Brian Flores addresses injuries, Tua’s input, Phillips’ role, other Dolphins issues
Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores said Liam Eichenberg and Greg Little would return to practice on Wednesday, giving the Dolphins close to a full cast of offensive linemen.
One lineman still missing: left tackle Austin Jackson, who remains on the COVID-19 list. The Dolphins say there remains a chance he could be active for Sunday’s game at New England but Flores is planning as if he won’t play.
“Right now, we’ll do it as if they’re not going to be there,” Flores said of Jackson and tight end Adam Shaheen, who’s also on the COVID-19 list.
Eichenberg has been out with a lower-body injury. Little had missed practice on Monday because of a mild illness unrelated to COVID. Both would be options to replace Jackson in the lineup, if needed.
Flores addressed other issues in his Wednesday news conference:
▪ The Dolphins named Jesse Davis and Mack Hollins team captains on offense and Elandon Roberts and Jason McCourty the defensive captains. Clayton Fejedelem is the special teams captain. The captains are voted by teammates.
“Mack brings energy on a daily basis, works hard,” Flores said. “It’s important to him. He plays a variety of positions. He plays in the kicking game, does a lot of good things for our team.”
▪ Flores, asked about Alabama sending a lot of players to the NFL: “It’s not just quarterbacks. It’s receivers, tight ends. They do a good job recruiting and coaching the players so they can have success at their level [and the NFL level]. Coach [Nick] Saban has done a great job. Their staff has done a great job. We have a few Bama players on our team. We’re pleased and happy with those players. They came to us with good fundamentals, good techniques, and that’s a testament to the program they were at.”
UM’s Alabama players include Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle and Raekwon Davis.
▪ On the difficulty of preparing for an opponent on opening weekend: “Week 1 is when you have the least amount of information. A lot of it is predicting, forecasting based on the preseason, what coaches have done in the past.”
▪ Does Tagovailoa have input on the game plan?
“Yeah, there’s definitely input from the quarterback room,” Flores said. “That input is also based on the players around him. [Such as] ‘I talked to this guy and he thinks he can get open in this.’ I don’t know if it’s specifically Tua’s input. It’s Tua’s relationships, which turn into a team input of what we do offensively.”
▪ On preparing for the Patriots: “I like to think we disguise so we don’t make it easy for the quarterback. If you can disrupt that player, you have a good chance of creating disruptive plays. We’re always trying to have an effect on the quarterback. Rookie, veteran, that’s where it starts from a pass game standpoint.
“Mac Jones is a good player, but they’ve got a lot of good players on that offense, defense and kicking game. They have a good offensive line, good tight ends, good receivers. There’s a lot to handle there.”
▪ Flores, on his history working for New England: “I was there for a long time. I learned a lot there from Bill [Belichick]. I was very fortunate to have been there. Enjoyed my time there. Still some people there I have a relationship with. When we go there, we’re going there to compete. There’s no nostalgia.”
▪ On Jaelan Phillips being third team on the depth chart given to reporters on Monday: “I wouldn’t look too deep into the depth chart. We have so many different groupings. We have nickel, we have dime, we have base. He’s worked hard. We’ll find a way to get him some snaps. We’ll play the guys we feel give us the best chance of success.”
It’s important to note that the Dolphins’ depth chart released to the media had three starting linebackers and five starting defensive backs, which is a big reason why Phillips was on the third team. Jerome Baker, Roberts and Andrew Van Ginkel were listed as the starting linebackers. Brennan Scarlett was listed ahead of Phillips.
▪ Flores on his expectations for Tagovailoa on Sunday: “Good techniques, good decisions and that he has fun playing this game he loves to play. I love coaching football. I’m going to to be having fun Sunday doing what I love to do.”
This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 11:31 AM.
