Head Coach Brian Flores
(With WR Preston Williams, does it look like it could be a long term injury, and what was the thinking of having G Solomon Kindley not play most of the last three quarters? I know there was a decision there because you have more than five starting caliber linemen.) – “With Preston, we’ll just take that day by day. We’re still kind of evaluating that situation. But he’s a tough kid. He’ll try to fight through things and we’ll see how that one goes. As far as the o-line rotation, Solomon has done a good job really the entire season. Obviously we had Austin (Jackson) out and Robert Hunt in, and Jesse (Davis) has played a few different positions. Really the only two guys that really are locked in are ‘E-Flow’ (Ereck Flowers) and Ted (Karras). We feel like we have six guys we feel really comfortable with. We went with five of the six and that’s all you can play unless you go with a heavy tight end. That was the group yesterday for the majority of the game. We’ll see what it is next week.”
(Where are you guys right now in terms of the COVID protocol? Is there a possibility that you’ll get some of the assistants back, or is that still a situation where you’ll have to wait and see?) – “We’re just going to follow the protocol. We get that from the league. We’re in the intensive protocol. We have to meet virtually. There are a few other factors to that. There is a period of time that has to pass before guys can start coming back. We’ll just follow the protocols and when guys are allowed back, they’ll be back in. Thankfully everyone is safe and healthy. When we get them back ,we’ll be happy to have them back.”
(Twenty-four hours later, what pleased you the most about QB Tua Tagovailoa performance yesterday?) – “I was happy with the team performance. I think it was a tough, tough game against a very good football team. It came down to a couple of plays. There were a handful of plays that could’ve gone either way. I thought the guys played hard. I thought they battled. We dealt with some adversity throughout the game, made some mistakes but fought through it. It was a great team victory. Obviously we got contributions from all three phases. Offensively, you mentioned Tua. He played well and kind of led the way in the fourth quarter. Made some plays throwing it, running it and defensively got some key stops. Jason (Sanders) made some really good kicks at the end of the half and the end of the game.”
(I wanted to see how you viewed how you guys covered WR DeAndre Hopkins. I know you guys held him to three receptions for 30 yards, but CB Xavien Howard got a handful of pass interference calls. How do you grade that out when you weigh everything?) – “I thought we had too many penalties throughout the game. It wasn’t just ‘X’ (Xavien Howard). Just generally speaking. False start penalties, DPIs (defensive pass interference), hands to the face, things we can do better and we’ll coach it harder and try to place an emphasis on it. Those can only hurt us. They can’t help us. It negated what could’ve been critical plays in the game. Hopkins is a great player. Like I said last week, if I had one guy for a 50/50 ball, he’d be the guy. He’s a tough cover, so we did a good job on him for the most part, minus the penalties. They have a good offense. They have a lot of other players. (Christian) Kirk played well, obviously the quarterback played well, they ran the ball effectively. Plenty of corrections for us to make, but we still have a long way to go. We have to make a lot of improvements over the second half of the season.”
(There was some speculation from social media and judging by the video, it seemed like there might be something to this. Was WR Preston Wilkins injured when DT Christian Wilkins was celebrating with him in the end zone?) – “I’m not much on social media, so I don’t know what’s on there or what’s not on there. Preston obviously had an injury. He didn’t return. Honestly, when or how it happened – I don’t think that’s what happened. How it happened? That’s not on the coach’s copy, but it looked like it was during the play, based on what I saw. But I don’t know. Maybe it was somewhere else. Obviously some other people saw something else. I think the thing is that he suffered an injury and hopefully – look, he’ll do everything he can to get back and we’ll just evaluate it day to day and take it one day at a time.”
(In WR Preston Williams’ absence, WR Mack Hollins stepped up for you guys. I know he’s been an important player on special teams. Where is he in his development as a receiver and also, you got a young batch of receivers there. If Williams isn’t able to play, who do you expect to step up?) – “Mack has done a good job in the kicking game and practices hard. He’s made a few plays in practice really every week. As far as who steps in, I think a lot of that will be based on how we practice this week. And then whatever (Offensive Coordinator) Chan Gailey kind of puts together from the standpoint, who he think fits, we’ll execute the game plan the best (we can) as a group. You’re right, we have a lot of young guys, and hopefully if they happen to play, they’ll go on and play well. Guys like Mack Hollins and obviously Jakeem (Grant) can jump in there. Malcolm Perry played a good chunk yesterday. We’ve got to practice well, we’ve got to prepare well and hopefully we’ll execute in the game.”
(I wanted to ask you a little bit about Honduras because last week Hurricane Eta passed through the country and. First off, I want to know if your family is doing well. I know there is a lot of people struggling there. I just want to get your thoughts on that. It’s a tough time for the country?) – “I’m glad you’re on the call because I was going to mention this anyway. Yeah, Honduras has been hit pretty bad – not pretty bad, but they’ve been hit very bad and they need a lot of help there in a lot of areas. Obviously it’s a country – I don’t want to say they don’t have a lot of resources, but they are struggling and as much help and support as they can get. I know I’ll do my part, for sure. As many people that could help, it’s definitely needed. My heart goes out to them, the people there and those other Central American countries. Nicaragua I know got hit, Guatemala and also South Florida. We’re dealing with floods from what I understand. The flooding hasn’t been this bad in I don’t know how long, based on some of the people I’ve talked to. But definitely in those Central American countries, they are struggling. I’ll try to support them for sure.”
(DE Emmanuel Ogbah said yesterday that the coaches are putting him in the right position to succeed. What are the things about his skillset that gives the coaching staff a lot to work with and that they are taking advantage of?) – “He’s got versatility. He can play inside, outside. He’s tough. He plays against the run. He plays well against the run. He’s fast. He’s got length. He’s smart. He can do a lot. He’s a good teammate. He’s tough. I think I’ve said that already, bute’s a good player. We’ve got a lot of other guys on defense. It’s never just one guy. It’s a team effort. We’ve got a lot of guys who are preparing the right way and making sacrifices for one another, and Ogbah does that as well for his teammates.”
(I wanted to get your thought on what you saw from RB Salvon Ahmed yesterday?) – “I thought he ran well. He’s got some juice. That was pretty good for his first time out. There is a protection play that stands out for me that I thought could’ve been better. I don’t know if anyone else saw that one … For his first time out, I thought he played well. I thought he took advantage of the opportunity.”
