PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
September 15, 2025
Q: Mike, on the radio this morning, you said there was a chance that we would see Christian Gonzalez perhaps play. Is it a slim chance?
MV: It's a chance. I mean, there's a chance that a lot of things could happen, and it's Monday, we'll figure out how he progresses along the week, we'll see what he can do and have him do what he can do.
Q: Was there progression last week?
MV: Yeah, he's continuing to improve, working hard and trying to get back.
Q: How's Terrell [Williams] doing?
MV: I think Terrell's in good spirits, I appreciate you asking, Mike [Reiss]. So again, Terrell will be around. I don't quite fully know in what capacity, but he will be around and involved, so we'll continue to just make sure that there's a good plan for everything that happens, just like we always have been. But thank you for asking.
Q: How'd everything go with the operation defensively, you and Zak [Kuhr] working together yesterday?
MV: Yeah, good. I mean, we didn't have any – we subbed and we got into our calls, and again, there's no – we've talked about this before, the best call is a decisive one that the players know and believe in, and that they have confidence that they can execute their job. And so, when we needed to get the drive stopped, we got the drive stopped. We had a plan to play these guys and how we wanted to play them.
Q: Some of the situational coaching calls, I'd love to just get your mindset on the fourth quarter, when you turned to Andy for that 53 yarder it was after the false start. I was thinking when it happened, field goal or go for it? But then I was thinking, was a punt even a consideration there or was it not?
MV: I think maybe had the game been down, the time would have been less, I think maybe you could have discussed a punt in that situation, but with as much time, I don't know if putting them on the 15-yard line or 12-yard line's going to really matter for those guys. It just felt like either we were going to win it or we were going to force them to have to score a touchdown. Really big kick in a really big moment, making them then have to score a touchdown is a heck of a lot different than a field goal. I think you guys can see, we all see around the league, the impact that the kickers have at the end of the game, the distance, you really don't have much to defend nowadays. Used to be 32, 35-yard line, now some of these cross midfield or close to it.
Q: Just kind of along the same lines, Mike, because we're kind of getting a feel for how you go through some of these decisions during the game, it doesn't feel like it's black or white for you. Aggressive versus not aggressive, you go for it on the fourth down early. I was wondering, fourth-and-4, late in the second quarter, do you think at all about going for it there?
MV: I just wanted to get some points there. I just felt like points was important there and coming away with that. Had it been closer, probably, but I think it was two-fold. I felt like, "Let's get Andy [Borregales] one through," and again, get him jump-started, knowing that we're going to need him in this game. But also, fourth-and-4 gets to be a little dicey. I mean, it's not really a 50-50 proposition there. So, I love the execution on the two-point conversion, love the – wanted to be decisive and aggressive, and I felt like we were early on. You could see how we played in short yardage, situationally, you could see the ball coming out on fourth-and-3, and [Stefon Diggs] being able to snap down, get it, whatever the situation called for. So, there's a lot of really good examples of us doing that.
Q: Coach, Hunter Henry is now fifth all-time receiving for a tight ends with the franchise. Just what does he mean to this team? I know we've talked a lot about him, but to do that in a short amount of time here, for the most part, just kind of discuss that.
MV: Well, I think Hunter's just reliable, he's consistent, you can always – any adjustments or tweaks that you may have with the game plan or scheme, he's able to handle. I think you see those things, and that's what I appreciate about him, is his ability to not only be productive, but also adjust to things as you make changes, or, "Hey, this is what we need, this is the coverage," and I thought Drake [Maye] might have had him, the ball was tipped down there in the end zone or down in the red zone. So again, he provides leadership and there's a very consistent presence to him.
Q: Mike, you've had tackling issues the first couple of games. Are those physical, mental, or both?
MV: Well, I don't think we tackled terribly in the first week. Yesterday was a tough task, we missed far too many tackles, so debate whether we tackled well the first week or not. I mean, it's always physical, I think mentally it puts you in the right position, puts you in the right frame of mind of what we're asking out of each tackle. Where are you? Are you in space and we need to come to balance? Are we in close quarters where we can run through somebody, run our feet on contact and be able to wrap? Are we using the sidelines? A lot of things that we want to avoid and make sure that we practice and continue to practice. I mean, we have, we'll need to do more of it this week. They put you into a space game, a team like Miami puts you into a space game, and there's no shortage of skilled players that are good with the ball in their hands, so we'll have to be better, be able to use the right technique and the right mentality, and then also having everybody else come in full tilt at a tackle to, again, sometimes make up and atone for some of those misses.
