HC Mike Vrabel Press Conference @ Scouting Combine

[jlu52]

Thunder.. yeah that was a bit odd..

Picture our Scatback Thunder running into one of his peers like Chuck Bednarik, on second thought, please don't

 

[Ross12]

What I hope for is that he has the clout and/or the ability to enforce this vision, or at least persuade the FO to follow his vision.

One of his quotes seems to indicate otherwise: "But, I'm confident that we will be aggressive. We started some of those discussions internally."

It seems clear to me that he holds the power just from how he talks about things. Like when someone asked him about overspending to acquire talent, he answered with something along the lines of "Yeah I mean I love to shop like everyone else. If there's a car you really love and there's only one of them, you are probably gonna have to spend extra to get it. But if there's 3-4 that are similar that you like and that fit your need then you don't need to over-extend so much." If it wasn't up to him, he wouldn't be talking like that.

He also broke down free agency into "compensation vs opportunity" and how the Pats will be able to offer both - big money for talented players, but also the fact that they need so many guys that there'll be "opportunities" for younger players looking to prove themselves, or older vets who haven't found many takers, on cheaper deals.

Finally, he said that he wants to plug as many holes as possible via free agency so that they're not pigeon-holed into anything in the draft and can "let the draft come to them" - i.e., best player available. Wants to be able to "line up and play tomorrow" post-free agency, I believe he said.

 

[Ross12]

I seem to recall this time last year HC Mayo was all about "burnin cash" too

Correction... Mayo wasn't even allowed to go to the combine, they just sent Wolf.

Mayo made his awkward "burning cash" comment a couple weeks before the combine on a radio interview, which Wolf then had to awkwardly try to take back at his combine interview.

The fact that Vrabel is front-and-center as the lead man at the combine for the Pats says it all.

 

[Love The Drake]

It seems clear to me that he holds the power just from how he talks about things. Like when someone asked him about overspending to acquire talent, he answered with something along the lines of "Yeah I mean I love to shop like everyone else. If there's a car you really love and there's only one of them, you are probably gonna have to spend extra to get it. But if there's 3-4 that are similar that you like and that fit your need then you don't need to over-extend so much." If it wasn't up to him, he wouldn't be talking like that.

He also broke down free agency into "compensation vs opportunity" and how the Pats will be able to offer both - big money for talented players, but also the fact that they need so many guys that there'll be "opportunities" for younger players looking to prove themselves, or older vets who haven't found many takers, on cheaper deals.

Finally, he said that he wants to plug as many holes as possible via free agency so that they're not pigeon-holed into anything in the draft and can "let the draft come to them" - i.e., best player available. Wants to be able to "line up and play tomorrow" post-free agency, I believe he said.

If he’s looking to plug as many holes as possible I would think he could also be looking to trade down or trade picks for players.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Correction... Mayo wasn't even allowed to go to the combine, they just sent Wolf.

Mayo made his awkward "burning cash" comment a couple weeks before the combine on a radio interview, which Wolf then had to awkwardly try to take back at his combine interview.

Mayo thought Bob was granny. Just casually throwing around that phrase was so reckless and irresponsible. He was in not in a position of authority to make that statement.

The fact that Vrabel is front-and-center as the lead man at the combine for the Pats says it all.

Vrabel has more experience with the press and "corporate intelligence" in terms of knowing the weight of his words on the organization and with those on the outside (FAs, other GMs, etc) than Mayo had.

Not only that...he has the juice.

 

[Ross12]

Vrabel has more experience with the press and "corporate intelligence" in terms of knowing the weight of his words on the organization and with those on the outside (FAs, other GMs, etc) than Mayo had.

Not only that...he has the juice.

The combine is a big "tampering" period where teams talk to players' agents unofficially and start to gauge the markets for guys they want. They also talk shop with other teams as far as trades. Free agency is only a couple weeks out.

 

[Steve102]

Couple of takeaways for me:

You asked about Josh [McDaniels], and I would say that having had communications with Josh in my role in Cleveland, he wasn’t under contract with a team, so we had numerous conversations...

