TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel Postgame Press Conference 12/21

Here’s what New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had to say following Sunday night’s win over the Ravens:

On getting into the playoffs the way that they did and what that says about his team:

“Well, I think that it was good to be in a game like this where we battled, and it was tied, and we got down. Momentum kind of shifted the other way and our guys battled back. We got stops. Offense continued to attack. Our quarterback battled, and the receivers came through and the runners. I felt like it was a big team win. It was a huge team win. Andy [Borregales] kicked the ball well. Again, it was just … we lost a lot of guys. A lot of guys went down, a lot of guys stepped up, and we’re going to have to get healthy. But I think that this was a great win for us.”

On the fact they got the ball five minutes ago, Drake [Maye] was in a similar situation as last week, the offense put together a nine-play, 89-yard drive and what he thought of what they were able to accomplish, and then K’Lavon [Chaisson] with the big play:

“Yeah, and I think that you learn from that. And again, you still have opportunities. And then they pressured us, and we were able to hit a play against the pressure. So I think if you learn from those things, and I think hopefully we learn from whatever happened last week, and our ability to execute in a critical situation. And then we talked about all week just the ball security and our ability to try to hammer it out. I thought we tried at times, and we got a couple. I think that we talked about being able to get turnovers.”

On the fact he talks a lot about that ‘next man up’ mentality, but today they truly saw it in full force with how many players they lost and what it was like to see that come together:

“Well, that’s a group effort. One, it’s on the players that go in there. Two, it’s on the training staff to work hard just to evaluate guys. Then on the coaching side, just being able to figure out what packages that we could still get into and what we’re able to do, and some of the things we weren’t able to do. We lost a lot of defensive linemen. Give a guy like Anfernee Jennings a lot of credit going in there and playing defensive line and helping us out. I appreciate what he did and everybody else that was able to step in.”

[Inaudible … possibly on Stefon Diggs’ performance]

“I just think that we talk about opportunities. This whole year, that receiving room, and I get the nature of the receivers in this league. I understand it. Been around this league for a while, and they all want the ball, and I think that that’s what they’re supposed to do. When they don’t get it, they have to understand that they’ll get it. He took advantage of his opportunities. He came through, contested catches, third-down conversions. It’s great to see.”

“It’s great to see Mack [Hollins] make plays for us. Kyle [Williams], Kayshon [Boutte]. I mean, unfortunate for Kayshon. The penalty or whatever they called over there is completely… Whatever they called over there. Then his ability to go down, which I thought he was competing for that ball, and I thought we were going to have that one. But Kayshon is going to help us out. All the receivers are going to play roles throughout this year.”

On if he got an explanation was on why that wasn’t a flag:

“No. Here’s what the explanation I got. ‘You have to survive the ground.’ I said, ‘I’m very aware of the catch rule,’ but that’s all I got.”

On what he thought on Drake’s performance:

“I just thought gritty. He got hit. He got hit. They pressured or they got home when they didn’t. He just kept getting up and battling. He didn’t flinch. Again, I think it was important for all of us to have that game, the entire team.”

On the fact they got two forced fumbles on punch outs, and that last one by [K’Lavon] Chaisson…

“We just addressed that. That was something that we’ve been practicing and focused on. Even just looking at Gonzo’s tackle when it got out on the edge in the stiff arm and breaking it down, something that we had talked about and practiced and tried to get and held him to four yards. I thought there was a switch there, especially from Gonzo in a sequence where he stabs the ball out, we blitz him, he blitzed with a demeanor. Then I look out there because we need him, and he’s out there as the corner on the punt return. I told him, this isn’t going to be a shock, but those are the efforts that we need to have from him. He does know this. Our best players have to play good each and every week for us to win.”

On the fact Drake seems to get better every week with lessons that he’s been learning and if he thinks tonight happens without maybe some of the lessons from last week:

“I don’t know. Again, this is the league that we operate in, and it’s tough every week. So hopefully, you can learn from those things. Got a lot of confidence in everybody out there, and it was great for him to have success. I’m happy for him, especially executing there at the end of the game and pulling it and being able to get first down and get down.”

On how big of a week this was for what he wanted his team to be, their identity, their fundamentals…

“We talked about bringing a belief in our identity, believing that under any circumstances that we were going to win the football game. That’s what we talked about before we left. We said we needed to pack two things. We need to pack our belief and our identity, and I feel like we did.”

On the fact he’s been talking about play demeanors since he got hired and where did he see that show off the most:

“Well, I think as the snaps increased, and again, it was a resiliency not to fold and panic. They hit some plays on us. They made guys miss. They had some X plays, and we got stops when we needed to. Offensive, we hit a little bit of a lull. But then really, I felt like those last few drives in the second half, we were clicking. Again, just to have the resiliency to battle here on the road in a tough environment on Sunday night.”

On what it means to him to be going to the playoffs in his first year:

“We got a long… We’re going to try to win the division. We’re going to focus on that. We just take it one day at a time, whatever happens, we figure out what’s the best thing for the team.”

“I’m excited. It’s all a credit to the players. When we win, it’s because of them.”

On when they lost Lamar [Jackson], what changes about the mindset of the game:

“They’re talented. They still got good players. The offense really never changed. We were trying to get stops. We lost guys, too. We didn’t lose an MVP, but we lost plenty of guys, and we know how good Lamar is. But still, they were able to hit some plays on us and give Tyler a lot of credit. He’s a great kid. He’s a great quarterback, having spent some time with him in Cleveland. Was obviously a challenge the entire game.”

(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.)

About Ian Logue

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.

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