PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
September 14, 2026
Q: With A.J. [Brown] on IR, how much, if at all, does the offense need to be tweaked, and how do you possibly fill the void?
MV: I mean, I don't think tweaked is really the answer. I mean, we're trying to install here and putting guys in spots that are best for them and best for us. And so, I don't know how much we want to tweak things. We'll go through our game plan, and just like we did when A.J. was out there - sometimes he was the X, sometimes he was the F, the Z. You know what I mean? We'll have to move guys around to different positions.
Q: I heard you mention on the radio today talking about Drake [Maye], I believe, and something about you can't get bored doing things right-
MV: Well, just the little things. You can't get bored taking what they give you, and that goes for everybody. Big fundamental emphasis here today, technique has got to improve, all these little things that can help you win football games. So, if the defense gives you something and the ball's supposed to go somewhere, then put the ball there. And if we're supposed to be in a look where we're supposed to can the play, then can it, alert it or whatever that may be. Defensively, our checks and everything else. And build on some of the good stuff on special teams.
Q: How are A.J.'s spirits? How's he handling the disappointment and injury?
MV: Well, I mean, everybody's disappointed for him, and he's disappointed. You know what I mean? He wants to play. He's a competitor, and we'll have to get him back as quickly as possible. Obviously at a four-game window, and make sure that he's ready to go mentally and physically when he does get back.
Q: What did you guys see in DaQuan [Jones] that prompted the pickup?
MV: Well, we've had some experience with him in Tennessee. We got to see him most recently in Buffalo. I think he's a veteran interior player that I think still has some good snaps ahead of him.
Q: TreVeyon Henderson?
MV: He'll probably do some stuff today. Ben [Brown] and TreVeyon will probably try to do some stuff today and see where they are.
Q: Was that a tough element? I know Rhamondre [Stevenson] played a lot of snaps the other night.
MV: We kind of knew what it might've been, and we'll have to be prepared for a lot of guys throughout the season that aren't out there. You just got to get the guys ready that step up in their place. But obviously we would love to have TreVeyon. We'd love to have everybody.
Q: Mike, I'm curious how you might be able to generate some more interceptions. When you look at it, is there a common denominator or a common thread that you can pinpoint in order to improve that?
MV: Well, we always talk about working together to create ball disruption. Gonzo [Christian Gonzalez] can catch the one that, that he had a great play on. He knows that. I mean, that's not a secret. You could tip some balls at the line of scrimmage – that's one place to start. Those usually get intercepted. We talk about those all the time. You can force the quarterback to get rid of it maybe a little quicker than he would want, or then have the ability to, in zone coverage, break on the ball. And again, where the rush and, and the coverage marry - we've talked about this quite a bit. But working together, the whole idea of working together to create ball disruption, somebody making a tackle, somebody coming in and hammering and all those different things that we want to try to do.
Q: With Romeo [Doubs], what type of things, if any, do you say to him after a less than ideal start?
MV: He dropped a pass. You know what I mean? Guys, everybody drops a pass. Everybody misses a tackle. You talk to him the same way you always talk to him. Figure out a way to make a play to help us win, and he did a lot of great things during camp, just like everybody did. And so, I know he's excited to get back out there, get to work and to find a way to help us win.
Q: Mike, I know you mentioned some of the rookies, some of the young players showing up and playing well on Wednesday. Are there any other things that kind of popped out-
MV: Not well enough. Nobody did anything well enough for us to win, but I appreciate... You know what I mean? Again, it was good to see them out there. When we lose, everybody can coach a little better, and everybody can play a little better.
Q: Are there other things that jumped out to you and said like, "Oh, I like this"? Again, knowing you didn't win the game, but were there other elements of your play that you liked on Wednesday that stood out to you?
MV: I think to go out there and not have negative plays, not have penalties, not look out of whack with, with substitutions offensively. I mean, the execution wasn't good enough. But I felt like we gave ourselves at least a chance to get into the football game by not standing there while the ball's snapped and a guy standing there in his stance and some of those crazy things that can kind of happen when you're in that environment with the crowd noise, opening night and all those other things. I think that, defensively, there were, there were moments of good defense. Our ability to get off the field on third down was very positive. I thought we covered kickoffs well, and we have to improve on some of those kickoff return opportunities that we get.
Q: Mike, what'd you see from Mack Hollins? It seemed like he really stepped up after A.J. went down.
MV: Well, Mack's always taking advantage of his opportunities. I think that the quarterback knows he's going to be in the right spot when he's supposed to be there. He's a competitive player, plays on special teams for us. He's just ready to go and ready to take advantage of the opportunities. And you kind of go in thinking, "Here's the, the plan. I may play X amount of snaps." Something happens, and then that all of a sudden gets changed. So, uh, Mack's been through that a lot, and we're comfortable being able to move him around as well in those multiple positions.
Q: Do you see Kyle's [Williams] role expanding with A.J.'s injury?
MV: Sure. I mean, we want to get Kyle involved. I've tried to talk about that and... But yeah, I'm hopeful that Kyle can find a role for us and find a way to help us, using his speed and catch and run opportunities like we saw last year at times or some shot-type plays.
Q: Mike, what's your thoughts on Jared Wilson's first game at center?
MV: Just like everybody else, not good enough for us to win. But we like where Jared's at, his comfort level of operating with the quarterback and communicating. And again, he had some good plays and had some plays that we'd all like to have back. But I think Jared's only going to continue to get better.
