Brian Flores – August 8, 2019 (Halftime)
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Thursday, August 8, 2019
Halftime – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores (transcribed by Anthony Gutierrez)
(You got a chance to look at your two quarterbacks in the first half, what did you see that you liked?) – “I think they both managed the huddle pretty well. The communication was okay. Obviously, I don’t like the turnover by Josh (Rosen). I think overall, as a team we got to do a better job with our fundamentals, our technique. I think the effort is really good, but we got to tackle better, we got to block them up a little bit better, we got to have better overall communication.”
(One thing nice to see after the turnover, your defense on a quick change, able to hold them out of the end zone and force the field goal.) – “That’s a great situation for us to go through, have a little adversity. We kind of pick each other up defensively in that case. It’s got to be in all phases – special teams, offense, defense.”
(Protection, a little bit of in issue. Got to get that offensive line together. Certainly a work in progress.) – “It’s certainly that, but at the same time, we still got to do a good job with our fundamentals, our technique, our communication and protect inside out. If we do those things, we’ll be okay.”
Tank Carradine – August 6, 2019
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Tuesday, August 6, 2019
DE Tank Carradine
(I want to ask you, is there a different feeling at practice this week now that it’s finally a game week?) – “We’re just locking in. We know there’s a game. Even though it’s a preseason game, it’s a very important game. That’s something that all of the guys are locked in and we’re staying on top of.”
(For you, how are you looking at this opportunity with the Dolphins this year?) – “I’m looking at it as a big opportunity. This is a chance for me to get my career back on track. I thank the coaches are giving me this opportunity, and I’ve got to get my career my track and just be there for my team and do everything I need to do. I’ve got to be able to show (I can) set the edge on the run and be able to play third down and pass game.”
(Looks like you’re spending a lot of time with the first-team defense. How important is that for you to be a starter on this team?) – “That’s very important to me because I do have experience, and we have a lot of young guys. I’ve just got to lead them the right way and help them grow as we help each other develop and leave it all out there on the field. I think that it’s very important. It’s also giving me a chance to get my career back on track, do everything it takes to help the team win and just be successful out there on the field.”
(What were your initial thoughts when the Dolphins contacted you in the offseason?) – “I thought it was cool. I sat out last year. It’s something that really humbles you when you don’t get picked back up. I saw it as another opportunity for me to get better and be able to give it all I’ve got out there on the field. I was so excited about it, so I took a chance. I’m working hard. I came here and said, ‘I’m going to give it all I’ve got.’ I know I’m getting older. I know this could be my last shot, so I’m going to try to make the most of it.”
(What do you think makes you a really good fit for this defense?) – “Just how we’re playing. There are different schemes that we run and be able to set the edge, play inside. They’re trying to move me all over the field. That’s something that I like. It’s giving me a chance to play different positions and be all out there and be an every-down player.”
(You didn’t necessarily have a great experience in Oakland, but you did play with a lot of the guys over there. Do you have any level of curiosity about HBO’s Hard Knocks?) – “(laughter) I’ll them guys. They know how it is – those guys, they’re working. I’ll just tell them, ‘give it all you got.’ At the end of the day when you leave practice and you’re out there in meetings, make sure you leave it all out there because you know on Hard Knocks, you know how that is when you get cut, and it is all in the open and everybody sees what happens.”
(Are you planning on watching this season of Hard Knocks?) – “No, I’m just going to keep working hard and get ready for this game on Thursday.”
Michael Deiter – August 6, 2019
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Tuesday, August 6, 2019
G Michael Deiter
(On what new Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo says he needs to work on?) – “That I need to get better and that I’m nowhere near where I need to be, which is good. I’m not. He’s right. But I’m getting better, for sure, and making strides. The biggest thing is mastering the offense and getting as comfortable as I can mentally, that way I can come out here and just cut it loose without thinking. That’s when I’ll be able to play my best. Really it’s just been I’m doing alright, but there is so much more I need to get better with. I’m still just a rookie. There’s a lot I need to learn and I’m trying to. That’s pretty much it.”
(How significant has it been for you to get all that work with the first team?) – “It’s been huge because it’s either grow and get better or you’re not going to stay there. Getting those valuable reps with those guys and the guys that are around you, that have all of that experience – ‘LT’ (Laremy Tunsil), Dan (Kilgore) – if there is anything I’m confused about, I can go right to them and it’s solved and they get me right. Having those guys next to me helps a ton. They clean everything up for me and if you’re not going to be playing good football, you’re not going to be staying here. It’s been really good to get those reps.”
