TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel Press Conference 1/5
'I think that we're trending in the right direction.'
Follow us
Follow Us
🕑 Read Time: 7 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots Transcripts
HOME > Patriots Blog > Patriots Transcripts
Here’s what Mike Vrabel had to say during his press conference on Monday, January 5, 2026.
On the fact on the radio this morning he talked about the Chargers and how their team is constructed and built to for the postseason and whether or not he feels the same way about his team:
“Yeah, I do now. I feel like we are now. I would just tell you that they play great defense. They’re very sound. They’re good tacklers. They’re physical. They get off the field on third down. They’re good in the red zone. They run the football. It’s a physical football team. They possess the football. They lead the NFL in time of possession. They have very good quarterback play. They’re well-coached. They play with technique and fundamentals. The game, it doesn’t … they don’t panic one way or the other. They kind of stick to their game plan, and wear you down, and execute in critical situations. So a lot of respect for them, certainly what they’ve done in a short amount of time.”
On his team, also being built …
“I think that we’re trending in the right direction, that we have our moments of all of those. I can point to numerous instances of us doing it. So again, I think that’s important is what we’re able to do on Sunday night.”
On how pleased he’s been overall with the offensive line, with two rookies on the left side, a lot of different players came in this year:
“It’ll be critical this week against a good front and a good defense. So that’s what’s going to matter. I think they’ve continued to improve and helped us stay balanced. We had games where we didn’t run the football as well as we would like, but then we had games where we really ran it really well. I think they’re trying to do a good job of protecting Drake [Maye] and give us opportunities.”
On if he expects to get anyone back from the injury this week, or if it’s too early to tell:
“Yeah, it’s probably too early to tell. Alex Austin will continue to practice in his return to play, and we’ll evaluate that and then see where the other guys are, see where [Robert] Spillane and [Harold] Landry and [Khyris] Tonga are, and Jared [Wilson] as well.”
On the fact he said on the radio today that he thought Drake was MVP of the League, and why he feels that way:
“He’s extremely accurate. He’s made the most of every passing opportunity. We created a lot of X plays. And to create X plays, it’s about 30% scheme. It’s about 70% of the players making a play. And part of that is the quarterback putting it in a great location for run after catch. I think you continue to see that. His ability to extend, use his legs to gain first downs, critical first downs, his ability to score when we’ve asked him to score and run it in. He’s been everything that we’ve asked, and he continues to get better. He’s not satisfied. So I know that our success of where we are right now today has a lot to do with Drake Maye.”
On the fact that we’ve seen some really physical plays from Christian Gonzales over the last several weeks, and how has he seen that side of him develop this season:
“I think just a confidence level of understanding that he is a big corner. He’s strong, he’s got good size, good strength, and he doesn’t just have to be a fast, athletic corner. It’s hard to take and say that the corners in this league aren’t going to have to tackle. They’re going to have to tackle when they hand the football off. We don’t want them to every single play, but there’s times where they have to and they have to crack, replace, and they have to close the distance, and they have to stay on their feet and tackle. You’ve seen it the other way where we’ve been able to get out there or get on some DBs, and they’ve missed tackles, and those turn into X-plays. So I appreciate Gonzo doing that, and CD [Carlton Davis], and Marcus Jones, and all of those guys, especially. So the tackle from Craig Woodson at the end of half, which is a really good play. That is a bad… I mean, that just looks bad when you watch it. Imagine being out there and watching a guy come at you with all that space. And then Craig Woodson, and then Hawk [Jaylinn Hawkins] had one later in the game with [Greg] Dulcich. So I think those guys have worked on tackling, they’ve improved, and they’re gaining confidence. And those are the ones, the tackles that you have to have that don’t turn into touchdowns. Just get them on the ground and give us a chance to line up and play again.”
On Andy Borregales’s 59-yard field goal and how big that was when he reviewed the game, and if his range was the range affected by the end of half, and if he’d push that, given that [kick]:
“I think… Okay, trying to process all this here. First of all, I thought we executed the situation really well. I think he took Kayshon [Boutte] on there out of bounds and then trying to hit another chunk with 19 seconds. Probably could have done it either way. Could have probably gone in a little closer, slid, and then run the ball in. Drake made a decision to get out of bounds. We took the shot. They had everybody off for it. We couldn’t throw it anywhere but the end zone were out of bounds, and then went with the kick. I would say that around the end of half or end of game range, based on temperature, wind. Felt like a confident swing, and it was exciting. It was a big play for us to answer their three points.”
