tip my hat to them. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
(I think that anyone would agree that S Reshad Jones has been one of the best defensive players here over the last five or six years. I know you haven’t been here, but can you give a specific reason to us, just to shed some light as to why he played well under half of the defensive snaps?) – “Specifically – I’ve said what I’m going to say really about Baltimore right now, and I’m really moving on right now to talk about (New England). But Reshad did a good job in his role for us. (We’re) looking to grow upon that role as we keep continuing going through.”
(Do you anticipate any defensive changes going into this week?) – “I think what’s going to happen this week – we’ve got a big challenge in front of us. The main thing I would say – aside from coaching better for me – the thing that’s going to happen is we’re going to focus in on tackling and making sure we’re working on our fundamentals like tackling (and) block destruction. Those are the main things that we’re going to be focused on. We’ve got to improve that first, first and foremost. I think that’s the stuff that will lead to better results. If we improve upon that – just the basic fundamentals of football – if we could get that done at a higher level, I think along with a better job coaching by me, that’ll go a long way for us.”
(Do you scheme up pass pressure against Patriots QB Tom Brady, or does that have to come with individual guys beating the man in front of him?) – “In football, it always comes down to some individual battle. The guy lined up against you – it comes down to that. I think the guys start to fine-tune getting their eyes on their matchup as the week goes ahead, but Tom, he’s seen every pressure there is. The man, he’s seen every coverage, every front. He does a good job of getting those guys on the right play. The offensive line led by (Patriots Offensive Line Coach) Dante Scarnecchia, they do a great job working together along with the backs. (Patriots Running Backs Coach) Ivan Fears does a good job of coaching those guys up. It’s a daunting task. It’s a daunting task, whether it’s three-man, four-man, five-man, six – whatever the rush is going to be, they do a good job. They’re well-coached. They’re a well-coached team, and it’s going to be a great challenge.”
(Obviously, edge-setting is an important thing for any defense, but how do you feel like this unit can improve in that regard?) – “I think it’s going to come down to practice. It’s definitely going to be a point of emphasis – setting the edge, along with tackling. Just again, some of the basic fundamentals. The most important thing we do is practice. Aside from the game, that’s the most important thing we do, so we’re going to have to really see some growth and just working the technique of it in practice. That’s where I see that happening.”
(What was it about DE Jonathan Ledbetter that said that he’s ready to not only just play, but start?) – “Anytime – again, the guys we put out on the field, they earned that spot. It’s very hard to be in this league. It’s very hard to play. You’ve earned that privilege to be on the field. They earn that privilege to play on the field.”
(How often were you able to get to some of your – I don’t know if “exotic defensive packages” is the right word – but we noticed one time, DE Charles Harris was the only defensive lineman on the field. How often were you able to get to those things?) – “Well, you guys will have to scour through the tape and figure that out; but in terms of this week, really what I’m focused on – the scheme doesn’t really matter. I really want to worry about the fundamentals right now: block destruction, knee bend, leverage, pad level, eyes in the right place. That’s the stuff I’m worried about this week.”
(What does LB Raekwon McMillan need to do to show you guys that he maybe warrants more time than he got on Sunday?) – “I can’t speak on Sunday right now, but anything that these guys do – we’re trying to earn those spots on the field, the time on the field, and it comes from again, practice is the most important thing we do, and that’s where we get the most evidence in terms of being ready for the games. That’s what we’re going to work for this week. Really, last week doesn’t really matter. This week – it was a good learning experience, and now we’re just trying to improve now.”
(Can you speak of LB Raekwon McMillan’s progress in general? Where does he stand now?) – “He’s been doing a good job. He’s been working hard. Here’s the thing I would say – the vision that we have for who we’re going to be and who those guys are going to be – I think these guys have a clear vision in terms of how they want to grow as a football player, and they’re working towards that. Whether a bump in the road is going to turn you from your vision – I mean, I’ve never been swayed like that. That’s how we’re going to approach it. We’re going to approach it, we’re going to get better every day, we’re going to work on the fundamentals, and we’re going to build toward having a better showing on Sunday. That’s what we’re going to do.”
(How do you, Head Coach Brian Flores, Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea and some of the other assistants use your New England experience to kind of help you grow week-to-week here?) – “First, it starts with the people. I know ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores). I know (Offensive Coordiantor) Chad (O’Shea). I know (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach) Josh (Boyer) and those guys because we worked together. The bond we have, the trust we have with one another, and I think that’s one of the best things about this profession. You get the chance to meet some of the best people. Some of the closest people in my life are people that I’ve worked with, so every day when you need somebody to talk to or somebody to run a thought by, it’s great to have people that you trust.”
(Is New England – I guess what they’re building there – a realistic goal for you guys?) – “I can’t speak on New England. I’m not at New England and haven’t been at New England. I’ve been gone for a long time, so I can’t speak on that.”