(How would you describe your level of excitement for Thursday even though it is a preseason game, it is your first NFL game.) – “It’s huge. I’m super excited. Like you said, it is a preseason game but to me, I won’t know the difference. It’s going to feel like a game to me. I’m excited about it, just to be in that atmosphere again, and to play a different opponent – not someone you see every day – and just to kind of put it all together. Like you said, it’s a preseason game. There’s going to be some good, there will probably be some not so good and some stuff we’ll have to clean up going into the next preseason game. I just want to play the best that I have up to this point in camp on Thursday.”
(After the offensive line coaching change was made, did Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo or Head Coach Brian Flores sit you down and say ‘Hey, we’re going to give you more work with the starters?’ Was that ever stated or was it seen on the board one day when you walked in and you said, ‘Oh, I’m with the first group today?’) – “It was that. It was just you got reps with the ones. It’s no different than the reps with the twos. It’s just the guys you’re next to (are different) pretty much. When you get that opportunity, you want to take advantage of it. All I can do is try to play my best and try to learn with those guys that are around me and it was good. It was cool.”
(Last year TE Mike Gesicki, and TE Durham Smythe would say that they roomed together, they’d quiz each other on stuff. Are you and G Shaq Calhoun doing anything like that?) – “A ton of quizzing. We’ll just be walking down the hallway and I’ll through a code word at him out of nowhere while we’re eating dinner. I’d be like ‘come on, what is it?’ We’ve got to think fast. That kind of competitive – it’s a joke almost, but you still get a rep. You can think through stuff and I think it’s helped a lot. It’s helped him and it’s definitely helped me. It’s cool to have that kind of competitive joke but learning at the same time.”
(You’re rooming with who?) – “I room with Isaiah (Prince).”
(Outside of the activities that the team has planned for you tomorrow before the game, how are you preparing yourself for the game?) – “It will be – the day before the game is pretty much all mental. We will come out here and get a little bit or work in and we’ll sweat; but you want to get your body back a little bit and then it’s all mental. I want to make sure I’m mentally sharp. I don’t want to be having MAs (missed assignments) because that’s the quickest way to lose a spot. Then, doing the cold tub and all of the recovery stuff, like I said, getting the body right. I guess the biggest thing for me is just getting as mentally sharp as I can possibly get tomorrow, so I can just go out there and play fast.”
(Do you have any ritual of talking to your parents or friends?) – “No. It’s pretty much just another day for me. I guess the emphasis is more get the mind right and get the body right instead of overworking the body.”
(Where do you feel you’ve made the most gains in terms of just working with the starters this week?) – “I think mentally, just kind of the few things that I wasn’t understanding before, that I’ve picked up, just different techniques that I’ve been able to work on. There isn’t nothing that hasn’t gotten better, but there is still so much that needs to get better. So, I’ve gotten better, but there is still so much more to clean up.”
Christian Wilkins – August 6, 2019
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Tuesday, August 6, 2019
DT Christian Wilkins
(On drowning out the negative expectations for the season from outsiders.) – “I’m not going to let anybody create a mindset for this team or for anybody on this team. I feel like if we work hard, we do what we have to do, we grind and we bring it every day, if we put our best foot forward, we’ll reap what we sow. That’s the one thing about the outside world – they don’t know what’s going on in here. I’m not putting any predictions or any wild expectations on us. The most important thing to me is that I bring it every day and that the guys on this team bring it every day. That doesn’t bother me at all. It’s all just rhetoric. It’s a long season. We’re just in camp right now. We’ll reap what we sow, like I said, and get the results that we deserve.”
(It’s only preseason. How much are you looking forward to Thursday, getting out there in the home stadium doing your thing?) – “I’m really looking forward to it. Every time you put on those pads and go into that stadium, it’s another opponent from another team. It isn’t just preseason. It’s full go, a live game. For me, it’s my first NFL experience. You can’t tell me otherwise that it’s just another preseason game. It’s important too for me to just kind to get into my routine and understand the things that I want to do know, because it’s a whole different schedule for me. Just getting into those routines. I’ve got to treat this as close to a game as possible, and just figure out what I like, what I can do and what I can’t do. I’ve just got to bring that mindset that this is an actual real live game.”
(As far as meeting United States Women’s National Soccer Coach Jill Ellis today, you got a picture with her right?) – “Yes. That was awesome.”
