TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel Press Conference 8/4

Here’s what New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had to say during his press conference on Tuesday, August 4, 2027.

On his thoughts on Gabe Jacas’ progress:

“Well, we got some time to make up. We’ve got to make up for lost time, I think, a little bit with Gabe. But, I say he’s working hard. I think he’s into it. He’s he’s trying to learn. He’s focused. A lot of these things are new for him. And I think he’s done a good job of controlling what he can control. And I see him in there meeting with Smitty a lot. And again, there’s a return to play. He’ll have a few more reps than he did yesterday. And these situations he kind of has to just understand, and it’s good to see him get acclimated to the special teams stuff. And so I think it’s going good. I think we’re off to a good start and, hopefully that he can continue to keep adding things and figure out where he can help us defensively and really special teams.

On from his perspective, how hard is it to come into this situation early and also, how’s his football acumen?

“Well, how hard it is, I think it’s probably— that’s a great question for Gabe. I mean, when he’s here, we’ve been trying to, again, get him moving along as quickly as possible. And that’s just what the situation was. But I think that he may be able to articulate that better. I don’t want to speak for him, but we’re excited to have him out there and see how he responds each and every day. Continue to add to the workload and then figure out working with him on the side and on the punt, because that’s probably the toughest one there for the young guys to get going on. And so he’s missed some of those reps and we want to make sure that he’s doing that and getting caught up there. And so we’ll see how that looks today putting them in there with the team period with the punt.”

On what the keys to effective punt protection are and how does the technique have to differ considering you’re not just dropping back, you actually also have to get downfield:

“Yeah, it’s funny. We try to talk to them about being an offensive lineman and then they have to kind of be a linebacker, right? And you have to be able to strike. And the biggest thing is being able to recognize whether it’s pressure, whether it’s holdup and how the help system works and not jumping out of there and creating gaps, but trying to come back and stay square and use use our length. But then sometimes they’re coming in there to hold you up. And we feel like the best way to do that is to be able to strike and provide some extension and then, you have to shed and work your coverage lanes. And unfortunately we gave up one last year in Miami and it starts with a good punt, but then also having some interior guys. We know the gunners sometimes they get doubled, and they’re not always down there to force a fair catch or tackle. So being able to get the PP down as the third gunner, we call it, but it’s got to be a help system, and we have to be able to protect inside out, but also be able to cover and understand and locate where the ball is. And those lanes change. And so I think there’s just a lot of things that are different from the way that we punt in the National Football League and the way that a lot of the college players have done it.”

On the fact that yesterday’s practice seemed very competitive from our perspective and a lot of talking between the offense and the defense, depending on who is winning, whatever, right …

“They all can’t win at the same time. I’ve realized that.”

On where he draws the line at trash talk versus the competitive nature that he wants these guys to have when building the team:

“Yeah, I think anything that is authentic and real. I don’t think anything that’s made up or fake. I think the competitiveness has been great. I want that. I think we need that. I think that’s part of building a team. But then also the line that we take them to is being able to take care of each other. We’re not throwing punches. That’s— we’re not into that. That gets you eliminated from the game. So that’s not how we want to practice. We want to avoid those things. But I’m all for the energy and the trash talk and the back and forth and being able to get back and then do your job. And if that affects doing your job the next snap, then I would try to do my best to talk about it and explain like, ‘Hey, when you’re doing this, you’re not very good the next snap, or you’re not ready to go. Or if the offense goes on the ball and we’ve got 12 men on the field because you’re focused about talking to somebody else, and then those things start to become an issue.’ But I’m all for it as much as we can handle.”

On the fact he talked earlier this offseason about wanting to run the ball more consistently, and if he’s looking for that to come more from the personnel changes with Alijah [Vera-Tucker] and Reggie [Gilliam] and some others or more from Josh [McDaniels] kind of tweaking the schematics of it?

“No, I don’t. I mean, I think that it all is part of it. And I don’t think that there’s one great solution other than a demeanor. And I think every great running football team, the receivers have to be involved at some level. I mean you can’t just sit there and have your run game be comprised of RPOs and relief throws because that just, I don’t think, is going to create a consistent— you look at the teams that run the ball best, their receivers are involved with blocking force, whether that’s the nickel, blocking the nickel, blocking safeties. They have to be able to do that.

So I think there’s finding a balance between what we feel like our team does best, but then also using Reggie, using the tight ends, using guys and some of the personnel. So I know that that’s probably fairly vague, but I— there’s— you have to have a mentality and a mindset to want to run the football. And then I think the scheme and what the players do best is critical. And then also look at any of our X-play runs. Receivers are involved with getting support and then running by corners or running by free safeties. You can’t block everybody, but we got to get guys like TreVeyon that can hit home runs, we’ve got to get them through the second and third level, trying to break arm tackles, and then see if he can run away from some people.”