(Is there a “Patriots Way?”) – “You’ve got to ask them. (laughter)”
(Do you remember your first reaction when you heard that WR Antonio Brown was signing with the Patriots? Did you roll your eyes?) – “No, no. Everybody wants good players. (laughter) No big emotional reaction from me.”
Chad O’Shea – September 10, 2019
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea
(I wanted to ask you about RB Kenyan Drake – why the thinking in not inserting him early in the game for the first couple of series?) – “Yeah, I think that – again, as I’ve said all along – we’re going to try to do the best we can to put players in position to do what’s best for our offense. I think there are certain circumstances that go along the way. Maybe if the game changes and we have to adjust to those sometimes, and I think that’s going to be a weekly challenge for us. As some of the circumstances change, how do we change, and how do we adjust? I think that sometimes certain expectations that we may have going into the game and usage of certain players might change just based on the way the game goes, and that’s always going to be something that I think that we’re going to have to do a good job of. As it changes, we’re going to have to change. We have a lot of good players on offense. We’re going to try to use those guys as much as we can. Sometimes we would like to use guys more or less, but that’s all part of our job – to do what’s best for the offense.”
(And with RB Kenyan Drake, can you say whether you want to get the ball in his hands more moving forward, him specifically?) – “Yeah, I think that he’s done a nice job for us. He really has, and we all know he’s very talented with the ball in his hands; but I think in the end, we have a lot of different players at the skill positions that deserve the opportunity to have the ball. He certainly is one of them, but I think we have a number of players on offense that are also very deserving of the opportunity to have the ball in their hands. I think that’s one of the challenges that we have as an offensive staff – to give those players an opportunity, but we just have several guys that fall in that category. So we need to do a good job of balancing that and making sure they’re all involved, and that’s our job. Certainly, it’s a good problem to have, and I think it’s a positive thing.”
(How challenging is it preparing for a Patriots defense that you know as well as you do?) – “I think there’s some familiarity, but I think that’s probably true of – there’s different coaches throughout the league that have been on same staffs and similar systems, so as much as it is, our challenge this week is really, it’s all about us. That’s really how we’re going to approach the week. It’s about us, and it’s about us doing a better job – both coaches and players – of our overall execution, of just being better in every area. We can all do better, and I think if we focus on us first – obviously, we have a tremendous amount of respect for the scheme and the personnel and the coaching staff at New England – I don’t want to shortchange that at all, and I’m not saying that – but it’s all about us and our overall execution and how we can be better as an offense. I think sometimes familiarity with other systems is overrated because at the end of the day, the execution is what’s most important. Certainly, we have a group on offense that’s still growing, still trying to improve, and I just think it’s so much about the basics right now for us of just being better, taking a few things and improving on those.”
(We didn’t see WR Albert Wilson a whole lot, but were you happy with the way you were able to use him and the ways you were able to get him the ball?) – “Albert is another player that falls in the category of someone we like to have the ball in his hands. In the last game, we tried to do that early, and again, I think there’s a number of players we have at skill positions that are going to fall in that category of – as a play-caller and as an offensive staff – we want to have the ball in their hands early. I think that some of that is dictated by what the defensive scheme is and how they have adjusted and how they’re playing and how the game goes, but certainly, Albert, I would say, has done a good job for us. I think he’s done a good job getting back from his injury and working hard, and the athletic training staff here has worked with him. They’ve done a great job of really getting him back to the game. Being a contributor for us is important, and he’s one of the many guys I think on offense that we have – we have some skill guys that can do something with the football.”
(Was WR Albert Wilson’s calf injury the reason he only played a handful of offensive snaps?) – “I don’t want to comment on the injury. He came back from an injury to get to this game, and I know he’s worked hard in that area as far as the rehab and all of those things; but certainly, the guys that are available to us, we’re going to put out there and use, and the guys that aren’t, aren’t.”
(So that wasn’t the reason. His injury – while not getting into specifics about it – WR Albert Wilson’s injury was not the reason why he didn’t play more?) – “I think that there’s a number of factors that go into that, other than the injury, so I’ll just leave it at that. There are certain factors that went into that game that changed for us offensively – the way the game went, obviously, when we had the deficit we did, it definitely changed some of the things we were doing. I think there’s a number of factors that are involved in whether a players’ participation goes up or down in a game, and that’s probably one of them – just the way the game went.”