(Where does that rank in all of your Instagram photos?) – “That’s pretty cool, because obviously what they were able to do – Team USA – was special. They were so much fun to watch and that’s not an easy thing to accomplish, being the best in the world at something. I’m sure that starts with great leadership. It starts at the top with coaching. It was awesome, awesome to meet her. I had to give her a big hug and get my picture with her.”
(Where does that rank as far as cool people you’ve met?) – “That’s definitely up there. Because like I said, I love watching all sports. Again, how they represented not just for themselves, but for the whole country. They were just so much fun to watch so that was definitely awesome.”
(Are you the type of player that gets nervous before a game? Will you have butterflies?) – “I don’t typically get nervous, just because of preparation. That’s where it all starts. I feel like I would only be nervous if I feel like I didn’t prepare the right way and didn’t bring it every day or if I cheated the process. I feel like if I do everything I need to do throughout the week, then there shouldn’t be any pressure come game day just because there is great talented guys out here that I’m going against every day. I’m hoping the game won’t be too much different.”
(A lot of times fans don’t notice linemen as much, but you being a first-round draft pick, do you feel that maybe eyes are going to be on you?) – “Yes. I’m sure that will be, but I feel like as long as I do what I need to do for this team, I don’t get out of myself or get out of the scheme, as long as it matters what I do for this team, the coaches trust me, my teammates trust me and I know I did my best, then it doesn’t matter what other people may think. But I know all eyes are going to be on me as well, and there will be some attention from it.”
(Has everything been going according to plan for you in training camp from your perspective?) – “In terms of me just getting better every day, me just getting better every day, me bringing it, me trying to earn my teammates and my coaches trust and respect, I feel like so far I’ve done alright. But, I’m never satisfied, so I’m always trying to get better at everything.”
Jesse Davis – August 6, 2019
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
G/T Jesse Davis
(How do you feel about them bestowing that on you and wanting you to play another position?) – “I like it. I like the challenge. It’s a pretty big feat for me I think from going in to moving out. I like the challenge that they threw into my lap and I’m going to take it.”
(What are some things that you need to learn or need to work on as you transition to this position?) – “Working on my sets, hands, balance.”
(Working towards the outside, too right?) – “Yeah. All the stuff that you see tackles do.”
(Is there an NFL offensive tackle in the league now or from the past who you actually think you can relate to a little bit like similar size, similar pedigree, similar something?) – “I haven’t really paid too much attention. I know guys would like to be the best guys out there; but at the end of the day, you’re your own person. You can’t be mimicking what they do. You can take little stuff from their game, but whatever works for you, that’s what I’d say to do.”
(Is there anything you’ve learned playing right guard that can help you play right tackle?) – “Understanding more of the interior stuff, Mike (linebacker) points and rotations and what the center is seeing, what they’re doing on the back side stuff. Just the same old stuff that you really end up doing every day.”
(We’ve seen you obviously at right tackle for eight days now. Is your sense that this is a permanent move?) – “We’ll see. We’ll see Thursday what happens and moving forward after those next few games up until the start of the season. Every day is day-by-day, I think.”
(Thursday I would imagine you’d be at right tackle?) – “What are we, almost 48 hours away? So, I’d imagine so. I’d hope so anyway.”
(What was Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo’s feedback to you about how you’ve done in the role through eight days?) – “Good and bad. There’s a lot of stuff to work on, but in my mind I think those things are fixable really quick, so I think we’re in good shape.”
(What is the upside you think with two rookie guards? Obviously they’ve been with the first group for six days now.) – “With them in there, it’s more communication. We’ve got to talk to them a little bit more than you would a guy that’s already been in there. I think they’re doing a great job from what I’ve seen.”
(What’s G Shaq Calhoun’s upside?) – “He’s explosive. He stays low. Obviously, he’s a squatty guy, but he’s explosive, has good hands and is a strong guy. I think it’s good for this position.”
(Is it surreal to have all these youngsters around you? You were the young guy like yesterday.) – “It’s a little different. It kind of happened pretty quick. At the end of the day, that’s what we got and that’s what we’re rolling with. I’m excited for these guys to show it out on Thursday.”
(When you guys are coming out here and busting your you know what and you hear the national rhetoric that the Dolphins are going to be this or going to be that, how do you guys take that as a team?) – “Anything kind of said outside the organization and out of our building we don’t really care. We don’t even know what day it is. Right now, anything that’s being said out there, we could care less. It’s August, what is it, the 6th? It’s a month away from the season, more than a month. Whatever they’re saying, keep doing it. We’ll keep putting it on our back and we’ll take the challenge.”
