Mike Vrabel New England Patriots
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Following Sunday’s blowout loss, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel made his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show. There, he made some comments about the team that raised eyebrows around New England.
Vrabel was asked about the trade deadline, which is coming up on Tuesday. However, he shared a bit of a cryptic message about effort and desire to be with the team.
“We want a bunch of guys that want to be here,” Mike Vrabel said. “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 then let us know by tomorrow. That’s what we have to do.”
New England Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel Clarifies His Comments
Unsurprisingly, Mike Vrabel would be asked to clarify those comments by Patriots media. For him, it was more about focusing the team rather than sounding a warning bell.
“No, no,” Mike Vrabel said. “I mean, I always appreciate what Mack [Hollins] has to say, and my intent was just to remind everybody that when we want to build a program, we have to have it look a certain way. I think that when you have the most success is when everybody has the same mentality and that they see it the same way. They see it the same way that we have to do all the things that come with winning, and that’s the preparation, that’s the connection that you have to make with guys that are in there, whether the guys are injured or not.”
One strength for Vrabel as a coach is supposed to be the culture that he brings to the team. With that, he firmly believes that there isn’t a problem in the locker room.
“The identity that shows when we win, the ability to take care of the ball, the ability to create turnovers, to get off the field, to play sound and complimentary special teams. That’s all-encompassing,” Vrabel said.
“And so no, there’s not a locker room problem. It’s just to say that this is where you’re at when you have a game where you fall short like we did last night in a lot of areas, starting with me and the staff, and then obviously the execution on the field. You just want to make sure that everybody sees it the same way and that we’ve got to get back to work. That’s the only thing that you have to do.”
Vrabel would also be asked about the team’s intensity at practice. There, he admitted that by the nature of the NFL schedule, it’s hard to constantly be intense. Still, he believes the Patriots are making those chances count.
“There’s only so many opportunities for that intensity, for the full speed reps that we get. And so, those usually come on Thursdays, in the red zone on Fridays. There are mistakes, like there are every week. I don’t think it’s been detrimental by any means. And then also, some guys aren’t even available to practice and they may not take as many reps, and that’s nothing new to the National Football League. So, whatever reps we get, we have to make them count,” Vrabel said.
“We have to understand, if it’s a jog through, how we show the details of the play and make sure that we understand that. There’s ways to be able to practice and be successful without just taking 35 full speed reps a day, because I don’t think that’s realistic right now with where we’re at, currently, with our situation and the health of the football team.”
Patriots WR Mack Hollins Made His Own Comments
In his clarification, Mike Vrabel referenced comments made by Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins. That’s because Hollins was recently vocal about his own concerns with the team.
“You are what you put on tape. This was who we are this week,” Hollins said. “If there’s guys on this team that are okay with that, I’m sure there’s 31 other teams they could go to.”
Hollins may have been speaking out of frustration. However, these still aren’t comments you want to hear from a veteran, particularly at this stage in the season.
Dan Morrison After graduating from UMass in 2019, Dan Morrison quickly began a career in sports journalism and digital media. That has seen him work both as a contributing writer at several publications, as well as spending time on the National News Desk at On3. During that time, he has spent the majority of his time covering football, both at the college and NFL levels. Currently residing in Central Florida, his focus with Heavy is on the NFL. More about Dan Morrison