(With the offensive line, obviously you didn’t intend to get just 12 carries, but what’s it going to take for that unit to create more of a surge from a running game standpoint?) – “We’ve focused in on kind of all the positions right now and what everybody needs to do, and certainly the offensive line is one that has been together not a very long period of time here. It’s a work in progress, and I think they’ve improved. We saw a drastic improvement in practice last week, just from – you’re learning a new language. You’re learning how to communicate with each other. You’re learning about the specific fundamentals that we’re asking of that position that might be slightly different than some other places they’ve been on the way we want to do it. I think, again, it’s all those simple things are the building blocks to our success on the offensive line. It’s a work in progress, and it’s one in which I think that they’ve come in here, they’ve embraced the challenge of trying to do this in a short period of time. I have a lot of confidence in ‘Guge’ (Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo) as the offensive line coach, who spent a considerable amount of time with that group last week, and to get them to the game, I think was a tribute to him and his ability to coach that position. I just think it’s something that’s going to continue to get better if they work at it and embrace what we’re trying to do.”
(What was it that made left tackle the right fit for this team for G/T Jesse Davis?) – “I think that Jesse was somebody that was obviously here in the building who we worked with, so we had familiarity with him, and I think Jesse’s ability to play both right and left (tackle) was something that was beneficial to us in the game. I don’t think there was a specific reason why we put him at left, other than we thought the combination of those five was the best fit. I think it’s like pieces of the puzzle, and I think that you have to look at the entire five and just not solely Jesse at left tackle. It was what was best for our team at those other positions, too, and I think that that’s probably true of our other positions. We ran some five-wide receiver packages in the game early when Albert (Wilson) was in there, and I think we played the best five in each of those positions that we thought they were the best to move the ball, and I think that’s true of the offensive line, too. Jesse is one part of the decision, and the four others are part of the decision on where to put guys.”
(Now that T J’Marcus Webb is here and probably has an opportunity to compete, do you see more movement happening on that offensive line, or is that what you’re going to invest in?) – “I think that – like we’ve stressed to the players this week – this is a blank canvas. This is a new week, and our personnel is going to be based off of what we think is best for the team, and whatever combination we feel is best for this game, it’s going to be. I don’t think that anything is set in stone here, and I would say that’s not only true of the offensive line positions, but that’s true of our other combinations that we’re putting out there, whether it’s a certain personnel group or whether it’s a certain running back to put in the game, a certain receiver. Certainly, we have tight ends that are different combinations, so we told these guys that every week is unique to itself, just like a play during the game is unique to itself, and nothing is set in stone right now.”
(There was a play last week, and I think I’m remembering the details. I think it was a swing pass to RB Kalen Ballage to the left. Looks like G/T Jesse Davis is supposed to block a linebacker, but No. 42 Ravens DL Patrick Ricard for Baltimore shoves G Michael Deiter. He falls into Jesse’s legs, and the linebacker makes the tackle. Is that a situation where that’s just one of those weird things that happens, or could Deiter have avoided that through footwork or angle or whatever?) – “Not to get into the specifics of that, but I’ll say overall, I think that our execution can be better in a lot of areas. Certainly, we can coach better, we can play with better technique and play with better fundamentals. I think – your reference to that play – whenever you have two offensive linemen on the ground at the same time, which they were, isn’t a good thing, and that’s not how we want to play. That was probably a good example of one of the things and one of the areas that we can be better in, but there were multiple examples of that during the game. We’ve used those to grow and get better and move on, and certainly, I would say there’s all of us that can get better. That play was just kind of a reflection of some of the things that we need to grow and get better, and we will.”
(Five carries, -1 yard for RB Kalen Ballage. Was that mostly because of lack of blocking, or have you and Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville seen things on his five runs that he could have done better?) – “I think that the running back position is really reliant on a lot of other things to go well. I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for Kalen’s running style, one of which excites me moving forward. I’ve had a tremendous amount of respect for the way he approaches the game, but at the same time, the running back position relies heavily on the guys around him. Like we tell the guys on offense, if there’s one breakdown on offense, it’s not going to be a good play. That’s probably true of the run game. There were some things that we thought we were really close on, and what happens is, close just isn’t good enough. Everybody needs to be on the same page. It takes all 11, but I’ve been certainly happy with everything Kalen has done with us and his running style. I have confidence in Kalen as a running back, and I just want to stress that we all can be better. I can be better as a play-caller. Everybody can be better to help Kalen out to be in a better position to be successful.”
(What do you anticipate your emotions and I guess reminisce at what it will be like in that pregame when you play New England?) – “I have a tremendous amount of respect for New England and obviously spent a number of years there, but so much of the focus for us – especially after last week – is becoming about us and what we can do better. I think that although the tremendous amount of respect and have great relationships and great memories with both the coaches and the players there, I’m going to have such great focus on doing a better job on game day and making sure our players are doing better job in all the areas that we talk about, so it’s really so much about us that hopefully – although I’m respectful of those relationships, I think that what’s most important is that on Sunday, we’re worried about us.”