(How much are you looking forward to Thursday finally hitting somebody else that’s not wearing aqua and orange?) – “I’m excited to get in a game setting and playing fast, and no coaches around to tell you, ‘Do this.’ Just go out there and play. That’s what I like about it. You’re playing with your bros. If something bad happens, you go onto the next one and get it fixed. I’m excited for it.”
(Do you study the left defensive end pass rush moves for the Falcons guys in the preseason or is that really something more you do in the regular season?) – “Probably so in the regular season. We don’t game plan. Right now, it’s kind of on your own, by which we all have been watching some film on Atlanta’s first game. Obviously, the starters weren’t in. We do our own studies. Go back to Dan Quinn’s stuff in Seattle. There’s plenty of stuff to grab from on our plate. I expect some vanilla stuff. It’s going to be between him and me.”
(You obviously can confidently play both guard and tackle. Do you have a feeling about where you have a greater chance of long-term NFL success? Is that something that’s clear to you yet?) – “What is the old saying, tackles go to guard to die? (laughter) I can always move back in. I’m excited for it. I’m excited for the challenge to move out there. I felt comfortable in that role in 2017. I just need to get more reps with it. I think we all do. Get a little bit more reps together and I think we’ll be good.”
(Do they have enough defensive tackles where you don’t have to do the goal-line defense or do you still want to do that?) – “If they want it, I’m always up for it. I don’t think they’re going to want to put somebody in a starting positon in that role. That’s what I heard last time I was in there. I was like, ‘Why am I not on?’ They were like, ‘Well, you’re starting.’ (laughter) I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”
Brian Flores – August 6, 2019
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Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(You’ve obviously coached for one of the best coaches of all time – Bill Belichick – but I know you’re obviously your own man as well. Did you give any thought maybe during a quiet moment the last eight months of what you want to take from Belichick and do things like he does as a head coach and what do I want to do differently? I’m not obviously asking you what those are, but was there sort of an introspective moment you had where you thought about that issue?) – “That’s a good question. During this process, I tried to take a little bit from anyone with a leadership position that I could. So that was Bill, that was my high school coach (Dino Mangiero), that was my college coaches, my parents, anyone who has a leadership – who I viewed as a leader – Pastor A.R. Bernard at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, New York – shout out to him. But anyone from a leadership position, I try to take little bits and pieces from each one of them. They’re all different and I’m different. I’m not any of those guys. I’m myself. Again, I take a little bit from each one of those individuals but at the same time, it’s important for – I think leadership, the big thing about leadership, is being authentic. So if you try to be someone else, it’s not real leadership in my opinion. It’s hard for – who is going to follow a guy who is trying to be somebody else? I think that’s part of leadership is trying to help individuals find themselves and try to become the best version of themselves. I think in order to do that, you have to be genuine, sincere and authentic. Yeah, I’ve tried to take a lot from a lot of people – a lot of different leaders that I’ve come across – but at the end of the day, I’ve got to be me.”
(We’ve seen a lot of the offensive and defensive linemen wearing knee braces out there. Is that your idea and if so, what is the thinking behind it?) – “I think nothing is more important than the health of the team. I think knee braces obviously protect the players from the lower extremity injuries. That’s really what that’s about. I realize players would rather not wear them. I’ve worn them before. They’re for protection, just like shoulder pads and a helmet are for protection. If I told them to go out there and play without a helmet, I think they’d fight me on that. So I’ll fight them on the knee braces. I think it’s for their protection. It’s for their safety, it’s for the health of the team. I think it’s hard for them (because) it may be a little bit – not awkward, but restrictive in some cases. Whether or not we wear them in a game is yet to be determined; but at the end of the day, it’s about their safety. It’s about player safety. That’s extremely important to me and I think at the end of the day, if you have the players’ best interests in mind, they’ll – for the most part – do what you ask them.”
(Where do you come down on analytics and old school stats versus new school stats? How much do you delve into analytics and use them?) – “I think anything that could potentially give us an advantage or help us in any way from analytics to really anything, I’m definitely willing to take a look at. I think nothing is more important than fundamentals, technique and repetition. But if there’s something that can help us in-game, situationally or even from a fundamentals standpoint – GPS tracking and total yardage in a practice – those things, I mean if they help us, I’m all for it. What I don’t want is for that stuff to become a crutch in any way. ‘I ran too much.’ How do you push limits if you’re looking at a number that says you ran too much? Maybe you can do more. I think about breaking the 4-minute mile barrier. People said you could never do it. It couldn’t be done. It was humanly impossible. But I think you have to push beyond those limits. I think maybe if an analytic or some metric says you can’t, then perhaps you can.”
