Vrabel also discussed Drake Maye, the team’s upcoming trip to Germany, and the weekend return of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
Mike Vrabel during the Patriots’ loss to the Packers. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
November 9, 2026 | 10:59 AM
6 minutes to read
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel stopped by WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” a day after his team was thoroughly dominated 45-27 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
Asked what he saw (or didn’t see) from his football team in the lopsided loss, Vrabel stayed with his general message of trying to improve the team’s readiness beforehand.
“I think what the issue is would just be the preparation,” Vrabel said. “And making sure that we’re ready to go. I have to do a great job of reinforcing that, and getting that message home. We’re halfway through the season. There are only so many reps that you can take, there are only so many bodies that we have. Some guys are working hard to get to the game. It’s not like on Wednesday that they’re ready to go and are 100%. We have a lot of guys that are fighting to make it to the game.
“In saying that, it’s how do you continue to find ways to improve, how do you prepare at less than 100%?” he asked. “That’s the reality of the National Football League. It’s what every team goes through. We’re not any different from that.”
Assessing his team’s mistakes, the Patriots coach had a simple conclusion.
“Ultimately you have to come out and perform, and if you play like that, you have no chance to win.”
Here are a few other topics Vrabel touched on during the discussion:
Thoughts on Christian Gonzalez
One of the notable examples of a Patriots player having a bad day was cornerback Christian Gonzalez. Normally a lockdown corner, Gonzalez was repeatedly beaten by Green Bay wide receivers Matthew Golden and Christian Watson.
Asked about a moment in the game when it seemed like Gonzalez shied away from a tackle, Vrabel shared his thoughts.
“I mean he’s trying to make a play,” Vrabel said of the 24-year-old. “I don’t think the competitiveness level is [where] we weren’t good enough.”
“I don’t think that play hurt us as much as some of the others did,” Vrabel added, noting that the team simply didn’t have enough numbers on that side to halt Green Bay.
The play of Drake Maye
It was a day to forget for Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who threw three first-half interceptions. Is the young quarterback trying to do too much?
“I don’t know. You should ask him,” said Vrabel, with Maye set to make a WEEI appearance later on Monday. “I know that he’s preparing extremely hard, and has played well for us here the last couple games. Maybe there is some miscommunication, or whatever the interpretation is with Mack [Hollins] thinking that he’s going to scramble, so Mack’s trying to stay alive. I think that’s unfortunate.
“I think Eli [Raridon] ran a good route and Drake got excited, and the safety dropped the post,” Vrabel said of another of the interceptions. “When you run all those layered routes, you have to be able to see it from the top-down. That’s kind of how it went, but he hit some as well and he’ll continue to then. We just can’t turn the ball over four times and think that we’re going to have a realistic shot at winning.”
The Patriots’ record under Vrabel against winning teams
WEEI producer Chris Curtis pointed out to Vrabel that his teams in New England are 6-6 against opponents with winning records, but are 16-2 against those at or below the .500 mark.
“We’ve got another chance this week. I think the Lions have a winning record. I don’t know. Again, every game in the National Football League is difficult. What are looking for here?” Vrabel said in response. Curtis asked if there was more for Vrabel to do to give his quarterback belief against quality opponents.
“Preparation can always be better, and your performance can always be better. But it also doesn’t dictate the game,” Vrabel explained. “We say, ‘Start fast.’ And if you don’t start fast, you better find a way to get yourself back into the game, which I thought we did. And then in the third quarter, just not being able to get a stop, not being able to grab any of the momentum that we may have had in the second quarter.
“We know that we have to play well against everybody that we play,” Vrabel continued. “So whether they have a winning record or a losing record, I can’t control that. I can only focus on how we play and how we respond, and we didn’t respond well enough last night. Certainly the turnovers didn’t help, but I also know that Drake’s won us a lot of games, and contributed to that, and he’ll continue to find ways to help this football team win.”
The upcoming trade deadline
The NFL trade deadline is on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Patriots could be in the mix to make additions — New England certainly have holes in their depth chart — but might be limited due to their salary cap situation.
Does the loss on Sunday change how the team approaches the trade deadline?
“Nope,” Vrabel replied. “I mean, again, we want a bunch of guys that want to be here, that want to make it hard on each other in preparation, push each other, challenge each other, improve, take accountability, and if that’s not them, than let us know by tomorrow. That’s what we have to do. That’s the mindset that we have to take.”
He elaborated on comments he made in the postgame press conference on Sunday, saying that he hopes his team can embrace the challenges of winning in the NFL.
“Things in this league, it’s a difficult game,” he said. “There are ups and downs. You have to have mindset that’s willing to withstand all the things that go on; injuries and missed plays, missed opportunities, just the journey that has to be difficult. And we have to embrace that it has to be hard. It has to be hard to learn a new team each week. It has to be hard to practice if you don’t feel great. Get yourself ready to go, mentally and physically. This can’t be something that’s easy.”
A trip to Germany
Up next for the Patriots is a matchup against the 6-2 Lions in Munich at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 15. It will be the second regular season game for New England played in Germany.
Asked if the team would in fact fly out on Wednesday as was orginally scheduled, Vrabel couldn’t resist some dry humor.
“We moved it up. We’re leaving tonight. We’re getting the hell out of here,” Vrabel joked. “We’re leaving in 10 minutes.”
The main goal, he explained, is to try and get acclimated after the long flight as quickly as possible.
“I’m just trying to get over there to have a good practice on Friday, and use Thursday as a walkthrough and a review.”
The return of Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and other past Patriots
It was a weekend of festivities around Foxborough, even if the final score of Sunday’s game left things on a down note.
Rob Gronkowski was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame, the 2016 Super Bowl-winning team was back in town, and Tom Brady was on-hand to call the Fox Sports broadcast of the game.
Vrabel, who joked midweek prior to the Green Bay matchup that he would catch up with Brady because he was “required contractually” to do it, took a softer tone.
“Of course, and I talk to Tom,” Vrabel said. “I think you guys just take everything I say at face value.
“It’s great. It was well-deserved,” Vrabel said of Gronkowski’s induction ceremony. “It’s a really cool event that this organization has. It’s cool to be able to have so many players deserving to go into the Hall of Fame. The way that the fans vote, I feel like there’s a connection to the player that the fan says, ‘Man, I put this player into the Hall of Fame, and he was one of my favorite players.’ And then they come and they celebrate with the fans and everybody is all across the plaza and on the stairs. It’s a really cool scene.
“Of course, when I came it poured down rain so they didn’t have to worry about there not being fans out there,” he added wryly. “I got to go inside, but it’s a really special event. And I’m glad that a lot of the former players could be here, and certainly the former players from the 2016 team. It was nice to see those guys and celebrate them.”
Hayden BirdAssistant Sports Editor
Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016. He covers all things sports in New England.
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