On the fact AJ said yesterday that he dislocated a thumb and how he’s doing today:

“I think he’s going to be okay. I think he’s going to be okay. Now, I tell him the linemen do that every other snap, and it’s not a national story when a lineman pops his finger back in place. But we had a little bit of fun with that. And I think that again, I appreciate what AJ and Gonzo have done is just come in and compete and try to improve. And it’s been a good battle and that’s pro football and I love watching it. And I think that there’s a great amount of respect that each of those players have for each other and understand that the work that they’re putting in now is going to pay dividends in the season. And I think that that’s all you can ask from your frontline players is that they come out and they’re focused on getting better each day and they’re intentional with their work. And when they’re out there, it sends a clear and easy message to the rest of the team about how we’re supposed to challenge and compete. And I think it’s been a good competition.”

On if any guys are returning today or being load managed:

“I don’t think Reggie [Gilliam] will be out there today. And then there’s some other bumps and bruises. I think [Christian] Barmore is probably going to be managed today.”

On the fact Will [Campbell] was talking about how the offensive line and the defensive line will often have conversations with each other, kind of looking out for little things, tendencies, help the other guy on the other side of the ball, and how much the coaching staff encourages those sorts of conversations, maybe independent of what they’re doing as coaches:

“Yeah, we do. I mean, that’s all part of building a team, whether that’s with the DBs, the receivers, splits, releases, technique. We can only game plan for one team is the message I try to tell them. And they see these guys every day. They know what it looks like when they’re maybe in a certain stance or what they look like when they may be in a tighter alignment or a little looser alignment or how they’re going to set the game up. So I think all those things are important, those conversations and the way that they come out today to make the adjustments and watch the tape and whether we are able to make corrections on things that one side of the ball is doing. I think this is good practice for the season. We’ve talked about that. So I hope that they’re— we spent a lot of time together and I hope a lot of that time is spent talking about football. I understand it’s not all going to be football. There’s a lot of things for these guys to get to know about one another, but I’m glad that they are talking football. And the line of scrimmage for our football team, like, that has to be where we begin our identity. And it can’t we can’t ask some receivers or DBs to do it. Our football team has to be led by the offensive and defensive line and the way that they play and their demeanor.”

On with Christian and AJ and what it means for the other players to see kind of them go up against each other the way that they do in practice?

“Well, I can only speak on my experience when I would play. And I think that that would be a great question for some young guys in the locker room, what they feel like and how they experience it. But as a coach, I would say that it makes it easy. It sends a clear message. I think that exhibits a level of leadership that we’re going to be out here and we’re going to compete, challenge, but also take care of each other. I think that’s the biggest thing. That’s why practice is – we want to be as fast as possible. We want to be as physical as possible. But in the end, we’re all working for the same goal, and we need everybody, and they’re important. So we have to be able to take care of each other.”

On how he feels about the depth that he has at guard right now:

“I mean, I think that there’s – whether we have injuries or things – but I think that guys are working in there and James Hudson’s getting some reps inside there. But there’ll be a time where you guys will see Caleb [Lomu] work in there. And so we’re just looking to find the best combination of guys for the season. So I think we’re okay. I think the depth could always be better at every position. Just continue to build competition and finding the right mix of guys that are going to help us for this year.”

On the fact he mentioned in the offseason the desire to get Pop [Douglas] the ball a little bit more, and how he’s seen him evolve, and if he feels like he’s capable of getting more touches and being more influential in the offense:

“Yeah, I think that Pop was – I think the most impressive thing was that he was ready, whether he got 12 snaps or he got 30 snaps. I think some of his best plays were his ability to not catch the football and go and finish. And he made plenty of plays for us, but his attitude remained really good. And I know that every receiver wants to get the ball more. And I think we’ll continue to try to find ways for Pop to help us and then look at where he can continue to improve. But nobody cares more about the team than Pop Douglas. I think that shows by the way he plays.”

On the fact Andy [Borregales] doesn’t necessarily have a ton of real competition this summer, but how is he making sure he stays sharp, and what he likes from him in this camp so far:

“I think he’s made the majority of his field goals – a high majority. And I think that that’s something that’s a fine balance of where you want your kicker to be is if you feel good about the competition or the job that he did last year then I’ll just try to evaluate that each week, and I think he’s continuing to work with Tom on his steps and the consistency and everything else. So I know that they’re – Bryce doesn’t have any competition either. We’ve got to make sure that those 3 guys – the more specialists you add, the less that you add on the rest of the roster. So we try to figure out what’s best for the team. And we felt like those guys would be okay without having to have some sort of competition.”

On the fact Will Campbell’s always been pretty secure and consistent who he is and comfortable in his own skin, and if he sees any differences inyear 2 maybe not growth as a player, but as he fits within the program, and if he sees any differences from him day to day or his role this season:

“No. I mean, he’s still going to do the news on Friday, so that’ll be consistent. He was trying to talk his way out of that yesterday, but he did such a good job that he’s earned that role for another year. I think just some little things that he’s trying to work on and build with Alijah over there on the left-hand side, how critical that connection is and that relationship of how they want to work their combination blocks or how they block games. And, but it’s a young player that we have to continue to, stay on and he wants to do a good job and he wants to play hard for us and do all those things. So just keep moving, keep moving forward.”

(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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