(I’m not sure how many moments you guys had in New England, but do you and Head Coach Brian Flores and some of the other assistants kind of draw back on past experiences and how to rebound from a loss?) – “I think that when you’ve worked with guys – I’ve worked with ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) for 10 years and a lot of the other members of this staff, we’ve worked together a long time and have a great working relationship. When you have a working relationship that has been over a number of years, I think it’s very valuable because you can talk about past experiences, whether good or bad, and you can learn from those.”
(You’re in a situation where you’re a new coach, and there’s stuff that you worked on all throughout preseason. Then you get the offensive line change. Then, you’re down by two or three touchdowns. How frustrating was that for you that you really couldn’t show your offense in a sense?) – “I’ve always looked at my job as a coach is to put the players in position that we have on a roster in a position to succeed, and I embrace the challenges here. I think all teams have challenges. We were dealt maybe a challenge different than other teams, but it’s not something that hasn’t happened in the NFL. All teams have different changes to their roster and certain challenges along the way with injuries, so it’s something that I look at and I know our team has approached it this way that everybody’s just going to try to do better and embrace the situation that we’re in with some of the changes, but it’s not different than a lot of other teams. I feel like we have a group right now on offense that has a great attitude. They’re trying to do everything we ask them to do. They’re working hard. They’re buying into what we’re asking them to do, and I think if that’s the case here, we’ll get better. I feel like we have a lot of guys that are headed in the right direction, if not all. It really is a great group of guys. The coaching staff has been great and very supportive of everything we’re doing here. I believe strongly in ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) and what he’s doing as a leader, and I think the challenges are something everybody goes through on all NFL teams.”
(Individual positives from the game, whether it’s QB Ryan Fitzpatrick or…) – “Yeah, I thought – starting at quarterback, I thought ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) really competed and battled through some tough circumstances at times. Certainly like I said with Kalen (Ballage), it takes all 11, especially at the quarterback position, for him to have success. He relies heavily on the jobs of others. I thought he competed. Obviously, we had a turnover in the game, which we don’t ever want to have; but he really competed, did well. I thought his communication was good. The biggest thing about ‘Fitz’ is I think he really handled himself through some tough times there during the game like a real professional and one of which we want playing quarterback for him just because he’s got great mental toughness, great leadership, didn’t waver any in tough times, and that’s one of his traits that’s very awesome.”
(In a year of transition like this, does the onus kind of focus more on the development for players?) – “I think that the No. 1 goal is for us to win. I think along the way, we’re really stressing to our players that what’s most important is we improve right now as a team. Obviously, there’s a lot of improvement after the result of last week that we need to make, so we’re focusing on the process of improving. We know that the goal is to win, and that is our goal. That’s what we’re going to try to do this week, obviously, is go out there, play the best we can and win the game; but along the way, we have to focus on the process of improving to do that. I think everybody on our offense has really bought into that. We had a good day yesterday, and we’re moving forward this week and playing a really, really good team obviously in New England, but what’s most important is that it’s all about us and our ability to improve this week.”
Daniel Kilgore – September 9, 2019
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Monday, September 9, 2019
C Daniel Kilgore
(The fans are now saying the Dolphins are definitely tanking. How disgusting is it to hear as players when you hear something like that?) – “It’s a terrible thing to say, honestly. For you guys to say that and you’re here every day, you see the amount of work that we put in and I think these fans deserve more. I know the game has always treated me well and I would never do that on a personal level, nor will I expect my teammates to do that. It’s aggravating but it’s something that we’ve got to block out. Outside of this building, we’ve got to block those things out.”
(Speaking of what you expect, there were published reports that after the game, you guys were so upset that some guys requested a trade via their agents. Your thoughts on that?) – “I have no clue. That’s other guys’ business. My thing is if you don’t want to be here, I don’t want you here. I want to come here and get ready for New England starting today, and we’ll move forward.”
(How would you describe the mood of the players today?) – “Obviously frustrated with how we played and looking at our corrections. I said this yesterday, you’ve got to take ownership of what we did and again look at it and correct it today and then be ready to go tomorrow.”
(How much of a difference do you think it’s going to make this week having the additional time to with the new offensive linemen?) – “The more reps we get, the better. Again, I think the guys that came in last week did a good job getting prepared. I think the coaches did a great job getting us prepared and a good game plan. We just have to execute it. The more time with these new guys, the better off we’ll be.”
(Did you think that yesterday was – a wake up call is a bad way to put it – but kind of jarring how far you are from where you want to be?) – “Definitely. You’ve got to look at it and that’s not what you expect going into the game, to be down 21, 28 points in the first quarter. Offensively, we’ve got to execute better. We can execute as much as we can on the practice fields but it has to convert on Sundays. It’s frustrating for sure; but again, we’ll just come in tomorrow ready to get to work.”
