Q. On QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, everyone compli-
ments his leadership skills. Can you think of
an example of something you’ve seen him do
or say that really shows his leadership style?BF: I think it’s, the first thing I think of is his com-
mand of the huddle. I think how he works with play-
ers — older players, younger players — and his
rapport with defensive guys, offensive guys and guys
in the kicking game, I think that shows his leadership
in a big way. I think whoever he is in there with, he’s
trying to help and improve and get better. I’ve been
very pleased with him.Q. How can QB Josh Rosen make up some of
that experience that Ryan Fitzpatrick doing
some of those things that you just mentioned
if he hopes to win this job?BF: I think he has an opportunity to learn from
“Fitz” in some ways, but I think he has to be himself.
I think Josh is smart. I’ve had a lot of really good
conversations with him. He’s personable. He’s built
some relationships on the team as well. I think it’s re-
ally for everyone. I think you have to be yourself. I
think you have to work at those relationships and
then, at the same time, you’re working on your fun-
damentals, your technique and the football aspect of
it. But from a leadership standpoint, I think they’re
both moving in a good direction.Q. Do you put the most weight into the presea-
son games when you make the decision on
who will be the starting quarterback?BF: Everything counts. So today counts, tomorrow
counts, training camp counts, preseason counts.
Everything counts. The most weight, that’s a hard
one to kind of (answer). No, I don’t put it all into the
preseason games. I think practice counts for a lot of
it. Production at practice, production in games, meet-
ings, walkthroughs, I think all of it counts.Q. On one of the undrafted kids from Miami, LB
Terrill Hanks, what has he shown you at line-
backer?BF: Terrill Hanks, I think he’s working hard. I
think he’s got a good amount of ability. I think he’s
smart. I think he’s young. He’s learning. He’s work-
ing to get better. I think he’s moving in the right di-
rection. I think he’s eager to learn. He’s very
coachable. I enjoy working with him. I think he’s got
some talent and hopefully he continues to progress
the way he has in almost four weeks. Hopefullywe’ve got something, but it’s still very early.
Q. You all parted ways with three defensive line-
men. I know free agency and money factored
into it but the one older guy you kept — the
only older guy on the defensive line you kept
— was DT Akeem Spence. What made him
appealing to you guys to retain?BF: He’s athletic. He’s strong. He’s a hard-worker.
This guy works as hard as anyone we have on this
team. He’s obviously had some success in this
league. We want to keep good players around.Q. Have you seen strides in TE Mike Gesicki’s
game?BF: Mike is another guy (that is) very talented.
He’s working very, very hard. He’s catching the ball
decently but, again, I talked to him about this this
morning that one drop is one too many. One penalty
is one too many. One missed assignment is one too
many. That’s kind of the standard, that’s the approach
we’re taking. I’m hard on Mike because I see a lot of
potential in him and I think he’s working towards
that. These guys are dealing with a lot from me right
now. They’ve all responded well.Q. Throughout the OTAs and minicamp and so
forth, are there any aspects of the work
you’ve seen where you would say the team is
either ahead of where you might have ex-
pected or behind where you might have ex-
pected?BF: That’s a good question. I have high expecta-
tions, so I’m always going to say we’re behind. I
guess that’s my thought process. There’s always two,
three, four, eight things I feel like we could have
done better. I do see some improvement. I see a lot of
progress. Practice looks the way I want it to look like
just from an operational standpoint and from a tempo
standpoint. But yeah, I want to be at a higher level at
everything. So no, we’re not where I want to be.Q. You obviously like T Laremy Tunsil, but you’re
kind of measured when you talk about him.
Do you see him as a cornerstone guy that’s
going to be around for a long time?BF: I think I’m measured when I talk about every-
one. (laughter) It’s not specific to Laremy. He’s a re-
ally good player. I’m looking forward to working
with him. I try not to put labels on players. That’s
where I’m at with him. That’s where I’m at with
everyone.Q. What do you see as S Reshad Jones’ poten-
tial role on this team?BF: That could go a few different ways. This is a
guy who has a lot of experience. (He’s) someone
who can play a few different roles. He can play a lot
of roles for us, quite honestly. But that’s up to him,
like it is for every other player. For each player —
and I tell them all this — what your role on this team
will be is up to you. That’s the case for Reshad.
That’s the case for really every other player on this
team. It’s about how you practice, about how you
prepare, about how you perform in practice and in
games when we get to that. That’s a long-winded an-
swer but hopefully that answered your question.AUGUST 6, 2019 Dolphin Digest 5coach SPEAK Brian Flores
Head coach Brian Flores offers his thoughts on a wide variety of topics,
including QBs Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen, young stars Laremy
Tunsil and Xavien Howard, and what he saw in the offseason
LAREMY TUNSIL
Digest Photo/JOEL AUERBACH