Mike Vrabel: “Another Day Closer.” | Patriots Press Conference

Mike Vrabel: “Another Day Closer.” | Patriots Press Conference

Hi, Mike. Uh, I know this is game week, uh, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you if you had any comment on Probably not, but I’ll hear you out. Uh, Bill Bich banning your scouts from Oh, no. That’s an individual choice. And, uh, you know, we’ll cross that bridge. Um, you know, when we start looking at players, I want to focus on our football team and, uh, that that’s, um, that’s their prerogative. you know, to to make the decisions that they feel like are best for them. And then we’ll have to find other ways to to get the information uh for any players that that we want to look at at at North Carolina. Thank you. Thank you. Got a status um report on any of like Who do you want to know about out? Thank you. Anybody else? Campbell questionable. Charles Woods. Is there a probable? Yes. But Stacy will give you the the official, but that’s that’s my stance. Got a couple hours. As we get to the end of the week, I I just love to ask you just coaching your first game here. I, you know, obviously watch you play for all those years. Yep. It’s going to be like I think it’s going to be about the players. I think that’s the most important thing is to make it about the players. Mike, I appreciate you asking about me, but you know, I think uh I think Jen’s excited. I think Carter’s excited, you know. So, make it about the players. I think that’s the most important thing. Um they put a lot of work in. You know, we ask a lot of them and then I feel like the games are their opportunity to go play and I want to make sure that we exemplify that, that we give them what they need to be ready, uh but also prepared. Mike, you you lost your last three season openers in Tennessee. Any sort of common thread there? Anything that you adjusted for coming into this season? Um, no, I just got to play better, you know, missed a field goal, got boat raced by Arizona, you know, just play better, take care of the football, you know, win the second half, things like that focused on. But I mean that was, you know, you look at everything every game and they, you know, again, you want to win them all and they just, you know, couple plays in every game. You know, I don’t know who the the third one was, but Giants. Giants. We missed the field goal. I don’t know what else the other one Saints. Yeah. 16. Close one. Yeah. Couldn’t stop him at four minute. Um, turnovers in the red zone, it’ll do it to you. Is uh Jared Wilson trending on the start for you at left guard? Yeah. Yep. Jared will start at left guard. How happy are you with just his development? You know, he came in, he missed the spring, obviously worked hard. Well, he’s worked hard and you know, competed and um you know, again, we’re going to end up playing different combinations of guys, but then Jared will be there um Sunday. you know, other guys will be ready to go in there. I think the more he plays, the more the better he’ll get and improve and work and, you know, figure out the tricks of the trade as as it goes along. What have you seen from him and Will working together as two rookies on that left side? I mean, there’ll be things that they do really well. There’s things that they, you know, again, are seeing and, you know, that’s uh that’s part of playing young guys and I want them to have fun. I want him to enjoy it and understand the mistakes are going to happen and we’ll just pick it up and we’ll move on and get back to center and go play the next play and not not worry about being perfect. Just focus on being precise. Mike Josh was here telling us yesterday that he learned something new every day um from you. I’m curious from the coach that you knew before this year, where do you see any kind of changes or growth with him as a coach? Um, I mean, I think he’s a great teacher. I think he’s a great teacher. I think, um, you know, the way that the the connection with the players, again, it’s a fine line of trying to hold guys accountable to to what we need to get done, but also having a connection with them. Um, you know, and I’ve seen that. And right now, we’re all, you know, I think in a good place. I mean, we’re we’re undefeated like everybody else or except for for one team. And um you know I just want you know I appreciate the staff. I I I want to publicly say that I appreciate the staff you know helping me do this uh getting us to this point. You know I don’t we don’t do any of this by ourselves and you know there’s a lot of people involved from the training room, the equipment room, operations, player engagement. You know each of those departments and then the coaching staff that that gets these players ready and then we’ll continue to get them ready throughout the season. and the ones that come in on Tuesday that get signed that end up playing for us. It’s just part of the National Football League and um can’t thank them enough for for being on this journey with me. You expect Alex Austin to fill in for Christian or Yeah, I mean I think Alex will double play. I think Marcus will play and you know everybody’s got to be ready to go. Mike, regarding an early goal that you stated of being good enough to take care advantage of bad football, how much closer do you think you guys are? Another day. Another day closer till we get to the games. That’s really all that matters. And I don’t mean to, you know, make light of the the question. I just we’re another day closer to finding out because, you know, really what happens on Sunday is going to start to dictate, you know, have we gotten it? Have we learned? Do we understand how critical some of these things are and um when the advantages, you know, the opportunities are there to be able to take advantage of them? Were there any season openers that you were a part of as a coach or a player where a team came out in something that you just did not expect and had to make significant adjustments to? I mean, I’m sure in 25 years of this league, I’m sure there has been. I mean, my first my first game was a 8-h hour game that had two two-hour lightning delays in Miami. We lost that one, too. a touchdown got called back on a holding penalty, Greg. So, uh, it was 8 hour 8 hour game in in Miami, so they don’t really prepare you for that. Um, but we managed and we beat the Texans in next week with a backup quarterback and everything else. So, you know, just whatever they throw at you, we’ll be ready. Try to try to make adjustments as we go. We were buying pizzas on the third deck because the players were hungry in in between the lightning delays. Do you guys prefer to stick with three guys most of the time or are you like to mix a match at a receiver during the game? Yeah. Well, I mean, I think everybody will play. You know what I mean? That’s active. I would imagine everybody’s going to play and everybody’s got their package and things that they’re doing. So, you know, just making sure that everybody’s uh has a role in the football game. Mike, when you were doing the teleustrator with Scott Zolac, um diagramming Tayvon’s kickoff return, you noted, you know, three players off the restraining. How much have the rule changes this year kind of affected configuration personnel? You also noted the two running backs back there. Yeah, I mean, I I don’t know how much that’s going to really dictate. I think maybe a little bit, but you know, they still get on you pretty quick. You still have to to be able to cover them up. Um, and again, some of the rule changes were for player safety. The off returner was was getting peeled and some of that was just by a scheme that guys were putting the off returner on a five or, you know, one of the five screaming down the middle of the field. So, shocked that there wasn’t more injuries if people were running that scheme. So, um, just trying to understand how do some of these guys are kicking and they’re kicking you the kicks that try to land short in between the the 20 and the goal line or are they landing at the goal line and making you make a decision or they they landing there at the eight and trying to get a shorter kick. So, however they do that, we’ll have to adjust to it. And, you know, even you know, there was a penalty last night. You know, guys, they kicker started in and Philly tried to move and there’s a penalty. So, just knowing the rules and understanding the things that that we can and can’t do. Going into the stadium for the practice, is there what’s the thought process on that? Uh, we hadn’t been in there in a while. You know, just felt like that’d be a good opportunity for us to to get into the stadium again since we hadn’t been in there since uh, you know, the first preseason game. Mike, I know Chips’s running the offense over there. Um, do you see or expect more, you know, what he ran more last year at Ohio State, new personnel, or do you have a sense that, you know, he’s working for Pete Carol and how Pete wants to run offense? It’s probably what? Uh, probably a little bit about, you know, I mean, I guess I could guess and guess wrong and you’d say I was wrong. I I think there’s going to be a little blend of everything and stuff that he’s done and has liked and the things that the head coach wants to do and stuff that he did in the NFL that he liked and stuff that the quarterback liked. So I I really don’t have a a perfect answer for you because I don’t know unless you know me and you know something I don’t. Your final question. Who do you think’s been the best game day off? Me? No, I don’t I don’t know. I’m not much into the to the walk up, I

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel addresses the media on Friday, September 5, 2025.

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