PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL

PRESS CONFERENCE
October 20, 2026

Q: The Bears have the top rushing offense in the league at this stage. You struggled a bit against the run last week against the Jets. How much of a point of emphasis is it going to be going forward?

MV: It'll be a huge key. Again, they have really good talent. Their D-line is excellent. They're well-coached. It's a good scheme. I think the backs run hard, and the receivers…when you can run the football, the receivers have to be a big factor in that, and they are. They block with force. We're going to have to do a great job. That'll be an emphasis. Obviously, there's a lot more to what they do than just run the football.

Q: Mike, every team has to deal with it, but what have you learned about the mental challenge of a Thursday night road game specifically?

MV: You come in after the game, treat it like a Wednesday and then get rolling. Just understanding and trying to explain to the players the best that we can, that, by Thursday night they'll feel better physically. You can't let how you feel physically affect your mental preparation. It's something that we've tried to focus on during these short weeks over the last however many years that we've done them.

Q: Do you expect Ben Brown or AVT [Alijah Vera-Tucker] to be available this week?

MV: Probably not.

Q: We saw Morgan [Moses] was limited on the Wednesday injury report. Does he have a chance of being out there?

MV: I think he does.

Q: How much of it all did you get to rehearse and practice against some Bears stuff maybe on Friday of last week?

MV: With our players? None. Trying to win one game every week. That's all we can try to do. Do people do that?

Q: Yeah, I've heard of it.

MV: It's really hard in this league to win a game each week. Our focus was completely on the Jets and trying to do everything that we could to prepare our guys, our coaches and everybody else. It's a quick transition, but I've never tried to do that.

Q: How did Matt Pryor and Walter Rouse perform?

MV: It was fun to watch those guys take advantage of the opportunity. They helped us. There was a huge drive at the end of the game, to go down there and be able to take time off of the clock. Again, we would've loved to finish with a first down there at the end, but we didn't. But, to go up two scores is somewhere where we were happy to be.

Q: Do you expect Caleb [Lomu] to get some reps inside this week?

MV: I think that Caleb will have to be ready to go at multiple positions. We were getting ready for him to have to be able to pull the ball in the game in a different scenario. So, where that ends up being on Thursday, he'll have to be ready for a couple spots.

Q: I know Kevin Byard is important to what you guys get done each and every week defensively, but how much can you draw from him this week when it comes to his experience with the Bears last year?

MV: Again, they do a lot. I think just personnel-wise, he may be able to share with us some things that he thinks or things that he saw. But you have to just be careful. They do a lot and we'll have to be prepared for multiple things. He's not going to know when they're going to be in a wildcat or when Caleb's [Williams] going to decide to scramble, take off and extend. So, there are some things that he can be able to help us with - guys that have experience at places. Then what happens in the game is going to have to be decided by how we react and how we play.

Q: What's made Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams such an effective duo over the past couple years? I know it's a small sample size, but are there any ways you've seen Williams grow in their offense?

MV: Yeah, I think that when you look at the amount of sacks that he's taken, the ball's coming out quick. They use motion - I think that that helps him figure out where he wants to go with the football. I think a running game is a quarterback's, especially a young quarterback's best friend. They do that well and that's something that they're committed to. Certainly, Ben's had success everywhere he's been, whether that's in Detroit or now here with Caleb, and I'm sure he enjoys working with a young quarterback and developing him. His sack numbers are going down. He's taking care of the football, so it's a huge challenge.

Q: Mike, can you describe the growth you've seen from Eli Raridon since he got here in April?

MV: I think he's tried to figure out how to block people at this level, and that's something that I don't know how much experience…I think he blocks better now than what he had shown in previous exposure. I think that he's growing and gaining confidence each and every day. He's an exciting young player that's fun to work with.

Q: The Bears run quite a bit of play action. What makes their play action concepts difficult to defend?

MV: All play action concepts are somewhat hard to defend based on how well somebody's running the football. It's usually two- or three-man concepts, but it's about the ability to show and sell the run and block the run, which is what they do. Then when you do that, people start to come up, and it creates opportunities for chunk plays, for overs, shots and level routes.

Q: How much does it hurt to lose Romeo Doubs, and do you expect him to come back at some point this season?

MV: Again, the expectation is that he'll work hard and get treatment, but to say I know exactly when he'll be back, I don't think that's fair to anybody. I think Rome was continuing to build confidence. It ended up being a huge play in the football game to make that play, the X-play, and it's just unfortunate. So, I think he was just continuing to grow and develop, and we'll have to figure things out without him here for a little while. I'm not sure how long that'll be.

