PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
September 16, 2026
Q: With Drake [Maye], is there a fine line between, as you say, getting bored doing the right thing, but also not wanting to have him gun shy about going for a big play if it is there?
MV: Of course not. That's what playing quarterback or playing in this league is all about. It is about our players having the knowledge, the skill and the repetitions to make great split-second decisions. I think that there is a difference between – we have said this – being reckless and being aggressive. We want to be aggressive. That's how we want to play. But we also have to make great decisions when there is a look or something that maybe would take a certain play away.
Q: Mike, along those lines, what is your – as a coach – the line of when to talk to a player and have the conversations of what you think? How fine a line is that? Do you do it over the course of the week? Do you step into a meeting? Do you do it individually? What kind of things do you tell a guy like Drake? Now that you know him a little bit more, is it easier to say what you want to say?
MV: Yeah, I always feel like I have good conversations with our players and with our staff. I don't think that there is a set time, whether it's in a team meeting and it's a coaching point or going into the quarterback room, since you're asking about Drake specifically. But I try to spend a lot of time in as many meetings as I can and talk to the players, and also see what their thoughts are, how they see the coming opponent or the things that we have in.
Q: We only had one practice, but how do you feel like Drake has responded to the early part of this week coming off of that game?
MV: I would say that practice is going to be critical, but obviously our performance and everybody's performances on Sunday is going to be what matters the most. So, we felt like we had good energy and we got off to a good start, and we will have to just continue to build here throughout the week.
Q: Mike, how difficult is it to fool a player like Aaron Rodgers, to confuse him at the line of scrimmage?
MV: Well, it's probably difficult. The risk outweighs the benefits where you are trying to disguise and show one thing or show a coverage, but ultimately you are out of position. So again, he's seen every look that you could possibly give him. I think he tries to get them in the best possible play. He tries to put the ball where he feels like it is best and does a great job with it. You saw some of the throws he had last week that were in tight windows and tight spots. So again, I think we have to be good. He uses his cadence even on the road, and that is how good it is. He got us on the first play of the game last year. So, all those things we will have to do is be ready to go on a quick count and whether he takes the play clock down, those are things that you have to be able to weigh.
Q: How would you describe the identity of a Patrick Graham defense, and how valuable is it that you played both the Raiders when he was their play caller and the Steelers last season?
MV: I think the Pittsburgh Steelers is the identity, and that is no disrespect to Patrick [Graham]. I love Patrick, and he is an excellent football coach, but the Steelers are going to be the Steelers. They're going to be big, they're going to be long, and they are going to try to force the quarterback into making mistakes. That's what they do. So, some of the things are going to be similar, some of the things – it has been one week, so we can watch the snaps they had against Atlanta, we can watch every game that he has ever called, but they're going to be big inside, and they're going to be long and active on the edges.
Q: You mentioned the aggressiveness you want to see from your players in regard to Drake, but on the defensive side of the ball, what did you see there in the Seattle game and what do you do to create more turnovers?
MV: Yeah, we have to go attack the football. Again, the easiest target is the quarterback, so you have to force the quarterback into mistakes. You have to hit it out of his hands. We had a couple opportunities where we did hit the quarterback, but again, you have got to knock it out of his hands. Make it a concerted effort. We do it every single day, finding ways to work together to create ball disruption, and that will never change. But it starts with the quarterback. He's the one that has it the most, and he's the one that at the end of the year is going to have, by the numbers, I would say, the most turnover opportunities.
Q: Mike, going back to Aaron, you had a pretty high success rate when you blitzed him last year. What do you remember about those particular snaps that might have broken down?
MV: A 50/50 ball to Marcus [Jones] at the end of the game. Whether we sent one, eight or nine, it still would have gotten off. We blitzed him one time, they threw it to Jaylen Warren, and we tackled him for 5 yards. Again, I can go back and look. We'll have to be better every way that we played them last year, pick and choose our spots to pressure. So, I'm not really sure about what happened last year.
Q: How did TreVeyon [Henderson] respond to practicing on Monday?
MV: I think he will be able to do some more today, so we will continue to evaluate that and see where he is, and hopefully that continues to trend in the right direction.
Q: You had a safety in the box consistently last week. What are you looking for from a safety's perspective to better fit in that role? Is it rotational or certain traits that you are looking for that make one player a better option for that role than the others?