(Are we likely to see established veterans like QB Ryan Fitzpatrick for a series or two on Thursday?) – “I think everyone has to be ready to play for an extended period of time. We’ll see how the game goes. We have a plan for some players but I would tell these guys, and I’ve told them, that everyone has to be ready for an extended period of time. There’s no ‘(these are) your three plays and then you’re out.’ There’s no set parameters as far as the substitution process from that standpoint. I think they all know that it could be three plays, it could be 30 plays, it could be 50 plays. We’ll see how the game goes. If you slate somebody for three plays and they have three mental errors, I don’t think it’s time for that person to come out. You never know how the game is going to go. To lock in a specific ’10 plays for you, 12 plays for you,’ I don’t think that’s realistic. It’s a good thought process and we have a plan from that standpoint as far as who we want to play a certain number of snaps, but we’ll see how those snaps go. If they go well, maybe we’ll keep them going and keep the momentum going. If they don’t, maybe we just want to take them out. Maybe they’re slated for 15 snaps and three look so bad that I don’t want to see it anymore. That happens too. There’s no – it’s case-by-case. We have an initial plan. For the most part, I hope we stick to that; but things happen. Things change in this game, so you have to be ready.”
(We haven’t seen much of LB Kiko Alonso during practice. A lot of it is injury related but then he’s also not in that nickel package. What is your vision for Kiko in this defense?) – “Well, Kiko has been a very productive player and made a lot of plays in this league. He’s a very good player. I think he played a lot. Obviously he’s dealt with a little bit of injuries – minor injuries – and been out a little bit. He was in there yesterday and played a good amount yesterday. I thought he practiced well yesterday. He’s running with all of the different groups. Again, there’s a lot of packages. He fits in a lot of those packages. I think we’re still – having missed some of that time, we didn’t really get a full evaluation. Now we’re just trying to get him back in there and see exactly what that is. His history says that he can be productive. He’s played a lot of snaps in this league and he finds the ball. At the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to.”
(Is it your anticipation that QB Josh Rosen will work with the ones on Thursday, or do you see him working with the twos?) – “That’s something we talked about as a staff. I would see ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) going with the ones as we’ve done, really the entire training camp; but that could change. We’ve got a meeting tonight to talk about it, and that’s kind of where I see it right now. He’s done a good job. Josh has done a good job. Again, the preseason games will tell us. It’s just another part of the evaluation. I think they both – it’s a good competition. It’s what it is. That’s where I would see that.”
(I hear what you were saying about before about this being a fluid plan as you go through the preseason games; but in a perfect world, do you subscribe to the general theory that the third game is a dress rehearsal?) – “In a perfect world, yes. The world’s not perfect, as we know. (laughter) I think the third game, you want it to be a dress rehearsal for what game No. 1’s going to look like. There’s a lot of things at play there. From an injury standpoint, from a tactical standpoint, schematically, do we want to do everything? Are we ready to do all the things that we’d like to do in Game 1? Yeah, theoretically, that’s what you would like. We could go that way. We could not go that way. That’s something that we’ve talked about a little bit. Right now, I would say that’s probably the plan is to try to make it a dress rehearsal, but things change. They do. So I wouldn’t put too much stock into what happens in that third game. A lot of things change from a roster standpoint. We may see something there that we don’t like, and we may want to change it. Again, it’s a fluid game. I think you guys have – in dealing with me on a day-to-day basis, you know that I like to be able to adapt. I want our team to be able to adapt really in any situation. That’s from a personnel standpoint; that’s from a rain, heat, snow, hail standpoint. We’ve got to be able to do that. We could dress rehearsal it, but Game 1 may not look like that. We could have a guy’s shoe fall off, and somebody else has got to go in, so it’s fluid.”
(Players mentioned those one-on-one interactions. I’m talking about QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s leadership. Can you talk about how often that happens and why that’s important to you?) – “I think it happens really on a play-to-play basis. If a guy makes a good catch, there’s a little interaction. If a guy misses a side adjust or a hot (route), there’s a little interaction. If a guy makes a good block that springs a run, there’s a good interaction. If a guy misses a block, there’s a not-so-good interaction. I think that’s on a play-to-play basis, and I think the leaders on the team – in a perfect world, those guys are coaches on the field and holding guys accountable on a play-to-play basis. You will definitely want that out of your quarterback, but the leaders defensively, in the kicking game, offensively – you want them holding their teammates accountable as well. It can’t always be the coaches. As you grow as a team, you’ll start to see the leaders on the team holding guys accountable the way – and maybe even more so – than the coaches do.”
