Head Coach Brian Flores
(Will CB Xavien Howard and CB Byron Jones be available Sunday?) – “They’re going to practice today. Hopeful that they’ll be available on Sunday.”
(With OL Greg Mancz – obviously he suffered the neck injury in practice. How concerning is that and do you feel like you have a possible backup if he’s not able to play, that knows the offense?) – “Greg (Mancz) – he’ll be out at practice today as well. I would say that’s probably trending in the right direction, but we’ll see how today goes. And yeah, last week it was Cameron Tom who came up. We signed Austin Reiter this week, so he’s done a nice job these last couple days. We’ll have a backup plan for sure.”
(Did DT Raekwon Davis look good this week – enough where you think he’ll be available Sunday?) – “Yeah, I mean if all things go well today, I expect him to be up on Sunday.”
(With the center, obviously you still have C Cameron Tom, but can a guy who showed up on Wednesday play and execute your offense if put in a position have to play center?) – “He’s done a nice job these last couple days. Is that the perfect situation? Probably not. But we’re going to play the guys we feel give us the best chance to win. I think Austin (Reiter) has done a nice job. Obviously Cam (Tom) has more familiarity with the offense, more familiarity with the guys around him on the offensive line. But can it happen? Yeah, I mean we’ve done that here before. Is that the ideal situation? I think we’re working through that as a staff.”
(How have you liked how your team has practiced this week after last week?) – “These guys always work hard. I can count on that. I can count on them to compete. I can count on them to work hard. I can count on them to come in and be professional and do things the right way so from that standpoint they’ve done a good job.”
(We saw WR DeVante Parker pop up yesterday with a hamstring on the injury report. His status for Sunday, do you have a sense of that yet?) – “Yeah, we’ll see how he does today. He’ll be out there a little bit today. We’ll see what kind of soreness there is there and we’ll make a decision that may go up right up to game time.”
(Can you talk a little bit about WR Albert Wilson? What have you seen from him and if you would like or expect for him to have a bigger role in the next few weeks?) – “Yeah, Albert (Wilson) got off to a strong start at training camp, dealt with an injury, came back. He plays a lot of different positions in the receiver room – F, Z, X – you can move him around a good bit. He’s done a good job in the last couple weeks in practice and I think when his number is called, he’ll be ready.”
(Your team started 1-3 for the second year in a row. What has your message been this week with the team?) – “Continue to work. Continue to try to improve. Continue to prepare, practice the right way, prepare the right way and that’ll give you a chance to execute. If we continue to play with more consistency and not beat ourselves, then we’ll play better. That’s really the message.”
(What you’ve seen from the punt and kickoff returns, obviously you have a couple of candidates including some young players, are you comfortable with one, Jaylen Waddle adding that extra work on his plate and do you have other options?) – “Yeah, I’m comfortable with Jaylen (Waddle) going back there returning punts. Obviously he’s got speed and the ability to make guys miss so we’re always going to put the best guys back there. Jevon Holland has caught punts in the past. So he’s an option, but we have to get everybody on those units to make their blocks, give us an opportunity to catch the ball and get vertical. Obviously ball security is the top priority there. So yeah, comfortable with the guys we have there.”
(Have you and Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman looked at CB Noah Igbinoghene on kickoff returns this week? He did well of course as you know at Auburn on kickoff returns.) – “Yeah, we’ve looked at that. We’ve certainly looked at that. Some other guys there as well to include (Jaylen) Waddle. So yeah, we’ve looked at all potential kickoff returners. But you know kickoff return, it’s one of those where a lot of teams are just kind of (kicking a) touchback and the opportunities are somewhat by game, potentially limited. But yeah, we’ll put the best guy back there and if given the opportunity – again, we’ve got to execute in that phase as well. Make the blocks and find a lane and get vertical and try to create a play there.”
(As far as allocation of carries at running back, I know it‘s a tough call because RB Malcolm Brown, RB Myles Gaskin, RB Salvon Ahmed all are good at different things. Have you – without asking you what was decided obviously – but have you and Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville and Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey talked about this week in terms of maybe getting a particular guy more carries, whether that has to be revisited? Is that a subject?) – “Yeah, we talk about that every week based on the gameplan, based on how we plan on what the offensive gameplan is. So if we want an in-between-the-tackles runner, that could be Myles (Gaskin), that could be Malcolm (Brown), that could be Salvon (Ahmed). So those are the kind of things we talk about – run game, pass game, screen game, etc. And then the game every week plays out a little bit differently. We have a plan going in. We want to get this guy, this guy, this guy. And then however the game unfolds is how we end up having to play. Or we stay on schedule and we play the way we planned on playing.”
