Here’s what Mike Vrabel after the New England Patriots beat the New York Jets on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium:
On what the guys were able to do on a short week and the fact they stepped up and made plays:
“Yeah, I mean a testament to our players, our staff. I thank them so many times just being able to roll in there on Monday, have stuff prepared. It’s hard to go on the road to Tampa and get your mind ready for that. But also in the back of your mind, you’ve got a whole other box about what are you going to do against the Jets and being able to get on a plane, come home, get in late, but have that ready to go and have energy and a game plan ready for the players on Monday at one o’clock. So thank the trainers, thank the staff, the strength staff, everybody involved for getting our players ready to go for the game here in a short week. ”
On the fact the fans were chanting ‘MVP’ for Drake [Maye] from the moment he came out in almost every series and what he made of his performance tonight and his performance in general en route to their record:
“I would say his performance in general has been what we expect. We have high expectations for Drake. He has high expectations for himself. He’ll continue to improve. I know that he’ll stay humble through this all. Again, as far as the performance tonight, I thought it was, again, in first view, pretty good. It was good enough to win. We took care of the football. We just have to continue to focus on the little things, operation, unforced errors throughout the offense. The only thing that really stops us is us offensively.”
“So continue to do that. Let them enjoy a win on a short week. Like I told them, I’m excited. We’re 9-2. I’m excited that I don’t have to see him until Monday.”
On the fact Robert Spillane was talking about guys coming back from Tampa and going straight to the facility, Sauna Hot tub as part of the recovery process, and what’s involved in that plan and how does he piece that together with his staff:
“Just looking back and just trying to get everybody together and say, ‘Hey, what can we do that maybe we’ve wanted to do or thought about doing on a short week?’ Just exhaust every avenue, giving guys IVs before we left Tampa, having the massage therapist, everybody, all hands on deck here, but also having a schedule. Our assistant trainer went around, Mike Baum went around, and scheduled everybody so that there could be a flow chart. Guys didn’t walk in at 11:30 and say, ‘Well, I can’t get a massage because Morgan Moses is already on the table.’ So it was, ‘Let’s make sure that this is planned out and there’s some thought to it, and give our players the best opportunity to recover.’ So that’s what we did.”
On what he saw from the defense on New York’s opening drive, and why does he think it’s just been so difficult to get that stop on the opening possession this season:
“The quarterback, tonight, we couldn’t … faster than most of the guys we got and didn’t do a good enough job. So we recovered a little bit, and we’ll have to try to continue to be better there. But there’s plenty of opportunities and places where we play good defense, and I have to remember that. That they can get a first down, and we can still stop them. It doesn’t have to be three-and-out every time.”
On the fact the last two games, Jack Gibbens has had a lot of production and how does he personify what he’s building with this defense in terms of his importance:
“Dr. Gibby always knows, usually, what to do for the most part. He’s usually in the right place at the right time, sniffs out the screens. Just seems to be in the right place at the right time, does his job, usually does it fairly well. He’s a great teammate, cares deeply about his teammates, and he’s fun to coach, and he’s a great person to be around each and every day.”
On Milton Williams going out, came back in, gave it a go, and if it was a situation where in a different situation maybe he could have gone:
“Maybe. I made just a decision that it felt like we should probably just start treating that thing and get ahead of it and see where he’s at here tomorrow, in the next couple of days and try to weigh…. Again, he wanted to try to go and I’d say he’s out here standing with me when guys are coming in, and he’s excited for them. So I appreciate his leadership. But I just made a decision that I felt like was best for the team for his instance.”
On Patriots fans and looking back at his eight years as a player, his experience as a visiting coach and now a head coach, what strikes him about this fan base:
“Well, I think they’re passionate. I think that they have high expectations. I think that they’re loyal, and I think they’re knowledgeable. I think they understand what it is that they should be seeing. Like I said, we got to give them reasons to cheer and be excited. So, yeah, I mean, I think we’ve done that and in return, have given us a great atmosphere to play in front of. ”
On his thoughts on TreVeyon Henderson and what he’s brought to the team:
“I would say the best couple of runs he had were there late in the game when it was tough sledding and we’re in five minute and they know we’re going to run, and they’re blitzing and everything else, and looked like we were going to be short. And he’s able to knife through there and keep his pads down and pick up a huge first down. So he’s executed, whether that’s a check down or the touchdown in the back of the end zone. No home runs tonight, but I thought he grinded out pretty much what was there. He’s always helped us a lot of ways tonight and saw the power push, touchdown, which was really cool. So I’m happy every time that guys can help us and they can get into the end zone. And Christian Barmore can finally get the sack that he’s been looking for. And he had a lot of pressures, and he’s been back there. And they work really hard, and I want them to all have success.”
On the fact the Jets came in with one of the best return units in the league, and what it was he was able to see on the initial viewing that allowed them to slow them down and contain them:
“Well, I thought we got off blocks. We didn’t give them a lot of space. Schooler got triple-teamed one time, went down there, made the play. We punted well. The gunners did a nice job. But you’re right, they have a really good return unit. I thought our kickoff coverage took a lot of pride, and I think we’ve done a really good job of covering kicks. And so that was a good challenge. They stood up to it. It’s a good unit, and I was excited to watch them bring some energy to the sidelines. I told you, if everybody’s going to get up off the bench, we better give them something to cheer about.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