MV: Yeah, I mean, we play multiple coverages. We play split-safety looks, and we play post-safety looks. I think that the biggest thing is just trying to find the versatility that those guys have that they end up having to cover, being able to come in there and tackle and fit on the run game, but also playing a deep part of the field. So, I think that there has got to be a level of athleticism playing a deep part of the field. There has to be a level of physicality. I think that communication is key and an understanding of what we are doing from multiple coverages.
Q: Mike, during the course of the spring and summer, there was a lot of discussion about Drake having maybe some more controls at the line of scrimmage. I think "weaponizing the brain" was one of the phrases that got kicked around. How do you think he handled that in Week 1 in terms of having some of the –
MV: Anything we did in Week 1 was not good enough, starting with me. Again, that is how it is. Our focus is on the Steelers, and we have made the corrections that I feel like we need to make, and hopefully we can continue to improve. We've said this for as long as I can remember: the teams that continue to improve are going to be the ones that have a chance at the end. We didn't do enough good things last week to win the football game, and our focus now has to be on the Steelers coming back in here.
Q: What goes into effectively stopping T.J. Watt?
MV: A great athlete, very instinctive, athletic, explosive get off. He's got length and multiple moves. But his instinctiveness is a great asset. His brother was the same way; I got to see his brother play. I bet they intercepted the same pass - J.J. [Watt] intercepted that one the same way as T.J. [Watt] did. They must have practiced that when they were kids.
Q: Mike, I don't think you got to overlap with Patrick [Graham] when he was here. How did you get to know him over the years?
MV: Just through the course of, I think, like-people and similar backgrounds, I guess.
Q: Mike, last time we saw you at practice, I think there were just two quarterbacks. Is that a concern at all going forward without Behren being up there?
MV: Behren [Morton] will be back. Behren [Morton] was not feeling well.
Q: Mike, how comfortable did Aaron look with Mike McCarthy being back and running that offense?
MV: I'm sure they go way back. I think that Aaron has got plays that he likes. I am sure Mike has got plays that he likes, and then they kind of blend it together, and that's what they come up with. I would say, comfortable as he always does. He missed a couple, didn't connect on a couple, but I think that when you saw, in the critical situations, he took some shots on third down, he uncovered or extended in the red zone like he always does and found Pat [Freiermuth]. Then, to me, I think the biggest thing was just the way that they handled the five-minute situation and being able to keep the ball there at the end. So, that was pretty impressive for the first week.
Q: When it comes to the run game, what do you think needs to improve to get more production out of it?
MV: You have got to get into the line of scrimmage. You have got to block force. You have got to run where they ain't. Look, I'm not the smartest guy here, so that is how you run the football. I mean, you cannot just sit there and stand there. You've got to be able to move people, you've got to be able to block safeties and people that come down there and want to make tackles, or you have got to block the nickel, which we did some and we didn't do enough of, and try to combine all that together.
Q: Last week you mentioned the importance of communication when it comes to line games. Conversely, on the offensive side of the ball, especially when it is a man blocking scheme, what are the expectations when it comes to passing those off? Are you trying to create a wall, or are you trying to stick to your guy and just get him out of the way?
MV: I mean, again, without going through a dissertation, you have to flatten out the penetrator and give some help. Again, you always want these guys as they are coming and picking, to finish in front of the guy next to you, being able to flatten him off so that he does not get into the crease and allow penetration. You cannot allow one guy to block two. So, that is what we look for on defense. Conversely, offensively, they are trying to flatten them out and then make sure that we can help the guy next to us.
Q: Mike, can you tell us about Romeo's [Doubs] personality just over the last, however many months?
MV: No, you guys can get to know Romeo [Doubs] the best that you want. I am not going to have conversations about our players when they are in the locker room. You want to get to know Romeo, you can go there and introduce yourself to him.
Q: What did you like about your play action game in Seattle?
MV: Oh, I mean, again, I think that the third time should have gone to the back. We were trying to get it down the field, and again, if we have got three over two down the deep part of the field, let us just take another 12 yards and see if we can break a tackle. So, I felt like we created some space to be able to get that ball out there. I felt like the protection held up well enough most of the time, and then being able to not force the ball down the field but be able to take what they give us.