Q: With the injuries at the wide receiver position, how important is it to have a guy like Hunter Henry, who can make those plays but also contribute on the blocking and things like that?

MV: Yeah, he's been a consistent presence since I've been here. He's a veteran leader. He's performed and produced each and every year of his career. Quarterbacks like guys that are dependable.

Q: With a non-conference opponent like the Bears and little time to prepare for them, what, if any, preparation do you do in the off-season to get familiar with the team before it's Monday?

MV: Yeah, I think we all do that. I think that there's a group of teams that we look at, and there's some things that we do. We have some guys. I think Shane [Bowen] was able to get ahead defensively. Charles [London] was able to help get ahead, the quality control guys. So that's always nice when you're dealing with short weeks, that you have some guys that are familiar with your system that are here in some capacity.

Q: Why have the Bears been so effective on third down?

MV: They're creating some third and longer situations. They're winning on first and second down. They disguise well. They blitz. Their off the ball players contribute heavily, I think, to the pressure. So, whether they're blitzing four or they're blitzing an off the ball guy, you saw the impact that [Kyler] Gordon had last week. But, no different than blitzing linebackers or using them in the pressure.

Q: With Caleb Williams, how would you describe the decision-making that you've seen from him so far?

MV: Good. I think it's decisive. I think that there's times where he gets the ball out of his hand quick, and it's also decisive when he wants to turn and extend plays. Whether he's scrambling to throw or he's scrambling to run, I think that there's been a noticed decisiveness by him to be able to figure out where he wants to go with the football, and then if it's not there, it's tough. He's extending, he's spinning, breaking tackles or being able to escape out of the pocket.

Q: It seemed like his mobility was somewhat limited in the Falcons game coming off the injury. Do you prepare for that, or do you expect him to be him?

MV: I'm not buying that lie. I hope the players don't either. He's as fast as he needs to be, I'll say that.

Q: How instructive is Shane's experience last year? It was one of his last games as a DC in New York. Because he saw this offense, has that been particularly helpful this week?

MV: I think just going through and having him be able to look at the games before breakdown, come up with some ideas. So, I'm not sure how that game impacted it.

Q: With Dennis Allen, how would you describe the approach and style that he brings?

MV: He has the ability to game plan and change things up. Based on what you see, it looked like there were some different things each week that maybe you thought were going to repeat that maybe didn't necessarily repeat, which is a testament to coaching, but also to the players that understand how they need to adjust and how they're playing certain things. Dennis is an excellent football coach, but third down is something where he's probably made his mark. I can remember going back to his time in New Orleans. And then always a very sound defensive approach.

Q: After evaluating the film with Drake on Sunday, what did you think about his decision-making and how he got rid of the ball?

MV: I hope he makes great decisions Thursday night. That's the most important thing.

Q: Christian Elliss has grown into an every down starter for you after being a role player, and when he first got here, more of a special teamer. What can you say about the way you've seen him grow in this system and what he's done this season?

MV: He cares deeply about the team. He's a great teammate, somebody that we all enjoy seeing at work every day. It means a lot to him. He studies, he practices. He is always trying to improve and is continuing to get better. He makes a huge impact on our defense. I would say, like a lot of guys, he's somebody that you would notice if he wasn't here.

Q: Mike, they seemed to activate [Colston] Loveland this past week, making him more a part of the passing game. Is he one of those guys you have to treat more like a wide receiver and pre-snap locate where he is?

MV: Yeah, but he's not just a receiver. He's done a nice job and he's a good football player. I like his energy, I like his attitude, his demeanor. He's a willing blocker. They use him on third down, they use him on option routes, they use him down the field. So, he's extremely talented, but also is willing to go in there and block too.

Q: What does it mean to a program when you have undrafted players like [Elijah] Ponder, [Charles] Woods and [Efton] Chism rise and have the type of success they've had?

MV: We just try to say it doesn't really matter what you do before you got here, it just matters what you do when you get here. Not everybody can get drafted. There's only so many draft picks that are available to us. So, we try to find guys that can help us, and if they do, they get more opportunities. But, that's all a credit to the players.

Q: Mike, a lot of coaches feel like they know what they have in their team by mid-October. A, do you agree with that, and B, have the number of injuries you've had clouded whether or not you can feel out your strengths and weaknesses with this roster at this point?

MV: You're always trying to continue to build an identity. You're always trying to improve. Maybe some of the moving parts are tough to tell what we have or what we don't have. I know we try to get ready each and every week. I know we have a resilient group, guys that care deeply about each other and that, at times, can play good football and not beat themselves.