TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel Press Conference 8/6
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Here’s what New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had to say before the club’s joint practice session against the Commanders on Wednesday:
On it being a joint practice and if there’s anything he’s looking for outside of what he typically looks for and what the goal is:
“Well, the goal is just to be able to put the identity out on the field against another team, to put on the fundamentals that we put out there, the installation, to be able to do it against another defensee, to be able to adjust to different play styles of players, players that maybe are longer or quicker, or stronger, just the different play styles of each player throughout this league. Work with a team that we have a lot of respect for. A team that’s very good and played their best football late in the season, which is why they had an opportunity late in the season in the tournament. A lot of respect for DQ [Dan Quinn] and his coaching staff. So it just is a good fit.”
On how he uses this practice and the game Friday to get what he wants to see from his team:
“Yeah, the game is an extension of practice. The first preseason game is, we’re going to play. We’ll practice today. We’ve got some situations, and then tomorrow will be the day before. But Friday will be an extension of our work. It’ll be a game, it’ll give us an opportunity to go out there, but still just looking at it as a practice opportunity to continue to work and give guys the reps that we think they’re going to need for the season.”
On what the game plan is for the starters, specifically Drake Maye, for Friday night:
“Again, focused on today. And they’ll get a lot of reps today, different situations. And again, I would say, most everybody that’s healthy should expect to play in the game. How long they’ll play, I don’t know, but we have to prepare in football games and prepare to win football games, so that’s the mentality that we’re going to take.”
On what he’s learned about TreVeyon Henderson so far:
“I mean, he seems to be a quick learner and if there’s something that happens in protection, he rarely makes the same mistake twice. Great teammate. You know what I mean? See him playing with effort when he doesn’t have the ball in his hand. He’s been able to do some things in the run game. Learns quickly, to be able to move him at different positions offensively.”
On the fact that we didn’t see Morgan Moses out there yesterday, and he left practice early the day before, if he’s being eased back in or if it’s something new he’s dealing with:
“Probably a combination of both, and just want to be smart and make sure that everybody’s plan is the best plan for them to be prepared for the season. So, Morgan will do a little bit today, he won’t do much, and then we’ll see where he is at the next opportunity, which would be Friday.”
On the fact he mentioned the respect for DQ [Dan Quinn] who did it last year as a first year head coach in his first season with a team:
“Just putting a lot of different people together. Figuring out who the core players are, the ones that you want to bring in, the coaching staff, organizationally, the support staffs, to get it to where you want it, and you feel comfortable about it. That’s what he did, he did an excellent job of, and we’re hoping to do the same thing.”
On the fact some coaches have said they get more out of the joint practices than what they do in a game and his thoughts on that:
“I think that they’re important. I think that they may not be live, but I think that they’re still great tempo. There’s great speed and competitiveness. But I mean, the games are important. The games, to go out there and operate, and see the penalties, and the speed of it, and the timing of it, the time, with the two -minute and all those different things. The tackling, and being able to get guys to the ground, being able to break tackles, playing cut blocks, and all those things that we don’t see in practice.”
On the fact the defense gets to see Drake Maye on a daily basis, but what kind of challenge that Jayden Daniels poses:
“Well, again, we’ll have to see what they call and what Kliff [Kingsbury] calls and what they run. But he’s talented, makes great decisions, but also very fast. While he scrambles, and he can run with the football. Rarely takes a big hit, which is very impressive for any player, especially a quarterback. And he’s not the biggest guy, but you just don’t see him taking too many hits, when he runs.”
On the fact we’ve seen Marcus Bryant get increased reps with the starters and what he’s seen from him:
“Well, Marcus has gotten better. He’s trying to compete at left tackle and right tackle and when somebody goes down, or they’re not available, we just put the next guy in there. And then we evaluate him, and if he earns the opportunity to stay there, he stays there. Marcus has done that, I think he’s gotten better each and every day. Played the left, switched over and played on the right, and did a nice job the other day at the end of practice.”
On what went into the consideration to have just one joint practice instead ot two:
“Because Washington only wanted to come up for one day.”
On any warnings to players about fights:
“We want to practice the same way we practice against our team. That’s by playing physical and aggressive, and not doing stuff that hurts the team. Certainly don’t expect any of that and if it does, we’ll have to handle it accordingly. You have to be able to play competitively and physically without letting your emotions get the best of you.”
On any plans for live tackling:
“No.”
On the fact we heard about the defensive lineman talking about being aggressive and getting off the ball fast and if you have to temper that for some guys against an athletic quarterback:
“Well, you just have to be coordinated, you have to be relentless and coordinated in your rush, based on some calls. There’s going to be some scrambles today that we need to coach off of and see, so that’ll be a good thing. We haven’t talked too much about it. We’re going to go and practice and then I think the best thing will be to be able to correct it and show it and figure out what we would do if we were going into a game.”
On if there’s any extra preparation that’s put in to familiarize the players with the Commanders:
“Just a little bit. You know what I mean? Just a little bit. Just enough for … maybe they’ll show us some things that we haven’t done on either side of the football and making sure they’re prepared for some of that if they choose to run the quarterback in the red zone or whenever they want to do it. Or some of their plays that we maybe haven’t seen. And then defensively some of the looks we may or may not get that we haven’t gotten from our defense.”
“So, want to try to give the players the best opportunity to come out here and be evaluated and so that they feel comfortable and maybe they’ve seen something and if they haven’t, then we have to adjust to it pretty quickly.”
On the fact he was a teammate with Kliff Kingsbury and what he remembers about him as a player:
“He wasn’t better than Tom Brady. Kiliff’s a good friend. I mean, there’s a handful of coaches over there that I played with in the league. Whether that’s a year, or in Larry’s case, eight years. They’ve got a good staff. They’ve got a good mix of guys that played in this league and other guys that didn’t. But that’s a good coaching staff that they have, and Kliff’s really done a nice job everywhere he’s been offensively.”
On when he and Dan Quinn got together talking about this practice, and if he asks to set something up for his team to see and vice-versa:
“Yeah, we talk. The scheme is, we don’t get into the scheme so much as more situationally. What do we want to see as it relates to first, second, third, third and long, maybe we’re going to be in a no huddle period. Or how do you want to operate? Or we’ll be on the ball. Let’s get some red zone in, let’s get some red zone 7-on-7. The quarterback can look to his first read, got to get the ball out or probably extend the play, which is realistic in pro football in the red zone.”
On the fact there are guys who their ticket to make the team might be special teams and if there are any Larry Izzo type things he looks for when he’s looking at special teams guys:
“Well, passion for playing football. Competitive spirit. Production, I think, would be the biggest thing. Understanding the speed and space and blocking angles. It’s a skill and it’s an art and certainly Larry did it as well as anybody. So I would say that the competitive spirit would probably be at the top of the list if you’re looking for adjectives to describe Larry.”
(Editor’s Note: This transcript is done via the available footage and is subject to typos. If you spot something, please take a moment to let me know in the comments below.)
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