(You have worked obviously the physical, the football side of this team. But what are you doing to keep the concentration, to keep the mentality of not letting the guys, in some aspects of the game, letting it go and keep concentrated like we have not seen from this season?) – “Focus is a big thing. What we always talk about is just taking it one play at a time and focusing on that play and not worrying about something that happened before, what’s going to happen in the future, what’s happened in the past, what anybody’s going to say, what a coach says, what another player says, a penalty that happened, a good call, bad call. I think that’s part of the game. I think we always to need to take the next-play approach and I think if you just concentrate on the next play, focus on the next play regardless of what’s happened, that’ll put you in the best position to succeed on that particular play. So that’s always the message to our team – to the players, to the coaches, to really everyone in the building and the organization. That’s kind of the approach and the message that we try to send out. And that’s not an easy thing to do because there’s just so many things – so much going on in the world, so much going on within a game – that takes a lot of focus and discipline to do that and that starts in practice.”
(After WR Jakeem Grant was traded, one of the names that came up as a guy who could see more playing time is WR Preston Williams. Given his injuries over the past couple of years, where is he physically, as well as mentally in terms of moving past these injuries and just focusing on playing football?) – “I think physically he’s in a good place. He’s running well. He’s in shape. I think mentally, I think he’s in a good place also. I think he’s excited to get an opportunity. I don’t think he’s thinking about what’s happened in the past. I think that’s something we talk about. Let’s not worry about injuries that happened in the past or whatever has happened, good or bad. Let’s just focus on what we just mentioned. Let’s just focus on today’s practice and get ready for the game and when we get to the game, take that one play at a time. I think he’s in a good place. I think he’s excited to get an opportunity and I think he’s preparing so that he can take advantage of that opportunity.”
(Defensively speaking, the first half production has been better than the second half in games so far for you guys this year. Is there a key in your mind to get more consistent play over the course of 60 minutes?) – “That’s something that offensively, defensively and in the kicking game, as a team we’re not playing consistently enough. Specific to defense, it really boils down to fundamentals, communicating consistently, tackling consistently, setting the edge. Those things that have started one way, we’ve just got to maintain our focus, concentration and continue to play well in whatever phase it is, especially if we get off to a good start.”
(I know DT Raekwon Davis is just coming back from the knee injury and getting his football legs underneath him. How has he looked this week at practice?) – “He’s looked good. I think any time you take some time off there is a little bit of rust. I don’t say that in a negative way. It’s just like anything. If you don’t work out for a long time and you come out, you’re a little more sore. My son didn’t do math all summer, he came back to school and he struggled with math a little bit. (laughter) It’s just one of those things you got to get back into it. You got to practice a little bit. He’s probably going to be mad I said that. (laughter) Help me out there, please. (laughter) When I say rust, I don’t say that in a bad way. I think Raekwon is working his way back. It’s important to him. We’re excited hopefully to get him back.”
(Are you solving all of the math problems?) – “The new math is killing me. (laughter)”
(All week we’ve hard guys talk about looking themselves in the mirror. I’m sure that stemmed from somewhere, some sort of leadership. I’m just curious what in your opinion that means? What does it mean to look yourself in the mirror at this point in the season, kind of a do or die in some ways?) – “I just think it is – are we doing everything, am I doing everything I can? Let’s just speak for me – am I doing everything I can, am I making the sacrifices I need to make to help this team the best way I can? I think that is something that some guys are asking themselves. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think oftentimes it’s good to – I wouldn’t say reevaluate, but to take a look at yourself and evaluate what you’re doing. Is there anything you can do better? I’m always doing that. Is there any way I can help this team, can I help this team, can I help a coach, can I help someone on the support staff do a little bit better? I think if we all do a little bit better, we’ll get better results. When you have a team of players, if all 53 do a little bit better, we’ll be better. I think that’s something that a lot of guys have thought about and we’re seeing a lot of that at practice. It’s one thing to talk about practice, it’s another to produce in a game. That’s really what we’re looking for.”
(I wanted to ask about QB Tom Brady, which I’m sure you know better than me, has an extensive record of attacking the new guy in the secondary unit or the replacement player. Is whoever is forced to play in this situation, for either CB Byron Jones or CB Xavien Howard, prepared for that mentality that know that Tom is pretty much going to come after him?) – “Yeah. He’s going to go after whoever – the best match up, coverage match up. Yeah, I think everyone knows. I think everyone in the whole league knows that if there is a guy that’s open, Tom is going to find them. And if there is a matchup he likes, he’s going to attack that matchup. I think we all know that. I don’t think it’s a one-on-one thing. I think it’s more of a – it could be a one-on-one thing. It could be a coverage situation where there is a weakness in a coverage. It could be a linebacker matchup, it could be a tight end/safety matchup, tight end/linebacker matchup. It could be the inside part of the field on Cover 2. It could be the seams in Cover 3. It could be a post route on Cover 4. Yeah, if he knows what it is and he sees it. I don’t know if it’s a one-on-one thing. More of just all of it. He does a great job. He’s done a great job for a long time. It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us. We’ve got to play well, we’ve got to communicate, we’ve got to tackle, we’ve got to set the edge. On those 50/50 balls, we’ve got to do a good job on those.”