(Are you going to the sneak the stadium walkthrough in tomorrow?) – “For the players you mean?”
(Players and/or coaches.) – “Yeah. We actually did that the other day, so we snuck it in. (laughter)”
(How did it go?) – “It went well. Like I told you guys a couple of days ago, we went in, saw the locker rooms. (There are) a lot of guys who haven’t seen it. We saw the locker room, the weight room, the meal room, walked the field a little bit, coaches’ booth. I thought that was important for us to see as a team. Glad we snuck it in. (laughter)”
(From a personal standpoint, even through it’s a preseason game, what’s your level of excitement heading into your first game as an NFL head coach?) – “I’m very excited. I’m very excited. I’m excited to see all the hard work we’ve put in from April 1 until now (and) to go out and try to perform and execute at a good level. I think the things that are important to us and this team right now are having a good operation, getting the right guys in the huddle, having good communication in the huddle, breaking the huddle, just having a good overall operation. Then obviously playing penalty-free, limiting the turnovers, and I think if you do those things, you give yourself an opportunity to at least string some good plays together. The plan offensively is obviously not to go backwards, keep the ball moving forward. I think that’s a simple thing; but all too often, you see false starts and holding penalties, so let’s move the ball forward. Defensively, let’s tackle well, defend the deep part of the field, do a good job communicating. In the kicking game, it’s ball security. It’s good fundamentals and technique when you’re blocking, and it’s tackling and doing a good job down the field in coverage on the coverage unit. Whatever happens after that, happens. I think the good plays will happen once we start to play off from an operational standpoint, from that standpoint.”
(Have you allowed yourself to reflect maybe a little bit on your coaching journey now that you’re coaching your first game as an NFL head coach?) – “I think every once in a while, there’s a little bit of reflection from where I was 15 years ago to where I am now. It’s nice to reflect that way. I’m excited to be here. I’m very fortunate to be here. I love South Florida, the people here. This team is filled with guys who are motivated and talented and hard-working, and it’s a joy to work them. It’s a joy to work with (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon (Shore) and our ownership, Steve Ross. I think we’ve got – it’s a great group of people, so from that respect, yeah, I’ve had some reflection; but as we move forward, I’m motivated to try to play some good, solid, fundamental, smart, tough, disciplined football for those people, for this community and try to improve on a daily basis.”
(I want to ask you about G/T Jesse Davis. Are you getting what you wanted out of this two-week experiment with him at right tackle and pros and cons to him actually making that transition?) – “Yeah, we wanted to see some versatility really across the offensive line. Jesse, specifically, we wanted to see him play some right tackle. He’s played guard, obviously. He’s a guy we like. He works hard. He embodies a lot of things that we’re looking for from an offensive line standpoint. He’s tough. He’s physical. He’s smart. I would say these last two weeks have been good for him and good for us in that we know or we feel comfortable that he can play both spots. Now which one he plays is –we’ll see how everything else shakes out, but he’ll be part of the five, for sure.”
Minkah Fitzpatrick – August 5, 2019
Monday, August 5, 2019
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
(Is it fun to be more at safety the last couple days? That’s one of the many things you’re good at. Was it enjoyable to be paired with S Bobby McCain a lot at safety?) – “I mean, that’s what I’ve been doing most of camp…“
(Some slot a lot though, too?) – “Yeah, I’ve been playing a good mix of the slot corner, the safety and everything else and all that; but it’s just different schemes, you’re seeing different looks and everything like that. Mostly I’ve been playing at the same position, so it hasn’t been too much different.”
(Was there anything different in practice today with this being a game week unlike the first couple of weeks of camp?) – “Today was hot. I’ll say that. Today was real hot. (laughter) But no; today, (Head) Coach (Brian Flores) challenged us just to play faster. He put us in shells, so he wanted to see us just move around and play fast, play quick, get in and out of the huddle, lining up fast and stuff like that. I think we did a pretty good job doing that. Execution could have been better, but I think it was a faster pace, faster energy, faster getting out of the huddle just to prepare us for Thursday.”