I read that as Vrabel was talking to JMcD long before he got hired here. JMcD was going to be Vrabel's OC wherever Vrabel landed.

“Well, there’s a lot. Again, I think you always talk about being able to protect him. You have to be able to have some guys that can help him on the edges and be able to make contested catches. You don’t have to be perfect, right? You don’t have to have perfect ball placement. Those are all things that we talk about, trying to support Drake, believing that he is the future of our franchise at quarterback. I’ve been able to meet with him and talk with him and just get to know him as a person. But you have to look at the lines of scrimmage and you look no further than the Super Bowl game where that game was clearly run at the line of scrimmage.”

WR wise, they want a guy with a big catch radius and good hands. OL: that will be the focus of this off-season.

 

[signbabybrady]

Mayo thought Bob was granny. Just casually throwing around that phrase was so reckless and irresponsible. He was in not in a position of authority to make that statement.



Vrabel has more experience with the press and "corporate intelligence" in terms of knowing the weight of his words on the organization and with those on the outside (FAs, other GMs, etc) than Mayo had.

Not only that...he has the juice.

 

[KCSVEN]

The Commanders are the blueprint for a quick turnaround. The Patriots have been middle of the pack drafters based on analytics. The Commanders are maybe the worst drafting team, pre-2024, in the league.

They killed it with short term deals in free agency and got a top OC.
They had more starters that came from free agency than any team in the league and almost all of them were in 2024.
Vikings were similar.

Free Agency is going to be more important than the draft this year.
In the long run draft is most important, for next season it is free agency that is most likely going to affect wins and losses.

 

[Ross12]

Looks like another one went up:

 

[Ross12]

Patriots will ‘explore’ every avenue to add No. 1 receiver

Mike Vrabel understands the importance of having a No. 1 receiver. The coach talked about the Patriots trying to acquire one this offseason.

www.masslive.com

Speaking to Patriots reporters at the NFL Combine on Tuesday, Vrabel said the Patriots will explore every avenue to add a legitimate receiver to their offense. He also knows that’s easier said than done.


“One, it’s hard to find. You usually have to draft them. But then sometimes, based on circumstances, available for trade,” Vrabel said. “I think we’ll explore every opportunity that we can to add great players that we feel like are the right fit and we feel like and that can help us. There’s only so many options in free agency and in trade and the draft. We’ll explore all three of those.”

 

[imahobgoblin]

The Commanders are the blueprint for a quick turnaround. The Patriots have been middle of the pack drafters based on analytics. The Commanders are maybe the worst drafting team, pre-2024, in the league.

They killed it with short term deals in free agency and got a top OC.
They had more starters that came from free agency than any team in the league and almost all of them were in 2024.
Vikings were similar.

Free Agency is going to be more important than the draft this year.
In the long run draft is most important, for next season it is free agency that is most likely going to affect wins and losses.

But I want to see how they do in 2025. Was that $90 million dollar bump something that will be maintained in 2025+? Imagine if the Pats nail free agency and the draft?

 

[Salsalife]

Good press conference. Loved the hand technique terminology. Big question for me is who is Stretch??? Dam shame he's gotta convince Wolf because he's the cap guy..

 

[Ross12]

Yet another sit-down from Vrabel with Lazar...

 

[Steve102]

Good press conference. Loved the hand technique terminology. Big question for me is who is Stretch??? Dam shame he's gotta convince Wolf because he's the cap guy..

Think Ernie Adams, but tall.

 

[Pape]

just watched the first vid... the professionalism is just light years ahead of last season...

 

[Ian]

Another transcript for that second Q & A:

TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel Q&A with Local Media 2/25

Mike Vrabel held his press conference earlier this morning, and he sat down for another Q&A session with the local media later in the day. Here's a full transcript from that session.

www.patsfans.com

 

[Salsalife]

Think Ernie Adams, but tall.

Cool thx. Gotta interview Streicher New England media folks!

 

[signbabybrady]

Think Ernie Adams, but tall.

But does he know what Pink Stripes means?

 

[Ian]

Yet another sit-down from Vrabel with Lazar...

LOL, Vrabel's a busy guy. I'm tapping out - I don't know if I've got another one in me today.