Q: Mike, just one more sort of in-game decision question, I know you were asked about it on the radio, throwing out of two-minute, obviously that particular play didn't work.
MV: Yeah, that's what happens when it doesn't work, it's like, "Why'd you throw?" Well, when you throw it and you hit it, just getting pressure and thought we could catch the corner. They had brought the corner previously a few series before, they brought both corners, thought maybe we could catch them on one, didn't work out, knew we would need a first down to end it there and thought maybe we could catch them on one. It didn't work, so again, do not want to be results-based. There, just went with the call, knew we needed a first down, and it didn't work out in that situation.
Q: So Mike, on that second down play that Phil [Perry] was mentioning, do you have or Josh [McDaniels] have any conversations with Drake, if it's not there, don't just throw it away, maybe take a sack?
MV: Yeah, I don't know if the sack – you're trying to convert there, so there's a fine line. There's times where we talked about, in preseason, so we were in Minnesota, we were in the five-minute, we called a play and Ben [Wooldridge] threw it away, got pressure. In that instance, we were coaching Drake, and Josh on the side, "Hey, that's where we would want to take a sack," that this thing is so low, then they burn a timeout or 40 seconds and then we can punt, it's third down. I think when you start looking at the second down, if it goes to third and let's say 12, now that's probably not your best chance to end the game. And so, he would probably have two choices. That he could try to go, take off, get up into the pocket and get what he can get, or feel like maybe I can get one in there to Mack [Hollins]. So, the play didn't work. It was incomplete, and then we went through, we went to the next play, tried to go for it on fourth down and then ultimately kicked the field goal. So, need to be better there, but proud of the way that we went in there, made the kick and helped us. So, Josh and I talked about the call, thought we could try to catch them and we didn't.
Q: On kicker, you have a lot of them in Tennessee. I know you said on a podcast a couple of years ago that you've seen them go elsewhere and kick well. Parker Romo hit a couple last night. Andy was up and down, but he got the game going. You had confidence in him. How do you go about moving on versus staying with it, and standing behind a guy versus going elsewhere in that situation?
MV: I don't think we're ready to have that conversation yet. I mean, he's made every kick in the fourth quarter. He's made meaningful kicks. That's where I'm at. I wouldn't have gone out there with Andy. It wasn't like I debated long. He knows he has a job to do, and we have full confidence in him to do his job. And I'm happy for Parker. That's how it goes. I mean, he went down there, took advantage of his opportunities and enjoyed my time with him here. So, I'm happy that he went down there and helped himself.
Q: A career high in receiving yards yesterday for Rhamondre [Stevenson], obviously including the big 50-yarder, how much of a lift did he give you?
MV: Huge, huge lift. I mean, being able to run the football. He did a nice job in the running game. All those backs I thought finished runs. I thought that was a huge key. His ability to protect and also catch it out of the backfield, whether that was from the second-and-long, we had self-inflicted wounds that forced us into second-and-long, Rhamondre and others helped us get it back to third-and-manageable by being able to drop step into zone, to knife and get us back into third and less than five. So, that was a huge key and it has to try to continue.
Q: What's your biggest takeaway from Drake's performance?
MV: That it was hugely efficient. The ball went where it was supposed to go. He was decisive. I thought he did a great job of transferring up into the pocket, setting his depth, and then transferring up, being really good with the football, being able to pull through with two hands in the pocket when they have edge rushers and we're on the road. That's where it's going to be really critical, is to be able to set the depth of the pocket, get back, keep your eyes downfield, transfer up into the pocket and deliver the football, and he did that on multiple occasions. So, when you don't do that, those turn into sacks, hurries, throwaways, strip sacks, and when you can climb the pocket, remain a thrower and keep your eyes downfield, that's when you can hit some plays.