(Were there any warning signs on the days leading up to the game?) – “Warning signs? No. We come in every Sunday ready to play and win a ball game. We’ll never have that attitude.”
(Why don’t people understand that you didn’t go through all of the OTAs, training camp and all of that to lay down? Why do you think fans are…) – “I think the fans – obviously I don’t know what they do in their lives, and what they do at their jobs. For us, being here every day and working our tails off, we put so much into it, it’s disheartening to hear the things that are being said. But you’ve got to block that out. As a team, we’ve got to stick together and encourage one another, no matter what the season is. It’s a long season. It’s one game. Hopefully we can stack up some wins and block everything out and like I said, stick together.”
Raekwon McMillan – September 9, 2019
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Monday, September 9, 2019
LB Raekwon McMillan
(There’s a report that came out that after yesterday’s game, players were so upset, they reached out to their agents demanding trades. C Daniel Kilgore probably said it best: if guys are requesting trades, you don’t want him here anyway. Just your thoughts on if guys actually reached out to agents to request a trade?) – “I try to stay off social media as much as possible because there can be misleading stories on there. Nobody has come to me about it, so I don’t really know much of it; but like (Daniel Kilgore) said, if they don’t want to be here, it is what it is. We’re going to move along with what we’ve got.”
(And how disturbed do you get when you hear pundits and fans saying, “Oh the Dolphins are tanking because they want the first pick,” and stuff like that? Guys are working hard. I doubt you go out there to risk injury just to tank.) – “Like you said, I’m not going out there to put my body on the line, put my future on the line just to lose games. I’m going out there to win, put my best effort out there on film and give my everything for my teammates.”
(What do you do a day after that game? You saw the film – now, how do you move forward from that now?) – “What do I do after the game? I go home, get some ice packs (laughter), go to sleep, wake up, watch film and do it all over again.”
(Now you’re watching that film, and what’s going through your mind when you guys prepared so much for that type of offense?) – “Like everybody was saying, we can be a lot better. We made a lot of mistakes – a lot of in-house mistakes. It’s not anything that they did special. We came out flat, and we didn’t show up on Sunday. We’ve got to do a better job next Sunday.”
(You seemed to make a lot of what was not a great number of snaps. Do you think you showed enough yesterday to get more playing time?) – “That’s not my decision. I go out there whenever I get a chance to. I put my best tape out there on film and just worry about the other stuff later.”
(What could this defense be like if you were on the field a little bit more?) – “My coaches feel like this is the best thing for us, so that’s what it is. No complaining. They can be special with or without me on the field if everybody just goes out there and does their job right.”
Minkah Fitzpatrick – September 9, 2019
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Monday, September 9, 2019
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
(There was a report that came out last night about players requesting a trade. How would you feel if you found out some of your teammates were requesting a trade?) – “It is what it is. Everybody has reasons to do that, but we all have to stick together as a team, fight it out as a team and keep moving forward.”
(What do you say to the knee-jerk reaction from some of the Dolphins fans out there after yesterday’s loss?) – “The knee-jerk reactions?”
(Their negativity.) – “I’m not really concerned about what they think and everything else, but it’s still early in the season. Coach said to us earlier there are 16 teams that are 0-1 and 16 teams that are 1-0. The only difference is how they react. That’s what’s going to control our season moving forward is how we react to this, what lessons we learn from it and how we move forward.”
(Do you sense at all that there’s any issues in the locker room given the changes the last two weeks and then to have an opener like that?) – “It is tough. There were a lot of changes made. A lot of guys came in here on Monday and Tuesday of last week and it is tough. We were trying to go out there and even with all that adversity just establish ourselves as a great team, great offense, defense and special teams; but it is what it is. It happens. Like I said, all we can control is the way that we move forward, the way that we think moving forward and the way that we carry ourselves moving forward.”
(How much confidence do you have that from one week to the other can be huge difference?) – “It’s football, so every single week will be a different week. We can have a game like yesterday and on Sunday, this Sunday coming up, we can play the best game we ever played. Like I said, all it is, is how we go into it mindset-wise. That’s all that we can control. If we tell ourselves this is going to be a bad season, we listen to all of the outside noise and everything else, then that’s what it’s going to be. But if we tell ourselves all I can control is how I play and if you want to play great, you’re going to play great and make a decision to play great every day, that’s what you’re going to do. That’s all we can control.”
(What did you see on film? What were the issues in the secondary?) – “It was a lot of different things. Guys looking at the wrong – that’s what I did, personally – just looking at the wrong things. Sometimes we weren’t put in the best positon; but even still, we know it’s up to the players to make the play. Coaches can call whatever they want, but like on my play I wasn’t in the best position but I’ve still got to make a play, got to cover my guy. That’s usually what I do. I’ve just got to do my job. That’s what is all boils down to, whether it was with the front, the secondary or the linebackers. Everybody has to do their job. There’s a lot of people just not doing it or trying to do it differently than what we were coached to and that’s what happened.”
