Brian Flores October 15 Takeaways

The Miami Dolphins head coach touched on various topics before the team practiced in England

Before the Miami Dolphins practiced in England on Friday, head coach Brian Flores conducted a press conference.

Here were the highlights of that session:

-- The hope is that Xavien Howard and DeVante Parker both will be able to practice Friday.

-- Assuming everything goes well in practice today, Tua Tagovailoa will start at quarterback against Jacksonville on Sunday.

-- Because of the time change, players were encouraged to sleep on the flight from Fort Lauderdale to London.

-- "Most of our guys are excited to be here," Flores says, pointing out the fact that travel has been so restricted over the past two years because of COVID.

-- Flores calls his players "a motivated group," looking for another opportunity to compete.

-- The offensive line will be the same one that played against Tampa Bay, which means Liam Eichenberg at left tackle, Austin Jackson at left guard, Greg Mancz at center, Robert Hunt at right guard and Jesse Davis at right tackle.

-- This will be Flores' third game in England, following two games at Wembley Stadium during his time with the Patriots. Calls the chance to bring the game overseas is "very meaningful."

-- The message to Tua will be the same as always, starting with a clean operation and taking the plays that are there. If opportunities for big plays show up, then obviously go for those.

-- Flores says Tua has looked pretty good in practice, though the one thing that can't be simulated is contact and what will happen when Tua gets hit.

-- Waddle has done a nice job, and Flores likes his work ethic. Says things have slowed down in recent weeks for Jaelan Phillips and Jevon Holland. Says he's been impressed overall with the draft class.

-- Flores is impressed with Trevor Lawrence as a quarterback prospect, says he's getting better every week.

-- "We're excited to have Tua back, but there's 53 guys on the team." This is Flores trying to not make everything about his quarterback and his return to action.

-- One benefit to playing a game in London is strengthening bonds and relationships among the players because of the nature of the trip.