Head Coach Brian Flores
(I know you haven’t gone out to practice yet and the fact that you changed your normal walkthrough to a regular practice impacts it. Where are you guys with LB Jerome Baker, WR DeVante Parker and some of the injured players?) – “Jerome was limited yesterday and we will see how he does today. Same with DeVante – limited yesterday and we’ll see how he does today. Both trending, I would say, moving in the right direction. We’ll see how it looks today. Today is going to tell us a lot as far as game status, what we think and how much we think they will be able to help us in the game.”
(This week we heard Steelers’ Head Coach Mike Tomlin come out and deny the college reports for him. We heard 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan say there wasn’t a 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo trade in the future. Why wouldn’t you come out with the Houston QB Deshaun Watson rumors and just say, ‘Hey, that’s not true,’ if that’s the case?) – “I think I’ve said this multiple times – Tua (Tagovailoa) is our quarterback. I don’t get into rumors. I don’t get into speculation. Tua is our quarterback.”
(I understand that. I guess the question, like last October I remember being here and CB Xavien Howard was the topic of the rumor at the time and the team put out a statement saying, ‘We’re not interested in any Xavien trades.’ I’m curious why this time it’s different?) – “I wouldn’t say it’s different. I would say that I’ve answered that question by saying Tua (Tagovailoa) is our quarterback. I’m not getting into speculation and I’m not getting into rumors. I’m not getting into rumors, speculation, distractions. I’m focused on our team, focused on our quarterback and that’s Tua.”
(Can you declare definitively that he is the quarterback for the rest of 2021?) – “Definitively that he’s the quarterback barring no …? I mean, there’s a lot of things that…“
(Barring injury.) – “Barring injury? Yeah.”
(You mentioned the concept of distraction. I’m curious – obviously we have different perspectives on the idea of a distraction. Do you view not talking about it as a better way to deal with it versus addressing it head on?) – “Not talking about it? So when I say Tua (Tagovailoa) is our quarterback, is that not talking about it?”
(No, I guess the actual trade rumor. There’s been reports that you guys had agreed to terms on a deal.) – “I don’t get into reports or rumors or speculation. I’m focused on our team and the guys in our locker room. I think when we get outside of that, that’s not where my focus is. My focus is on our players. I’m interested in our players. I’m talking about our players and helping them improve and get better. That’s where my focus is and that’s where it’s always going to be.”
(On that subject, when I asked QB Tua Tagovailoa about this the other day, I asked him would it not make you feel that much better if the Dolphins came out and said we are not interested in Houston QB Deshaun Watson? Would he not appreciate that? From that point of view, what do you think? Would he not appreciate that? Would anyone not appreciate hearing from the boss I’m committed to you?) – “When I say he’s our quarterback, that is me saying we’re committed to him.”
(Can you talk a little bit about RB Salvon Ahmed? Especially with RB Malcolm Brown being out, do you expect a bigger role for him and what have you seen from him this week?) – “With Malcolm being out, we need more out of Myles (Gaskin) and more out of Salvon. We’re working through who the next back is going to be. But yeah, I think Salvon has done some good things. He’ll obviously have some more opportunities and yeah, I think he’s doing a lot of things in practice from a preparation standpoint to give himself an opportunity to have some success in the game.”
(When you say you’re working through who the next back is going to be, I’m sure that has a lot to do with roles and filling roles because you guys are a role-based team. With RB Malcolm Brown being the bigger back, the power back, the guy who is mostly in pass protection, is that the role that you are trying to fill or somebody moves into that role and somebody else handles that role?) – “I think depending on who the next guys are. (Patrick) Laird’s been a third-down back. Larid has played in the kicking game. Duke Johnson’s been a third-down back. (Gerrid) Doaks is more of an early-down, more power I would say, power back. Based on the gameplan, based on how we want to play, that all kind of factors into the decision that will be made there.”
(I don’t know RB Malcolm Brown’s special teams roles. Is there a massive role that he used to fill that you have to replace?) – “No. As far as backup roles, he definitely fit some backup roles and played sparingly in the kicking game. But that’s something that (Patrick) Laird has done a lot of. Put him in, spill somebody else in that role or give somebody else a break in that instance. Or you go with a guy like (Gerrid) Doaks who would backup like Malcolm did. Really, Duke Johnson is kind of similar, as far as having more of a limited special teams role.”