(Looking forward to seeing a different team out there as opposed to just those guys all the time?) – “Yeah, for sure. It’s your team. Going against your team, seeing the same guys every single day, it’s real repetitive and everything like that, so I think…”
(How much can you actually put into motion in these preseason games without giving away some of the state secrets that you want to accomplish during the season as far as multiple looks and just keeping the other team guessing?) – “I think you can keep it as basic as you want and get as complex as you want. It all depends on what Coach (Flores) wants; but I think if you’ve got your fundamentals and your basics, then you know you can run the more complex stuff. If you go out there, you run the easy calls, the fundamental calls, the coaches know, ‘all right, they can do this. We know that they’d be able to execute this in a real-game situation.’ You don’t want to give away everything and all that and on multiple looks, but you want to try and challenge us at the same time.”
(What aspect are you the most excited that maybe people don’t see coming from you guys?) – “As a team, I would just say just, honestly, just being hungry. I think a lot of people are counting us out. We had a lot of things going on and stuff like that. A lot of people are just saying whatever about us, and I think a lot of us are real hungry. A lot of us are winners on this team and just ready to show everybody that.”
(How comfortable are you with S Bobby McCain? I know Bobby says he’s really excited to play centerfield.) – “I’ve been playing with Bobby since last year. He’s a great player, a versatile player. He communicates really well. He’s easy to play with. I love guys like that that are just easy to play with. You know you’ve got some guys that – they don’t like to communicate. You’ve got to scream at them every single snap, but he’s not like that. You give him yes, no, maybe so, and we’re good to go. It’s like I said, he’s easy to play with. I love playing with him.”
(S Bobby McCain is kind of loud. He talks a lot, too.) – “He talks a lot? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. In a sense of communicating, yeah he talks a lot. He’s a passionate player. I’ll say that about him. He’s a passionate player. He loves the game. He puts a lot of energy into the game, and he shows that.”
(LB Jerome Baker is also in his second season now. What can you say about the stride that he’s made since last year?) – “I think he’s made big strides. I think this defense has definitely helped him out schematically. It allows him just to play fast, play his type of football because he’s a fast linebacker. Downhill, east-west, whatever you need him to do, he’s going to do it. I think this defense allows him to do that.”
(With LB Jerome Baker, if you don’t have him, how do defensive guys get their play calls?) – “The next man comes in and they call it.”
(When you think about Head Coach Brian Flores and coming here and starting a new program and trying to build it up, what’s the most impressionable sign that something is different here?) – “I would say just the constant challenge that he’s putting on us. I think every single day, every single rep, he’s challenging us – whether it be just challenging us to run to the ball, challenging us to execute, challenging us in conditioning. He’s just constantly putting that challenge on us, and I think with that, we’re all going to grow as players, as men, and we’re just going to be able to win more games.”
(Can you give me an example of one of the challenges that and how it looks?) – “I would say just not accepting little mistakes. Like I think in past seasons, people would just let things slide that he won’t let slide – whether it be just, instead of taking, ‘the pass goes over my head. Throw it to another receiver.’ Instead of just taking a little burst one step out, he wants me to run and get to the ball. Tag off on the ball. That’s what he wants you to do. It’s going to help you in the game. If somebody tips the ball up, you’re running, practice habits and everything else like that, you’re going to get to the ball. It’s little stuff like that. Making sure we’re doing the little things right and making sure our habits that you relay over from practice to the game are right.”
(From a DBs perspective, what have you seen from QB Josh Rosen? What’s it like to play against him?) – “He’s a good quarterback. He gets the ball down the field really well. I’ve just seen today and other days, he fits the ball in windows real nice. He has a good eye. He takes chances, which is a good thing as a quarterback. You can’t play too safe, but obviously you don’t want to do too much. He’s a good quarterback, and he’s going to keep growing in this system and keep making plays.”
(Your coach – the defense he ran in New England really revolved around the secondary. That was really the strength of the team and really the safeties, they kind of all revolved around the safeties. How exciting is that for you now to kind of be in the similar situation?) – “It’s exciting. It’s really exciting. The scheme I ran at Alabama was kind of set up that way. It was based around the DBs. The DBs would move around, do different things, and obviously, we had a great d-line in front of us to support us and help us. I got excited when I heard about we’re installing and what we’re doing. I like just moving and making plays. It’s a challenge, though, at the same time, but it’s definitely going to benefit us.”
