FOXBOROUGH, Mass — Drake Maye's first pass of the Patriots' 11-on-11 work this summer nearly produced a highlight. Instead, A.J. Brown's dropped one-handed attempt became an early teaching moment from Mike Vrabel.
So, shortly after, Vrabel wasted no time calling out the star receiver in a team meeting, but Brown, he knew, it came from a "genuine place."
“First team meeting, he had ripped me for almost bringing in a catch, and he expected me to make that play,” Brown recalled. “Early on, as a rookie, I didn’t really like that too much, but now I know it comes from a great place and he expects me to make that play, and so do I.”
"Just bring it in. I did the hard part -- caught it away from my body -- but bringing it in with my other hand," he added.
"Vrabes doesn't care about style points, and I don't either. So maybe he thought I was trying to get the crowd going."
Brown, who was acquired by the Patriots in a trade at the beginning of June, admitted that he is about 90 percent comfortable with the playbook. So, what do he and Maye need to do to make sure every pass results in a catch?
“Just being on the same page. Communication,” Brown said. “(It) may be an angle here. I may need to go higher or something small like that. The details are very small in this league, and you got to execute it. And so, as of yesterday, something so small and maybe the angle (leads to) tips and overthrows.”
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Everything A.J. Brown said on team meeting ripping from Mike Vrabel