(With RB Duke Johnson, he’s only been here for one week. You did that in 2019. Would you feel comfortable playing him with him only being here for one week?) – “He’s done a nice job these last couple of days. More time, you always feel better about that. But this is an experienced guy who has played a lot of football. The concepts come fairly easily to him, the protections, the concepts. Maybe just some verbiage and terminology is different. Obviously with more time, we’d feel better about having a few more days, a few more practices under our belt. But I wouldn’t say we’d never do it.”
(Pass protection was an issue the first time you faced the Bills this season. How much better has that gotten since then and what gives you confidence that you guys can handle their pass rush this time?) – “They’re a good rush team. They bring a lot of guys. They’ve got good rushers, good scheme. Obviously protection is going to be a big part of protecting the quarterback. It’s going to be a big part of the gameplan in order for us to push the ball down the field in the pass game. Obviously we talked about that extensively – the different looks they have, the players they have. We will continue to practice for that and prepare for that as we get closer to the game. It’s a big part of it, no doubt about that. It’s a point of emphasis. We’re going to have to protect if we’re going to move the ball.”
(How does RB Malcolm Brown’s injury play into what you were just talking about regarding pass protection.) – “Yeah, he was a big part of our protection plans. Other guys have to step up. That’s really what it boils down to – whether it’s Myles (Gaskin), whether it’s RB Salvon (Ahmed). Guys have to step up in that phase of the game. We’ll need it.”
(I know you mentioned earlier this week about WR Will Fuller. Have you gotten to see him do anything at practice this week? Do have a better idea of what his timeline is?) – “No, he hasn’t been at practice. He’s still on IR. We didn’t designate him to return. He’s still working his way back. He’s still working his way back. We obviously didn’t see him this week at practice. I’ve seen him in the building. We didn’t see him this week (at practice) and we’re hopeful. It’s moving in the right direction, that I can say for sure. We’ll see in the next few weeks.”
(I know you’re big on developing your program here and you still have a young football team. Looking at some of the veteran guys that have produced the last couple of years that have came on year two or three of their career, I’m just curious from your perspective, is there a common theme among these players that it starts to click for them around year two, year three? Is there a common theme or is it just all development is kind of at their own pace?) – “Everyone is a little bit different. I think it’s case by case. I think it’s case by case. I think some players, it clicks for them a little bit sooner. Some players it takes a little bit longer. Some players have success early and then for whatever reason start to tail off. Some people don’t have success and then for whatever reason, the light bulb goes off. I think it’s case by case. I think our young guys all work hard and all give great effort. They are all working towards being the kinds of professionals they need to be to have success in this league. It’s not perfect and again, it’s case by case. There are a myriad of things that are going on obviously inside the building, outside the building, that play a role in that development. We try to steer them in the right direction really on a daily basis and that’s everyone in the building. That’s coaches but all of our support staff as well. They play a big part in that.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa was very hard on himself after the two picks. Do you try and carry those two solid offensive performances and build a little bit of momentum and utilize that during the week? Is that something you talk about?) – “Yeah. I think he’s done a lot of good things the last couple of weeks. I think we moved the ball fairly efficiently the past couple of weeks. I think you can build on that and we are trying to build on that. He’s trying to build on that. We’re trying to build on that as an offense. He’s always going to be hard on himself. I think a lot of our players are that way. That’s a good thing. I think that speaks to his competitiveness and his want to get better and be better for our team. I have a lot of respect for that and a lot of respect for him.”
(How often are you stressing to him, if it’s not there, take the sack if you have to and live to play another down.) – “That’s every day. I think that’s part of the learning process. I think there are a lot of decisions the quarterback has to make to put us in good positions and he’s made a lot of them. I think he’s made a lot of good decisions the last couple of weeks. He wants to put our team in good position and he’s fighting, clawing and scrapping to do that. He made a couple of throws that he wished he had back. Every player has plays that they wish they had back. It’s obviously just exacerbated at the quarterback position and he’ll be better, I would say. He’s learning from these mistakes, bumps in the road. I think he’ll be better from them.”