Q: When it comes to the ground game, where's the line between wanting to just line up and run the ball versus wanting to use different presentations and motions to create some type of advantage or throwing?
MV: I think that's great. Well, You know, I mean, we've been through a lot of different scenarios, and as long as you know where they're going to be when you motion out of there. Are they going to go with you? Are they not? Where's the mic point? Where's the line going to? Where are they pushing to? So again, I think we saw at the end of the game in the last drive, our ability to be able to hit some plays. And it wasn't anything magical, it was the same thing we were running. We just were able to block some movement. We were able to get to the second level, cover them up, and I think we had a couple runs there that were pretty positive.
Q: Do you believe in the 'body blows' mindset in the run game? You know, wear them down over time?
MV: I mean, what we believe in is trying to run as many positive plays and stay in as many more advantageous downs and distances to stay balanced. That's what we believe in. We don't want to just say we have to run it so many times, we don't want to throw it. We can throw it 45 times, but there's an interesting stat on that that - when you throw it 45 times, unless you're Tom Brady, you win about 20% of the games. So, we all know what that stat looks like. And I'm just joking. We want to be balanced and we want to be sound. We want to be able to run the football and be able to set some things up off of it, so that there's not just a drop back pass. There's got to be play action, we got to be able to hit some screens. All these things that we looked at that we had chances for. We're not just going to run it for the sake of running it. We're trying to run it with a purpose and to be able to set some things up. And if you're playing a team that is in split safety, like they're in split safety to stop the pass, not to stop the run. So, we should be able to run the football.
Q: Early impressions on the Steelers?
MV: Defensively, if you better don't take care of the edges, it's going to be an issue. Strip sacks, interceptions, um, [Cameron] Heyward and [T.J.] Watt have probably 64 PBUs in the last five years, and that's pass rush PBUs. Their ability to create ball disruption even if they don't get there. Great length, sound. They tackled well. They caused some turnovers. Aaron [Rodgers] got the ball out of his hand, was able to really throw into some tight windows effectively. Felt comfortable extending plays and found [Pat] Freiermuth in there. So, it's not like you can just go ahead and just disregard any sort of like pass rush. He's still going to be able to extend plays, and the arm talent is there. They have two good backs that run hard. We're starting our preparation today, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage.
Q: You mentioned the two high safeties coverages that you guys are seeing. Is it as simple as just running the ball more to get them out of that, or what do you see there?
MV: Again, this week will be something different, you know what I mean? Like last week is by the wayside. We'll see some more of that stuff, then we'll obviously have to have a plan for what we'll do going forward.
Q: Mike, what did you see from Lan [Larison], Kyle and Reggie [Gilliam] on the kick return?
MV: Well, I thought Kyle had a couple decent returns. There was one where we had some confusion which is unfortunate. You can't have free runners on the kickoff. That's not something that you want to do. That's not good for player safety and welfare. But I felt like there are some glimpses there that we could get going. Reggie's, that's been a strength of his, whether he's playing at the front line, whether he's playing as an off returner. So hopefully we can clean some of those things up. I thought Kyle ran decisively. It didn't look timid. The timing of all these plays are so critical that the returners can judge it, get moving into the football and not be backing up with their hips going back, and then they catch the ball. Now the coverage has already started and the timing's off. So, there's just a lot of things that we can continue to improve, as far as starting back there with how we catch it, and then obviously the matchups and the angles that get created on that play.
Q: Mike, you guys had that one practice on the lower fields that one day. It was a little slippery, and that was the day that TreVeyon got hurt. I don't think you've practiced down there since then. Is there something with that field that you don't want to practice on it or anything like that?
MV: No. One, you're confined with space. I think you'd like to have two fields, so that the offense and defense can operate independently of each other when we go show team or individual. I think that the space is good. And then we try to give those fields some opportunity to heal from training camp. And I'd like to be up there as much as we could.
Q: When it comes to the ground game, there were a couple of plays where Julian Love was able to get through unblocked, and I was curious, is there a way that that could have been prevented pre-snap, or was that just good defensive disguise in those instances?
MV: No, you can out of the play, alert the play and don't run it down there when the safety's standing there at four yards. That's the best way I could tell you.
Q: Mike, the challenge of asking a corner to follow a player all over the field, almost every snap. Obviously, Christian played a lot of [Jaxon] Smith-Njigba the other night. But as a coach or maybe for the other guys on the field with that corner, what's the challenge there of asking him to do that, if you were to ever ask him to do that?
MV: Well, the impact that it makes on the other players, where they fit. If you're playing zone and you're going to travel them, what zone? You know what I mean? If you're playing man and he comes over into the bunch you better be ready to have some answers. And everybody-- the impact that it makes on everybody else. Disguise is something that obviously, I think you want to be able to pick and choose your spots. And I think that that's a good balance to be able to create. But when you're playing zone, he comes over and now he's number three, now the impact that it makes on the other players is, are we just going to lock him down and play zone around? It's probably not necessarily what you do. So again, I think finding a good balance of when you can put your premium players on guys that you feel like that are good for the matchup. I think Gonzo helps with that, because he's smart enough to understand where he needs to fit in and how they're going to try to stack or bunch. And his communication, like you saw with the other night, was a real positive step in our communication defensively.
