TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel Press Conference 9/24
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Here’s what Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had to say during his press conference on Wednesday, September 24, 2025:
On if he anticipates being able to ramp up Christian Gonzales this week in hopes of him possibly playing Sunday:
“Yeah, I think that that’s the plan. Excited about his efforts and willingness to get back and work hard and practice last week. Then again, made a decision. I made a decision at the end of the week that just, I think we needed a little bit more time. That’s what happens when you start this return to play, and you practice and you work hard, and then you see how you respond, and then to make a decision if that player is ready for a football game. We felt like that he probably needed a little bit more time, and hopefully, he’ll be ready to go. Excited to see him and everybody else practice today.”
On how big an impact can Christian have for this team:
“Well, I mean, I think we need all our best players. I’ve said this numerous times here. Your best players have to play good in order for you to have a chance to win. And so Christian would be one of those players, and we need to try to get everybody out there that we can get out there. And hopefully, he progresses well throughout the week, and he can help us.”
On what he sees as the mood of the team today as they come back and got ready for work after a loss:
“I think it’s where it has to be. Whether you win or lose, you have to remain consistent and get back to work and prepare for a new opponent. You put a lot into it every week. Disappointed that you lose, but that’s in the rearview mirror, and we have to be able to attack each and every week. Once you make the corrections and once you point out the things that we have to do better in order to win, then it’s on to the preparation and the new challenge ahead.
On the fact you can’t win unless you learn how not to lose and in terms of learning how not to lose, if that can be taught or is that on the players?
“I think by building and doing things the right way and believing in what it is that we feel like as an identity, that hopefully that will take care of it. I think the more that you put yourself in close games and the more that you put yourselves in those situations, that you have to be able to have some favorable outcomes. You have to be able to respond and you have to be able to get stops in the red zone, or you have to be able to take care of the football, or you have to be able to produce some explosive gains in the return phase and all those things that are critical. I think it just comes hand in hand with it, and we try to point them out as often as we possibly can.”
On the fact he made the decision last week that he needed more time with Christian, and what information does he use to make a decision like that:
“Just revisiting this from previous conversations. Was that a wink, Phil [Perry], or were you just squinting?”
No, just squinting.
“Good. One, can a player protect themselves? Can they go out there in this game and protect themselves? It’s a violent game. Can they protect themselves? Can they do their job to the standard that we have set for them and they’ve set for themselves? And can they make it worse? Those are the three things that I would probably use.”
“I think a lot goes into being able to protect yourself, the conditioning of the person, a player that would maybe get tired or wouldn’t be in a proper condition to play in an NFL game could then lead to another injury or not being able to protect themselves. But those are the three things that I try to use in making those decisions.”
On the Panthers’ defense, and what are they doing from a movement perspective that will challenge his team:
“Well, they’re very sound. They’ve done a lot. They have a lot in the playbook. They have a lot in their history, but they’re playing their best defense when they’re just sound, when they line up. Very good interior. I think the secondary is very good. I think that, obviously, [Jaycee] Horn and [Mike] Jackson and [Tre’von] Moehrig has been a very good player. Linebackers are good tacklers, and [Bobby] Brown is one of the best interior defensive linemen. But they play sound, they play with their hands, they tackle well. And so they really haven’t been beating themselves too much.”
On his impression of Ted McMillan on the other side?
“I mean, all the same things that you look at and saw when you were seeing him come out. He’s a big athlete, smooth, fluid mover, good at the catch point. Body control for such a long player. Very, I guess, agile, loose, can upper body flexibility, can turn, locate the football. But good catch radius. It seems like Bryce [Young] certainly trusts him already to be where he’s supposed to be. So that’ll be a huge challenge.
On, in his experience, how deep into a season does he typically find out who his team is from a strength and weaknesses standpoint;
“I don’t know. I think when it’s there, you kind of know it. We’ve got a bunch of different things that we’ve done well and not so well, and then things that have gotten us beat. I don’t want us to forget about all the positives and the good things that have happened, and the very good winning snaps that we played. Then obviously, just we have to eliminate the things that get us beat, the turnovers, the punt returns, the X plays on defense, those types things.”
On the fact they’re putting out a really phenomenal kick coverage.
“That’s impressive. I sat there and looked at it for two hours last night. I mean, impressive.
On what they’re doing that’s different:
“They’ve got good players. They got great speed. They change the scheme up on you. And so that’ll be critical that we’re able to protect the guy with the ball. They’re flying. It starts with the kicker. Kick’s a good kick, dirty kick. So he’s had the returner sometimes confused. He’s kicking him, when he kicks him deep, they’re right at the goal line, forcing you to return them. Or last week, a couple of times, they touched it and took a step back and then had it on the 20 yard line. So they’ve done a fantastic job. Credit to their staff and to the players.”
On how he would define a ‘dirty kick’:
“One that’s on the ground in between the 20 and the goal line. Sometimes it one hops and they can return it. Sometimes it kicks and goes sideways, and we’ll have to be prepared for that wherever they kick it.”
On with ball security drills, while we’ve seen various views throughout the offseason, if after a game like Sunday if he’ll try something new when it comes to that:
“Well, we’ll just put some more time into it. Put some more time into it. Then again, I’m going to remind you that everybody else’s job is to protect the guy with the ball. We’ll have to practice that, too, because that wasn’t good. The easy thing to say is that we had three players fumble the football, which is obvious. We have to use great technique, and then everyone else needs to strain to protect the player with the ball. That’s what we’re going to get accomplished.”
On Efton Chism and if he’s been inactive because his injury is lingering or if it’s something else:
“Just my decision each and every week, try to get … we can only get five right now. We’ve only been taking five. So that can change each week and he’s working hard and working in practice. And we’ll evaluate that each week as to what his role would be and how he can help us. But that’s where that is.”
On if he sees Kyle Williams’s opportunities increasing:
“Hopefully. Again, the ones we’ve thrown to him, he’s caught. And just keep building a role for him and get everybody some opportunities and let the quarterback throw to the guy that’s open.”
On what are the factors that go into batted balls and how does he go about preventing that consistently:
“I think arm angle, staring the throw down, I think, in tight windows down in the red zone, if you stare it down, you’ll probably get some passes batted against good teams that don’t run past the quarterback. I think timing, defensively, timing, being able to not stand at the line, but be able to rush and then get the correct hand up. Then quarterbacks that have a tendency to, again, like I said, get low with their release, or sometimes it’s the route has an effect on it as well if it’s over the middle and short.”
On the fact, every week in the game notes, it lists all the common connections between the Patriots and their opponents and this week it’s very thin, there’s almost no crossover between the Patriots and the Panthers between coaches and players. And what’s that like to game plan for a team where they have almost no personal experience with guys on the other side:
“Just watch the tape. Just try to focus in on the tape and have an idea of how to prepare the players that way and focus on those things, focus on the things that you see, maybe things that they’ve done in the past or what they may do to us situationally.”
On Stefon Diggs, his playing time, and how much of that number through three games is tied to just what he was coming back from, injury-wise:
“I mean, I think it’s all going to change. I think through three games and seeing where it’s at and the packages that we’ve used and the stuff that we’ve asked some of these guys to do is just trying to find a role for each and every one of them. I don’t think any of them are going to play 90% of the snaps.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This transcript was done based on the available footage and is subject to typographical errors. If you spot anything, please let me know in the comments below.)
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