PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
November 29, 2025
Q: I was wondering if you could update us on any of the statuses of your players?
MV: Jared Wilson will be out, Brenden Schooler will be out. Harold Landry [III] and Khyiris Tonga will be questionable.
Q: How big of a challenge are the Giants when it comes to running the ball? They came into this week leading –
MV: Yeah, in the attempts. Good running football team led by quarterbacks that are mobile and that can run, whether that's designed or play extension. So, I think it's just a testament to them, the way that they're calling the game, the fact that they're in games that are one possession games and they have the lead, and they're able to run the football. They're averaging, I think, 35 carries in those last three games. That's a lot of carries. So, they've got good backs and they've got multiple scheme. They do it from under center, they do it from the gun or they do it from the pistol.
Q: What allows them to have success on some of their RPOs with the rules in the NFL where it's tough for linemen to actually be able to get down the field and block?
MV: Well, I mean, again, they've coached it a long time. Usually when you have a puller and combination block, that those time up well enough for the quarterback to make a decision and throw it. You can bring the tackle around, and by the time you throw it, he's not downfield. I think just once you commit to doing that, that you get good at the timing of it, and back before it used to be like, "Don't be overly aggressive." But I see that – they're aggressive in their combinations, they're aggressive blocking and they haven't had too much trouble with getting called for that.
Q: Mike, I know we've asked about the uncertainty of facing an interim head coach and defensive play caller, but how much, if it all, do you go into the psychology of a guy like [Mike] Kafka, who clearly wants the job and understands there's almost, not nothing to lose, but is willing to go to trick plays as recently as we saw last week?
MV: We'll have to be ready for anything that they could possibly do. Flea flickers, reverses, fake punts. We'll have to be sound in all areas, and then we'll have to defend, be prepared and try to handle anything that they could do. They're going to try to win the football game. They're going to try to coach their team to however they feel like is best for them, and put the players in the position to succeed. So, whether that's running inside zone or quarterback throwback, whatever it may be, we'll have to be ready for it.
Q: Is this "No Naps" vest an early Christmas gift for you Mike?
MV: Apparently. Stuff I say ends up on the vest, I guess. I don't know. I didn't make it myself. I can promise you that.
Q: Who gave it to you?
MV: Stick [Preston Rogers]. Stick hooked me up.
Q: What did Miles Battle do to earn the spot on the 53?
MV: Miles has been working hard like a lot of guys on the practice squad, and with Double-A [Alex Austin] going down, we just needed to kind of figure out rotation. I think there's other guys that are deserving, but Miles is certainly going to have to be ready for this game. So, I was able to bring him up to the 53.
Q: We didn't to get a chance to watch the backup quarterbacks a whole lot now. How have they progressed, Joshua [Dobbs] and Tommy [DeVito]?
MV: I think good. We use our Thursday practices for competitive reps and they're leading the show team. We don't ask those guys to throw it to a certain guy, we tell them to read it out, play quarterback, do that down here in the red zone on Fridays, try to put them in positions to read the coverage, middle field open, middle field closed, pressure, whatever it may be. So, I don't ever want to do that. I want to let every player at every position try to play the game, practice and be ready to go.
Q: We talked to Zak [Kuhr] yesterday, obviously his background in New York, also talked to Tommy a little bit. How much of a resource has he been this week for you guys? Or is that kind of –
MV: Well, I mean, again, the play styles of certain guys that he would understand and know – again, what the call sheet is, what it is, it's just – if you could tell me when one of those calls is coming off of the 120 that are on the call sheet, I mean, that'd be a pretty good skill. So, I think a lot of that gets overblown, and unless Tommy can tell us what play's coming next, once the game starts, I don't know if he's going to be able to help us.
Q: Stefon Diggs, described your coaching style as being the perfect parent, kind of knowing where to meet players where they were emotionally. Where did that derive from? Was it something that just kind of came over time, was it a particular individual? What kind of informed that particular style?
MV: Well, I mean, I'm far from a perfect parent. I think you could ask my kids that. I just try to have a good relationship or a relationship with the players, figure out what they need and be honest, be direct, be authentic, I think is the biggest thing. Trying to be as authentic as possible. Don't try to bullshit them. Try to give them information that they'll need or things that they'll need to help them have individual success, which hopefully leads to the team's success. Just trying to manage everybody here the best that I can.
Q: The team was quick to pick Craig Reynolds. Just what do you like about him?
MV: He's played, he's got value on fourth down, special teams and figured that if we need him, that he's played on Sundays. I've always liked his play demeanor, how hard he plays and his ability to play on special teams.
Q: Favorite Monday Night Football memories over the years?
MV: I had two touchdowns and a sack on the last Monday night game on ABC. That's not bad.
Q: With Brenden out this week, I'm assuming that's going to be multiple guys filling in for him. Is that kind of a puzzle to figure that out?
MV: Yeah, I mean, we'll have to – gunners will have to work. Miles will get a shot, Dell [Pettus] will get a shot out there, everybody else and Woodsy [Charles Woods]. It's hard to replace a guy that's had that much success on special teams, but those other guys have stepped up and helped us as well. It'll be a group effort and you know how critical that gunner position is out there and when we punt.
Q: Speaking about the 2nd & 7 Foundation, why is literacy such an important cause for you?
MV: Yeah, I mean, I think that that's something that's really grown over the years. Started it when we got out of college and the first year, we only had enough money to buy seven second grade classrooms' books. It's grown to where we're writing our own children's book series and have great staff to be able to spread the message and promote literacy. It's been something that we always enjoyed doing. It was something easy to kind of get into the schools and talk to kids. No matter what you do, you're going to have to be able to not only read, but also comprehend what you're reading. I think that was the biggest thing that I learned, is being able to understand what it was that you just read, whether that's a playbook, whether that's a manual, or whatever that is. Those are things that are important.
