FOXBOROUGH - Morgan Moses, a veteran of 11 seasons in the league, believes he knows the formula for football teams to succeed in the NFL.
“You don’t need a miracle to win football games,” the newly acquired Patriots right tackle said Thursday. “You just need the right people in the building.”
The begs the question, do the Patriots have the right people?
The coaching staff is new for the most part. And, the roster is currently undergoing an overhaul.
Mike Vrabel has added quite a few players via free agency.
To Moses’ point, do the Patriots fit his criteria to win football games?
Naturally, Vrabel had no doubt about the answer.
“I’m confident that we got the right people,” he said, “and now it’s our job to put them in the right places as players to get the best out of them, and so I’m excited to start that process.”
Vrabel does have a track record as a head coach. He’s enjoyed some success. Ditto several members of his coaching staff.
Each player who stepped to the podium Thursday as part of their introductory press conference, lauded Vrabel and the organization.
Again, no surprise.
Still, it was hard to walk away and not be impressed by four of the newest members of the Patriots.
They delivered the right message for what they want and hope to accomplish in New England.
Whether it was Moses, or $100 million dollar man Milton Williams, cornerback Carlton Davis, or linebacker Robert Spillane, they all exuded character.
They were ready to work, and as Moses put it, form a “brotherhood” where “no adversity that touches us on the field is going to be able to break us, because we’re going to have an unbelievable bond.”
With David Andrews (released), Jonathan Jones (signed with Washington) and Deatrich Wise (signed with Washington) walking out the door, it’s easy to see where some of the new leadership is going to come from.
But that doesn’t mean the Patriots are out of the woods.
When Moses talks about adversity, does that include Drake Maye getting hurt? Because right now, his offensive line remains suspect.
To this point, Vrabel and the Patriots braintrust have made their greatest strides on defense, all coming via free agency.
They’ve assembled a unit that figures to wreak havoc with opposing quarterbacks and contribute to wins.
The offense, meanwhile, is stuck in neutral.
Left tackle remains a problem, just as it was last year. Meanwhile, center is now an issue, with the team cutting David Andrews, a stunning development to say the least, and coming up empty on a replacement.
As for landing that true No. 1 receiver, that also hasn’t happened. They signed Mack Hollins, a nice addition, but he doesn’t scare any defenses.
So, even with the addition of a half-dozen new starters, significant holes remain.
Vrabel and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf, who was also on hand for the press conference, both preached patience.
“There’s still more work to be done,” Wolf said during his remarks Thursday. “Obviously, we’re not finished. We still have some more needs to fill.”
The first week of free agency is nearly over. The draft is a little more than a month away.
“We don’t want to be reckless through this process,” Vrabel said. “We want to be very intentional with the people we bring on this football team, and we’ll continue to target all the needs that we feel like and the players that can help us.”
Vrabel insisted he wouldn’t be boxed into a corner, and be forced to draft for need, whether it’s left tackle or receiver. Both he and Wolf didn’t shut the door on more moves to come.
They’re in the mix to sign former Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp, although they’re not inclined to overpay for a receiver who is past his prime.
“We’ll continue to look at the wide receiver position as it relates to free agency, explore every option with other teams, and potentially then we’ll get to the point where we’re looking at the draft,” Vrabel said. “There’s just a lot of time, and I know that everybody is like, it’s over in free agency. It’s never over.”
They’re counting on players eventually becoming available after cutdowns. They’re also waiting for contract demands on good - not great - players to come back down to earth.
They are confident the fixes will come. That’s all well and good, but this is one of those believe it, when you see it type of deals.
Even with that, the Patriots feel they’re in a much better place than they were at season’s end of a 4-13 year.
They feel they’ve made strides when it comes to meeting the formula for success.
Moses all but guaranteed the product wouldn’t be what Patriots fans had become accustomed to the past few seasons.
“When we run out of that tunnel on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays, you’re going to see something different,” he said. “You’re going to feel something different because we’re going to go out there as one unit and we’re going to play football together.”
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