(Did you get an explanation as to why you were taken out of the game?) – “No, I did not.”
(Do you have an idea as to why?) – “No. You can talk to (Head) Coach ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) about that.”
(Would you like that? Is that something that you wanted?) – “What?”
(Getting that explanation why?) – “I don’t need an explanation.”
(Do you still want to be here?) – “Yeah. I want to play football. I’ve lost games before. It hasn’t been like this, but I’ve lost games before. Like I said, all I can control is my attitude, the joy that I have for this game and the passion for this game and that’s it.”
(Are you aware of any players actually requesting a trade or reaching out to representation for one?) – “No. No, sir.”
(You’re always going to have confidence in yourself. You know there’s talent or how much was it just technique-wise across the board?) – “All of it was us, like I said, just not doing our job. I think talent-wise we’ve got a great secondary, one of the best secondaries in the league. But just technique-wise, not making excuses for ourselves and not trying to point the fingers is going to allow us to move forward. I think, like I said, we’re one of the best secondaries in the league, so we just have to focus on ourselves.”
(Do you guys believe that the secondary is all in the right position?) – “I mean, yeah. Yeah.”
(What’s it going to take against, especially, against a strong wide receiving corps like the Patriots this Sunday?) – “Do our job. That’s all it boils down to just doing our job.”
Jerome Baker – September 9, 2019
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Monday, September 9, 2019
LB Jerome Baker
(Any day after a loss is always tough. The day after 59-10, is that any more difficult knowing that the game just wasn’t competitive and so many mistakes were made?) – “A loss is a loss so we’ll just go in there and correct the mistakes we can. We just need to go out there and execute and try to get a W.”
(You posted something on Twitter today. What really prompted that post?) – “Social media? It’s just a part of the game. I don’t want anybody to question that we’ll all stick together. It’s just one loss. We’ve got to bounce back and ultimately stick together.”
(Did you see the report from Pro Football Talk last night saying there were guys in the locker room already maybe wanting to get out of this? What do you think about when you hear something like that?) – “Get out of what?”
(Not want to be on the team or comments to their agents, according to this report, that some guys don’t want to be here.) – “I didn’t see or hear all of that. Just being around this team, we all stick together. We all just want to win. We didn’t get the job done yesterday. It’s just one loss. We’re 0-1 just like 15 other teams. We just have to bounce back.”
(You guys went from believe this or not – 500-to-1 to 10,000-to-1 to make the Super Bowl. What are your thoughts when you hear something like that?) – “We’ll see. We’ve got to go out there and just perform. We know what we’re capable of. We know the Super Bowl is in our city. We all have a goal but also we just have to take one game at a time.”
(When you look at the film of that, where does it even start to try to correct the issues?) – “Execution. We just didn’t execute. It wasn’t that they did anything special. We just didn’t execute. We also didn’t start out fast. They started out fast. They’re a great team and we ultimately didn’t get the job done.”
(How much is trusting the system and trusting yourself when you’re on the field – how much does that go into it? Do you think guys are there yet with this defense?) – “It’s a work in progress but as far as trusting the system, it works. You have countless examples of it. We definitely know it works. We just have to ultimately get better and really perfect the system that’s in place.”
(LB Sam Eguavoen said yesterday after the game that you guys were going to take a look at the tape and then burn it. What was the message from Head Coach Brian Flores and the coaching staff today after you guys got a chance to evaluate some of that tape?) – “We wanted to watch that and feel that – feel that loss and feel that pain that we definitely could have gotten the job done if we would have just executed it. It’s as simple as that. It’s not like we don’t have the talent. It’s not like we don’t have any of that. We have everything we need. We just have to execute it. That film was really just the pill of it. You just swallow it and go onto the next week.”
(One of the messages that Head Coach Brian Flores said and I think most coaches do with players is to not worry about outside noise or the distractions or comments. You know that this team, given a loss like that, people are going to start saying things. How do you block that out?) – “To me, I kind of embrace it. I feed off of what everybody else says. ‘You can’t do this.’ That’s kind of been my whole career. ‘You can’t do this. You can’t do that.’ Also, I want to get this team like that. If they want to say whatever, ‘we can’t do this on defense,’ we have to feed off of that and embrace it. If we embrace it, we just take it and run with it.”
Brian Flores – September 9, 2019
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Monday, September 9, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(After looking over the film from yesterday, what was your number one overriding concern?) – “There were a lot of concerns. I was disappointed in really all three phases. That starts with me. I didn’t think we coached well enough, we didn’t play well enough and we have a long way to go. The good thing is it’s one game, and that’s the approach we’re going to take. We’re going to come back to work, make the corrections today, make the corrections really all day today, and then we’ll get back to it. Tomorrow we’ll start preparing – tonight and tomorrow we’ll start preparing for our next opponent New England. Then the guys will be back in Wednesday ready to go.”
