FOXBOROUGH, Mass — Head coach Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots were back at Gillette Stadium on Monday following their embarrassing 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, as the team now faces a lot of doubt and uncertainty regarding their potential.
And with that, Vrabel fielded numerous questions about the game, with many surrounding Drake Maye and his clear struggles.
Here's what I heard at Gillette Stadium:
Is Mike Vrabel concerned about a lingering shoulder issue with Drake Maye?
During the Patriots' AFC Championship win over the Broncos, quarterback Drake Maye suffered a shoulder injury, and after Sunday's game, the quarterback was asked if he had any lingering issues from it. His answer didn't do much to clear up what could have been a simple yes or no.
“Yeah, I mean I like to say when you got that much
time off and you get to focus on getting back that you’re going out there healthy,” Maye said. “You’re gonna get banged up every now and then, but at the same time, a lot of guys are banged up. So, looking forward to getting back to playing winning football. That’s the main thing, and knowing that I play a big role in that, and taking that and taking the bull by its horns.”
Following the quarterback's answer, Vrabel was then asked if he is concerned that that could be contributing to Maye's struggles.
"No, I’m not. I think when you go through an NFL game like that, especially as a quarterback, and you get hit, and again, there was not, to my knowledge, anything that would have put him on the injury report or any sort of treatment," he said on Monday. "I think every player has normal maintenance and prehab that they go through as a warm-up routine. That’s not anything that I would even consider. But I know as you go through a game, I’m sure you get hit. I’m sure things will happen. But I don’t anticipate that being any issue going forward."
Mike Vrabel clarifies comment made on radio
Early Monday morning, Vrabel did his weekly appearance on WEEI in which he was asked about Maye's decision-making that has led to six interceptions in the first three games.
“I think quarterbacks want to make plays. I think they want to throw touchdowns. I think sometimes when Greg and I go golfing, we really want to make a good score, right? Sometimes we’re so focused on it, we try to choke the life out of the golf club, and we’re squeezing it so damn tight that the ball has no choice but to go sideways,” he said. “We need to stop trying to choke the life out of every single play. We need to relax. We need to settle in and go play football and not try to force things that aren’t there.”
Following his comments, he was asked how to fix the issue of Maye "choking the life out of every single play," while also making sure that the quarterback remains confident.
"Confidence comes from your preparation, and it comes from going out there. I can’t manufacture confidence. I can’t just say, 'Hey, be confident,' Vrabel explained. "You have to practice. You have to hit those plays in practice, and you have to feel good about it. Taking the meeting to practice and being able to hit those things, or a pass rush move, or a game, or route, or any protection –anything that you would need in the football game.
"Sometimes you want to do something so badly. It’s like the tighter you hold the golf club, the more crooked it goes when you hit it. We just have to be able to make sure that we’re on the same page, that everybody knows what is expected of them, have a few details and then go play football."
Do the Patriots have to simplify the offense?
Clearly some things aren't working on the offensive side of the ball, so Josh McDaniels, Drake Maye, and the other players have to figure out how to get things going.
Could that mean simplifying the game plan?
"When you have games like that throughout the entire team – how do you fix some things? You get back to the basics," Vrabel explained. "Again, we want to continue to impress upon the importance of what our identity is. We still have to build it. You have to put it out there. Before you can protect something, you have to build it. And we have to get back to the basics. So, some of that is, do you do less and try to do it better? Or do you go and you try to scheme up a bunch of stuff and hope you hit it? I think at the end of the day, there’s a great balance. I thought we had a couple of good scheme plays and we didn’t hit them. They made it and we didn’t.
"Same thing defensively – it’s how much you do. Special teams, making sure that every guy knows what their job is on kickoff return or whatever it is. So, I think to your question, you never want to go into a game when a guy is unsure, right? But how much we do, we’ll look at that, and we’ll look at everything that we can do to help us win here on the road."
Mike Vrabel explains guard depth
Following Mike Onwenu's injury, the Patriots turned to Greg Van Roten to take over as the right guard. But he also went down on Sunday, which meant it was either Walter Rouse or Ben Brown who was the next man up.
And it came as somewhat of a surprise when Rouse came in, especially since Brown served as the team's main backup last year.
On Monday, Vrabel explained the reason for that decision, while also providing an update on Van Roten.
"Sure. Walt has been working there," he said. "We felt confident that was the plan going in, that Ben Brown would be the center and then the first left guard in. That’s where he had been working, and it’s good to have Ben back healthy. I’m sure he will help us; he’ll probably have to help us this week. I thought Walter had a few mistakes, but he competed and will have to improve. I’m sure Ben will be a part of that process going forward.
"We will see where Greg Van Roten is here after a few more tests."
Do the Patriots have to change the way they practice?
Things aren't working, and changes have to be made. Does that begin with practice or are they comfortable with what they have been doing?
"You do a lot of thinking – what’s best? I think that we believe in the way that we prepare. We believe in the schedule, and we would not be doing it if we didn’t believe in it," Vrabel said. "And at some point in time, you may have to alter things just to change it up. Paint the walls – I don’t know. See if production goes up. But I don’t know if there will be a ton of things that change. We’ll still have to make sure that we are ready and we’re good on first and second down, that we find ways to convert on third. And then defensively, we’ll hit red zone on Friday.
"But a lot of it is depending on the health of the football team, what guys are able to do and the pace in which you have to practice. Again, we have always said this, you have to be a team that can practice at different speeds and tempos throughout the year to be able to be ready for Sunday. Every day isn’t going to be 30 full speed reps, and that’s just not possible. So again, we’ve said that, and I think we have to continue to find ways to be prepared and ready to go, while going at less than 100 percent every single rep throughout the week."
Alijah Vera Tucker open to moving along offensive line
With Onwenu's injury, the Patriots could also look to another starter to potenitally move over and take over on that side.
"I mean, I feel pretty comfortable. I bounce back from right and left on the line. So, I feel like as long as I have a week of preparation, I'm good," Vera Tucker told Patriots Wire. "Just kind of getting your body adjusted to it because your body hasn't done that. So getting body adjusted and taking care of your body, then just doing what do you."
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: What I’m hearing at Gillette Stadium: Monday buzz
