PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
October 22, 2025
Q: Is Cleveland's defense the best you will have faced thus far in the season?
MV: Yeah, I mean, I think just statistically and play style. They're playing at a high level, they're with playing a lot of confidence. It's a lot of speed, a lot of disruption. They don't give you a whole lot of time to make decisions. And then there's enough change ups in there that you just have to be good. You have to be sound, can't hold on to the ball. Coverage is sticky and the linebackers are fast.
Q: Mike, flipside here, your run defense, it doesn't matter whether traditional stats or metrics, it's one of the best in the league. Aside from the obvious talent, what has allowed that group to be so good through seven weeks?
MV: Well, I think that we've improved our tackling. We've continued to improve our technique. And again, it hasn't been perfect, but it's just about coaching edge, wall and swarming, and making sure that we do those things. We've done them sometimes, but we'll have to continue to do them. That's the thing about this league, is you don't – stats and metrics, numbers don't mean anything. You have to go out there and be able to prove it. And I know that they'll have a good plan for how they want to run it. It's a physical group of linemen and their tight ends are blocking well. And Quinshon [Judkins] is rushing, running hard, physical. So, they've done a nice job.
Q: Mike, in your experience, how has the locker room handled the level of success that you've had so far?
MV: I mean, I think we always just try to stay consistent. We've tried to say, keep that message going. Try to have a new plan, new preparation, new opponent each and every week. Try to celebrate the success that we've had, but then clearly move on and focus on the next challenge. And we'll have to do that this week. It's a big one, coming back home and just making sure that we don't take anything for granted in our preparation. This is a different unit, a different team than Tennessee. And so, we have to just get going, learn them, learn a play style. Try to match their speed the best that we can in practice and be ready to go for it on Sunday.
Q: Mike, what do you like about Caleb Murphy from the first time you worked with him?
MV: He was a very productive college player, he's improved his fourth down ability and has experience there.
Q: K'Lavon Chaisson was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. What have you seen from him this season and what does it mean for him to earn that honor?
MV: I mean, he showed up in the offseason ready to learn, work and earn a role, and he's done that. I would say that he's an important member of the punt team. Something that he's taken very seriously since he got here, trying to do those things and help us on the punt team, and then taking advantage of his opportunities.
Q: Mike, speaking of special teams, as a teammate and a colleague of Bubba Ventrone, what were the qualities he demonstrated as a player and also as a coach that may make him a future head coach?
MV: Great competitive spirit as a player. I mean, he was a Tasmanian Devil. Enjoyed the time with Bubba immensely. And then being able to be with him in Cleveland last year, it was fun to just see his relationship and connections with the players. The way that he coaches, his energy, his evaluation of players. So, he's done a great job in his role, and I'm sure that if presented with those opportunities, he would do an amazing job with any head coaching opportunities that would come his way.
Q: Mike, you mentioned this offseason that you want to play man coverage. It feels like the past couple weeks you guys have kind of gotten away from that. Is it a little more of a product of the game plan or your execution when actually playing?
MV: Probably a little bit of both. So, when we play man, we've got to not let our man catch the ball, we've got to be able to get to the quarterback and force them to get rid of it maybe before those routes can separate or run away.
Q: To follow up on CP [Christopher Price]'s question, a lot of times coaches will say that how teams respond to success and adversity, coaches are looking to see how that translates. Have you noticed anything specifically or were you interested to see how this team would deal with success when you guys started stacking wins?
MV: We've tried to keep it the same. We've tried to coach the same. We've tried to show them the things that they've done well, that we have to continue to do and enhance. Show them the things that we have to improve on and then eliminate the stuff that's going to get us beat coming out of that game. Show them the corrections and the emphasis that we put on the run game, and the things that when we did it well, when we didn't do it well, coach ball security, coach our identity, practice our identity every single day. I don't know how else to do it. You've kind of just got to stay consistent, focus on these things and practice it every day
Q: So, you've been around Jim Schwartz last year, obviously, and in Tennessee, too. Talking about identity, how would you describe his preferred identity as a defense?
MV: Well, they're fast, they're disruptive. They put pressure on the quarterback, and they do it through their players and their identity. They understand what they want to do and how they want to play. They want to force you into mistakes if you give up loose plays or guys get on the edge of somebody. You've got an elite edge rusher on the outside, and if you can't step up it's going to be hard to protect. And then the corners are going to be sticky, the linebackers all can run, safeties are very good tacklers. And that's the thing that I've noticed, is that if a ball breaks, eight yards is a really long run against this team because the safeties are such good tacklers – Grant [Delpit] and Ronnie [Hickman].
Q: Mike, what goes into winning a home game versus a road game, and over the years in football, can it be somewhat of a distraction being back home?
MV: No, I don't think the numbers would tell you that. I mean, I think you play well when you take care of the football, create some explosive plays, get off the field on third down, score touchdowns in the red zone. I would say that no matter where you are, what time zone you're in, that those things would always translate. Maybe the defensive communication would have to be improved, or maybe eye contact or hand signals as opposed to being able to hear. I mean, if you're playing well enough, your fans are into it and it's loud, communicating different things that are happening that don't happen on the road. You could practically yell out to the defense on the road as quiet as it is.
Q: Mike, what's allowed Drake Maye to be so accurate this season?
MV: I mean, I think receivers are helping him. I think the ability to step up in the pocket, but probably special talent as well. Staying calm, the things that they've worked on and he's practiced as far as when he's on the move, to be able to still stay in phase, not open up his body or let things get loose, which would lead to an erratic or an errant throw.
Q: Mike, we haven't asked you about Terrell [Williams] in a while. Just what, if anything, in the way of an update, can you offer anything?
MV: I would say that his spirits are good. He's feeling good. He's been in. He's been meeting with coaches, been in meetings. So, I appreciate you asking, I do. There'll be a treatment plan here coming up that he'll have to follow, but right now it's good to see him. It's good to see him in and his spirits are good.
Q: Mike, you've played against some of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, [Brett] Favre, [Dan] Marino, [John] Elway, played with the greatest quarterback of all time. Where does Drake Maye fit into that conversation right now?
MV: I mean, I never played those guys when they were that young, but I did play against those guys. I mean, I played against Dan Marino when his cleat was like 12 inches high because of his Achilles, and was on a dirt infield. Yeah, too early in his career to understand. I think Drake's so excited just to be leading this football team, and it's fun to watch him want to prepare, get better and improve every day.
Q: Have you ever seen a quarterback get this hot after such an extended period?
MV: I try not to focus on that. I think we focus on what's going on this week, and what corrections need to be made. And the good thing is, there's a lot of things that we can improve. There's so much that we can improve in all three phases and still be able to win a football game. But we have to improve on them and correct them, or we're going to – the unfortunate part is you're going to have to learn from losing, and I don't want to do that.
Q: Ongoing conversations with Drake about the slide and avoiding contact when he can?
MV: Has there?
Q: No, what are the conversations like? Is it an ongoing process with him?
MV: No, we talk to him about making great decisions, like the rest of the team, and that would be a good decision for him to make. But again, like all the other conversations we have with players, those will remain with us, but that's part of making great decisions.