(From a coaching standpoint, what was one part of the game that maybe you – underestimated isn’t the right word – but you may have gotten wrong?) – “There were a lot of things that went wrong. We wanted to start fast, we didn’t do that. We did in the kicking game. We started fast that way. But defensively, we didn’t start fast. Offensively, we didn’t start fast. If anything, we went the other way. When you don’t play well against a good team, and you don’t execute, that’s what happens. We’ve got a lot of work to do and that’s what we’re going to do.”
(Was this an execution problem or was it a preparation problem? Or was it both?) – “Obviously I didn’t do a good enough job of getting this team prepared to play. There were definitely some things we could do better as a team in all three phases. We’ll be better. We’ll get better. (There are) a lot of corrections from that game and hopefully we can be better this week than we were last week. That’s the goal. That’s going to be the goal every week. I think the players understand that and I think they’ll work towards that.”
(What did you think about the defense’s tackling ability?) – “We didn’t tackle well at all. I think the things we talk about defensively – tackling is at the forefront. Setting the edge is at the forefront. Communication. We didn’t do those things well. Those will be things we harp on, that we have harped on, and we’ll continue to harp on, and harp on even more in the coming days.”
(There was a report last night that players after the game had contacted their representation requesting trades. Have you spoken to GM Chris Grier about the situation and does that report have any validity?) – “I can’t really speak to the accuracy of that one. We haven’t received any information like that. I think for us, we just need to focus on what’s going on inside of our building, and not worry about anything that’s going on outside. I think we have to get better from a fundamental standpoint, from a communication standpoint – really overall. That’s the goal right now. Everything else that’s going on outside, we just need to focus on what’s going on in our building.”
(What did you gather as the mood of the team as they came in today?) – “I think they were disappointed, as I was. At the same time, I think they are ready to get back to work and have a better performance next week. That’s the mood I felt today.”
(The bunch of guys that you brought in recently, were they ready to play on Sunday or was it maybe a little too soon for them?) – “We’ve got to do a better job of getting them ready to play as a coaching staff. That starts with me. Yeah, we had a lot of new faces; but again, we’re not going to make excuses, we’re not pointing fingers, we’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves. The situation is what the situation is. We’ve got to make the best of the situation. We’ve got to play better than we did yesterday.”
(On the topic of the new guys, you’ve had a lot of moving parts on the offensive line obviously, a big challenge there. How would you judge their performance?) – “I think we had some good spots and we had some not so good spots. I think we’ve got a lot of work to do there. I thought some of the communication was good, some of it wasn’t. Some of the play was good, some of it wasn’t. We’ve got a long ways to go. That group, I expect them to play better next week.”
(Some of the guys mentioned that you told them to let this sink in as part of your message after the game. What do you hope that does for the guys, kind of remembering what happened Sunday?) – “I think when you have a tough loss, I think sometimes you have to think about it, and thing about how that feels. You never want the feeling again. How do you – or how do we – not allow that to happen again? We go to work, we work hard, we do a better job with all of the fundamentals, the communication, we tackle better, we do a better job in the kicking game. I know no one wants to feel that way.”
(It seemed S Minkah Fitzpatrick came out of the game before most of the other defensive starters. Was he taken out for performance reasons?) – “We were rotating that group. Minkah was in, Reshad (Jones) was in there, we planned on getting Walt (Aikens) in there. We had issues really across the board. Minkah had some good plays, he had some bad plays. At the end of the day, we wanted to get some other guys in there. He’s a good player for us. We have a lot of confidence in him. Like all of us – players, coaches – he’s got to improve and perform better.”
(Looking ahead to this week, you have a team that you’re pretty familiar with you are playing. What sort of emotions do you have to deal with given all of the personal connections there?) – “My focus is on this team and getting this team to improve. New England is the next opponent. We have to prepare for those guys – that group. This is obviously the defending world champs. They are well coached; they have good players. We’ve got to prepare at a high level to go out here and compete and try to win this game. That’s where I’m at, and the personal connections are what they are. There are a lot of people within that organization that I know that I have great relationships with; but my focus right now is on the Miami Dolphins.”
(Given the 59 points yesterday by the Ravens and your defensive background, do you by any chance see yourself drifting over towards the defensive end more in practice this week?) – “We had issues offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. I’ll be drifting everywhere. Unfortunately, that’s the case. But yeah, obviously, being a defensive coach, you never want to see a performance like that. But as a total team, we’re not going to wallow in yesterday. We’ve got to turn this thing around. We’ve got a long season ahead of us. There’s a lot of football left – a lot of opportunity for us to get better, improve and play the game the way we want to play it. That wasn’t what we had yesterday. That’s not how we want to play, ever. That’s the goal right now. There’s a lot of season left. There’s a lot.”
