Head Coach Brian Flores
(Do you expect to have CB Xavien Howard available to play Sunday?) – “We’ll see how that goes. He’s been limited all week. I think he wants to play and hopefully we have him out there.”
(I wanted to ask you about S Bobby McCain. How would you assess his development at safety?) – “I think he’s – from a communication standpoint – he’s probably one of our top communicators. He can get himself along with some other guys lined up, which is definitely helpful when things change and the offense – whether they go to empty or shift or motion, he can kind of handle all that – those adjustments within the defense. We missed him last week so we’re happy to have him back, and I think he’s played well at that position.”
(The number of players on the injury report this week; do you expect them to be game-time decisions?) – “Yeah, I mean we’ve got a lot of guys who are dinged up. That’s kind of how it is for every team in the league. That’s the game. Guys are dinged up. They’re playing through it. They’re fighting through it. They’re doing everything they can to get back. It’s really par for the course in the National Football League. It’s a hard, aggressive, physical game and guys get dinged up. It’s normal to have a lot of guys on the injury report.”
(What are you looking at as far as punt returners? Obviously WR Jakeem Grant has had the hamstring. We know RB Kenyan Drake can do kickoffs.) – “We’ve got a number of guys back there for punts. Kenyan’s (Drake) been back there for punts. Preston (Williams) returned punts in the preseason. Jakeem (Grant) is obviously our primary guy. Hopefully we can get him out there. He’s been out there in practice catching punts. He’s making some progress, so hopefully Jakeem gets out there.”
(We spend so much time talking about things that need improvement, but two numbers that jump out at you are how well you’ve done in punting with P Matt Haack and the kick return. Not too many people have returned kicks against you guys. What have you seen out of those two units and those guys in particular?) – “The coverage units have been kind of a bright spot. I think Matt (Haack) has kicked the ball well. He could kick them better. Some of those mis-hits, he’s gotten a good bounce on a couple of those. We’ll take it, obviously; but we’ve gotten good play out of gunners and the unit overall. It’s the same in kickoff coverage. Those are field position plays. I’m big on ‘every yard is important.’ The better coverage, the better field position, that makes it better for us defensively. Obviously you force the opponent to drive it on a long field. Again, I’ve said this before. The kicking game is near and dear to my heart. I think we spend a lot of time on the punt game. The kickoff – really all six phases: punt return, kickoff return, field goal, field goal black. You put a lot of time into it. It’s nice to see some results in those two phases. Really, we want them in all six phases and hopefully we get that on Sunday.”
(Across town in the college program down here, Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Manny Diaz announced Monday he was going to become more involved in the defense even though he hired a coordinator this offseason. He didn’t rule out calling plays. Is that something you have at all considered in terms of calling plays or becoming even more immersed on that side of the ball?) – “I have a lot of respect for Manny. He’s a really good coach. I spent some time with him a couple of offseasons ago. He’s bright, energetic. I think he’s a very, very good coach. As far as from our standpoint, every situation is different. How he handles their situation is how he handles them. For me, I have a lot of confidence in (Defensive Coordinator) Pat Graham and our defensive coaching staff. Pat’s going to call the game. I’ll always have input offensively, defensively and in the kicking; but at the end of the day, you really need one voice there. Pat will call it.”
(Can you talk about having WR Allen Hurns back from the concussion?) – “Yeah, it’s nice to have him back. He was good in practice. Obviously, he’s one of our most dependable players. He catches the ball cleanly, runs good routes, tough, blocks. I’m really happy to have him back. I he brings a lot to this team from a toughness standpoint, from a dependability standpoint, from a leadership standpoint. Again, he’s a man of few words. He’s not overly vocal, but his play speaks volumes, I think. He’s as tough of a guy as we have. I think he’s a reliable player and we’re happy to have him back.”
(What have your conversations with General Manager Chris Grier and Owner Stephen Ross been this week regarding this game and how to approach it?) – “My conversations with guys within the office are internal, but my conversations with Chris – which are daily – we talk about the team, how we can improve, how we can be better. They’re just daily conversations, but those are internal conversations and my conversations with the owner are the same, so I’m not going to speak about the specifics of those. I just think that’s courtesy, to be honest.”