On the fact he talked about the running game last night and the importance this time of year and the fact it seems like it’s coming together a little bit with the two running backs, their roles, and if he could talk about up front, maybe a little tactically speaking, what’s working there, which is obviously where this starts, and what they’re doing to make things happen for those two guys:
“Well, I think for the run game to have to go, you have to move them. You have to not allow penetration. You have to block support. We talked about the receivers. Any X play in the run game, receiver is going to have to be blocking at the second level. They’re going to go in there and get support. Chiz did that, Boutte did that. Diggsy was heading in there on a couple of them. And then you have to be able to run through arm tackles, run through arm tackles, and then ultimately make somebody miss. So you have to be good in combinations, there’s single blocks, there’s combination blocks. There’s times when we pull players and they have to be good and be able to somewhat displace the line of scrimmage. You can do it vertically, or you can do it horizontally. So I think that we’re trying to mix different schemes, and it’s good that the backs can all run and execute what we’re asking them to do.”
On the first two drives by the Dolphins in the game, it seemed like there were some changes defensively that were forcing them to punch a little bit more and what those changes were:
“Changes or we just played better, Soph [Sophie Weller]?”
Whatever you said.
“Yeah, that’s it. You tell me. But that’s probably… Again, it is hard to recreate… Somebody said this after the game. These aren’t excuses. I think this is somewhat of an explanation. I think it’s hard to recreate the speed of what that operation is. It is hard. And they do a great job. They do a fantastic job. They get to the line quick. They shift, they motion. They try to gain an extra hat through motion. The receiver is doing a nice job of crack in and some of the technical things that we were talking about with the run game. So they do a good job of that. And then obviously, some of the boots and the keepers off of it. And I think we settled down. I think we settled down in that regard. We were able to get off the field on third down. We created some third and longer situations that we were able to get off the field. So I was really pleased to see the group that went in there in the fourth quarter. Go back and watch that effort. I think that you’re going to see a lot of guys that are playing hard, flying around, iImproving, being productive, whether that’s Schooler, or Dell, Chad Muma, all those guys that played. It was fun. It was a fun fourth quarter to watch just from that regard, those guys deserve the opportunity to play, and it was good to see them go in there and play well.”
On if, to his knowledge, if any team has contacted you or the Patriots about any of his coaches or personnel:
“Not to my knowledge.”
On the fact that he likes to differentiate between motivation and inspiration, and if, for him personally, he was interviewed by the Chargers for their head coaching opportunity …
“I sure did.”
… if that’s anything to this week for him:
“No. Everything that I do in every second that I spend preparing will be to help the players. No, that’s a well-run organization. Spanos family is a good one, but no, that’s … no extra motivation.”
On the fact that after the game yesterday, some of his players talked about the culture since the day that he got here and how grateful is he to them and their willingness to buy into his message:
“I can’t say it enough. I know what they go through from April seventh on and training camp and the things that they have outside of football and their families and their injuries and their bumps and bruises. So I am very grateful for that. I’ve said that every chance that I get. So just trying to create an environment where guys enjoy coming here and appreciate how we practice and how we prepare the style, the identity. So again, all the credit goes to players.”
On if there’s anything he needs to impart to players who are going through this playoff experience for the first time:
“I don’t think so. I think just making sure that we continue to prepare the way we have and understand the details and make the corrections and understand a few plays will make the difference. When you’re presented with the opportunity, to make a play, that you’re going to have to make it. That’s what we’ve done when we’ve won, being able to turn the ball over, being able to take care of it.”
On the fact that in the second half of the season, the Chargers defense ranks at the top of the league in every stat, and if there’s anything that sticks out about the transformation that they made from the first half to the second half:
“Well, I haven’t gone through the entire first half of their defense. I just, the last couple of games here already this morning, and they don’t give up a whole lot of first downs, stingy. They’re going to make you… You’re going to get everything that you earn. You’re going to have to earn it. They’re just not going to give it to you. They’re very sound in that regard. So we’ll have to have great execution, make great decisions, and be able to put some drives together to sustain. They’re just not going to hand you 2 X-plays down to the one-yard line.”
(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.)
From our archive - this week all-time:
April 2 - April 17 (Through 26yrs)
Join 2,000+ fans getting exclusive stats, analysis, and insights delivered straight to their inbox every week. Never miss a play.