(I thought I noticed DE Charles Harris as the only defensive lineman out there on one play. The rest were linebackers and DBs. From a scheme standpoint, were you guys able to do what you wanted to do, and did any of that throw Baltimore off-balance, even just a little bit?) – “We had a plan going in. That was one of them. We didn’t execute the way we wanted to, so at the end of the day, it wasn’t good enough. That’s just as honest as we can be as a team and as an organization. It wasn’t good enough, so we’ll go back to the drawing board. We’ll go back to work and try to improve this team and get better.”
(When you talk about going back to the drawing board, how much of it is – obviously there’s an execution issue – but how much of it is the game plan versus the personnel?) – “I think it is all-encompassing. You have to – when you reflect on the past week, you go through the game plan, you go through the personnel. How could we have done things better? That’s part of our evaluation as a staff, players, coaches, everyone. How much of it was game plan, how much of it was personnel? I would say it’s all of it. We’ve got to do a better job of game-planning with the personnel we have. Players have to play better and execute and do the fundamentals and technique that we talk about on a daily basis, so it’s all-encompassing. I wish it was as simple as one or the other, but it’s all-encompassing.”
(From a penalty standpoint, do you feel like you guys had a performance that met your standards or no?) – “No. Definitely not. We had way too many penalties. Way too many, and that’s something we talk about on a daily basis: playing penalty-free, playing turnover-free, tackling, field position. We didn’t do any of those things well.”
(What are some things that make you feel encouraged moving forward?) – “The O-line I thought played well in spurts. For a group that hasn’t worked that much together, I thought they played well in spurts. Preston (Williams) played well. He had the drop in the end zone, but he’s a young guy (in his) first game (and) I thought he made a couple plays. I thought ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) made some plays. He was under some duress and kind of spun out of a few plays and gave us an opportunity on a couple of those pass plays there. I thought Walt Aikens – he had energy and maximum effort the entire game, so I was pleased by him. There are a lot of things that happened in the game that are correctable. Looking back and watching the film, if we could correct those things, we’ll be in a lot better shape. There’s a lot there that’s correctable just from a pure fundamentals and technique standpoint. If we get that done, we’ll be better this week.”
(As far as DT Christian Wilkins, I think he was lined up across form Baltimore Ravens G Marshal Yanda for a large part of the game. How did you think Christian performed?) – “I thought he played okay. Again, we’ve got 11 guys. It’s hard to single one guy out. I thought he had a solid performance. He could get off blocks a little bit better, but I think you could say that for everyone. We didn’t do a good enough job of defeating blocks in this game. That’ll be the focus this week along with a myriad of other things. We’ll improve and get better.”
(Did you have any conversation with Stephen Ross after the game, and what were the nature of the conversations with General Manager Chris Grier afterwards?) – “Yeah, I talked to Steve. I talked to Steve after the game and Chris, as well. Those conversations are going to remain private, as they should; but yeah, I talked to both guys.”
(After a game like Sunday, do you feel like you have to give your guys positivity, or do you work them a little harder after what you saw?) – “I think there’s always, in coaching – it’s positive. You’ve got a critical tone and you’ve got a motivational tone. I think that’s coaching. You’ve got to find the right timing to use both. I think as a coach individually and as a staff, both tones are warranted. It’s a case-by-case situation.”
(When you took the job, did you anticipate the roster turnover like you saw just a week before the game in this team, in their efforts to be a younger team?) – “That’s something you think about when you take a job like this. You think about culture. You think about building fundamentals and technique and playing a certain way. You think about making an impact on guys. Those are things you think about. You know in this league, there’s turnover. Every team turns over every year. Guys are going to be – I don’t want to say in and out, but you’re going to have a different team every year. That you know. As far as the amount we had last week, it’s not something that crossed my mind. My thought process is always, ‘I’m going to coach the guys we have,’ period. I don’t care if you’ve been here a day, a week, 10 years. I’m going to coach the guys we have. That will always be my approach, and I don’t think that’s going to change.”
(When Stephen Ross made the coaching change, he mentioned there would be some pain in this process. Did you anticipate pain – initial pain – when you came in?) – “There’s pain every season for every team. When you go through an NFL season – which, this is my 16th – every team deal with adversity. Every one. There are 15 other teams that dealt with adversity yesterday. That’s part of an NFL season. We have to be able to endure that and stand up to it and not make excuses and not point fingers and not feel sorry for ourselves and get back up, go back to work and fight another day, try to improve, get better and help this team win. That’s the goal for every team, specifically ours, and that’s the message that I sent to the team today.”