(Are you watching film of New England Patriots S Patrick Chung?) – “I’m watching them all. Patrick Chung, the (New England Patriots DBs Devin and Jason) McCourty brothers, (New England Patriots DB Jonathan) Jones – all of them. Just watching all of them. That’s who we watch. We watch a lot of New England.”
(Is that how you’re going to learn the defense by watching Patriots film?) – “Some of the stuff, yeah, and then obviously we have to put our own little wrinkles on stuff. They show us a lot of Patriots stuff in film.”
(Are you Patrick Chung, and is S Bobby McCain like Devin McCourty? Like are you doing the one-for-one comparisons?) – “No, not really. I think we have a little bit of different type of personnel than the Patriots – just body-type-wise and skillset-wise – I think it’s a little bit different.”
(Also, everyone here talks about Head Coach Brian Flores’ punctuality. Apparently with the media, if you show up five minutes early, you still might be late. Is punctuality a big thing with him?) – “Yeah, he has a saying. ‘Early is on time. On-time is late, and late is forgotten.’ He has that up on one of the walls – as soon as you walk in where the players walk in. He has that saying on the wall. He’s just real big on punctuality because that carries over onto the field. If you’re late to the meetings, you’re going to be missing something in the meetings, and then you’re going to be missing something on the field. It’s going to lay over and snowball effect and all this other stuff. I think the punctuality is something that he’s definitely enforcing.”
(Have you experienced where you thought you were early and you come in and the meeting’s already going on or anything?) – “Nah, I’m always early. (laughter)”
Bobby McCain – August 5, 2019
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Monday, August 5, 2019
S Bobby McCain
(How are you liking that freedom back there at safety?) – “How am I liking it? I like it. You can control, you can see the ball out, you can see the ball coming from the quarterback. You can make plays at the end of the day in this defense, once we get more in depth in game plans, and playing different teams, and playing different people – it will all change.”
(I can’t remember, were you a catcher or a center fielder in your baseball career?) – “I was both. I was a catcher and outfielder – center field, left field, right field.”
(So playing center field is pretty normal for you?) – “Yeah. I’ve done it before. Not in football but other sports.”
(The combo we saw today with you and S Minkah Fitzpatrick back there. It’s rare to have two safeties with corner skills. What sort of challenge could that provide for teams if you all are on the field together?) – “Just controlling the middle of the field, controlling the deep part of the field. You’ve got guys back there that can go get the football, that can judge the football well and understand that when the ball is in the air, it’s not just theirs – it’s everybody’s. Being back there is definitely different but you’ve got to be comfortable being uncomfortable. That’s just one of the things we’re doing, and you have to get the job done at the end of the day.”
(With CB Eric Rowe out today we saw CB Nik Needham again with the starters. What’s he shown being around him for a couple of months?) – “He’s smart, he’s a good player, he goes hard. He works his tail off, he comes in everyday and doesn’t say much. He works his tail off. He does what he’s told, does what he’s supposed to do, and that’s why he’s getting work with the ones. Just trying to make him better, they don’t care where you come from, were you drafted or undrafted. That’s the name of the game. If you can play, you can play. He’s going to keep coming along and I can see he’ll definitely be good for us.”
(How much are looking forward to testing this out on Thursday night?) – ‘I’m excited. I’m excited. It’s our first preseason game, our first game coming up. Everyone should be excited. Football season is back. Not just to be tested, but just to be out there on the field with your brothers and with your teammates, it’s fun and I’m excited.”
(How much attention to you guys pay to not getting any respect? You guys are going to do this and do that. How much do you guys feed into that?) – “They don’t respect us right now and we don’t care. At the end of the day, we don’t care. We’re just going to come out here and keep working and take it one day at a time and one game at a time throughout the year. We’ll tally it up at the end of the year and at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what they are saying. We’re just coming in trying to compete and get better every day. That’s all it’s about.”
(How different do you think this preseason will be with so many moving parts?) – “It’s definitely going to be interesting because we have a lot of different guys, especially in my case and a lot of guys in the back end’s case that can do a lot of different things and play a lot of different positions. With this defense, you have to be able to know it all, and know – not everything, but you want to know a lot. You want to know more than you’re supposed to, and it will help you in the long run.”
(What kind of growth have you seen from LB Jerome Backer this year from his rookie year?) – “Big. He’s definitely stepping up, he’s understanding that he’s not a rookie anymore. You can tell he doesn’t act like a rookie. He’s keeping it professional. He comes in, he works, he gets in early and does what he’s supposed to do. He keeps coming along, and if you can keep doing that you’ll last a long time in this league.”
