As the Patriots got back to work during a short week, Vrabel had shirts waiting at their lockers
Mike Vrabel AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
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At first, Milton Williams seemed a little puzzled about why there was a blue shirt draped over the chair that was in front of his locker.
The entire team received the simple blue, collared shirts that one reporter referred to as a “workman shirt” when asking about them. It was one color, in one style, for the entire team.
“I ain’t going to lie, I remember they had asked us about them and I told them what I was going to put on mine, but I can’t even remember what they were for,” Williams said. “When I came in [Monday] I saw that everybody had them. Me and [Robert Spillane] were talking about it like ‘man, what’s up with all these shirts?’”
It turns out that the shirts were an idea that Mike Vrabel picked up from his previous stop as a consultant with the Browns last year. The Patriots coach didn’t elaborate much on the meaning behind them, but mentioned that he added his own twist to them.
“Yeah, I’m a gift giver. I like to give gifts,” Vrabel said. “One thing I picked up — Bubba Ventrone did that in Cleveland and I thought that was a good looking shirt. I got one in brown last year. I thought it looked better in blue, so we got the guys some of those shirts. I thought it would be fun. I liked it. They liked it in Cleveland, so that’s kind of what it was.”
It’s not unusual for coaches to send messages through team attire. Two years ago, in late September of 2023, the Patriots received hooded sweatshirts that read: “No one is coming, it’s up to us” on the back. According to JuJu Smith-Schuster, the shirts were Joe Judge’s idea. The Patriots were on their way to a 4-13 finish in Bill Belichick’s final season.
The vibes are much different this year, with the Patriots riding a seven game win streak into Thursday’s matchup with the Jets. As they prepare for a prime time divisional game on a short week, there hasn’t been much time to relax.
Staying consistent through actions will be key as New England looks to avoid a letdown against a 2-7 Jets team.
“Quick turnaround, these guys were locked in, prepared,” Vrabel said. “There’s times where I want to pull the head coaching card out, stray away and run around here slamming everything, yelling.”
“I really haven’t had to, where you try to make up, fabricate some conflict. Yesterday they responded. They did everything we asked them to do. Recovery, preparation, the walkthrough practices, being able to run and get some of the soreness out of them. They bought into that. Those are all really positive things.”
Seven-game win streaks don’t happen by accident, especially when a team went 4-13 in the previous year.
“I think it’s the leadership,” Vrabel said when asked how the team has been able to maintain it’s focus. “I think that the guys that we have here – I think it starts with the coaches being able to give them a clear message. I think what the expectations are, and I think the consistency, they’ve appreciated that.”
Khari A. ThompsonSports Reporter
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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