PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
September 21, 2026
Q: Do you have any update on Dre'Mont Jones? I know last night you praised the young edge rushers and the job that they've been doing. If Dre'Mont is out for a while, would you feel the need to add on, or are you comfortable with your depth?
MV: Again, we have to look at all those things. I don't know how he's going to progress during the week. I know he wasn't able to finish the game, obviously. He'll do everything he can to be ready, and if he's not, then we will have alternate plans.
Q: With Mike Onwenu, was it a situation where he is done for the season?
MV: Again, I don't think he'll be available here in the short term. So, I wouldn't anticipate him being out there here in the next few weeks. If that changes and it ends up being longer than that, then we will let you guys know.
Q: Would you consider having Caleb Lomu try to move inside to guard?
MV: Again, there are a lot of things that we could look at. Caleb has been trying to predominantly practice, be there, be ready to go playing tackle. So, we have some guys that we could move in there, and Caleb would be one of the guys that could possibly do that. But again, we just have to make sure that we have the best five available, and then the other three guys that are versatile on game day.
Q: How do you feel Greg [Van Roten] kind of stepped up and came in?
MV: I think he had a few plays that he'd like to have back, so would everybody. But I thought he had some positive plays. Again, to go through an entire game, there are going to be some good ones, some bad ones and some ones that we have to eliminate. So, I think that he stepped in there, was ready to go. Then we'll have to kind of figure out who's the next guy, and if it is Greg, then make sure that he's as ready to go to work with Morgan [Moses] and Jared [Wilson] as [soon as] possible.
Q: After the fact, on Drake's [Maye] interception, do you feel like that ball was tipped?
MV: I don't think so. Again, I didn't slow it down. When the linebacker drops that deep, we should probably just get it down to Reggie [Gilliam]. I think he realizes that and knows that. Those are the decisions that the quarterback makes. Those are the decisions that Drake makes. Again, if they get us – they're that far off in coverage and he panics that far, then we have to go somewhere else with the ball.
Q: How do you get him to settle a little bit in the pocket? It seems like there were times in the game where maybe he bailed when it was clean.
MV: I think that there's a balance. I think you have to be able to keep your eyes down the field. I think you have to be able to slide, move in the pocket and transfer, and I think it also comes down to blocking better more consistently, so that there's a confidence, a trust and that everybody knows that the other guy is doing his job to make the play work. We have to be able to do that offensively for 11 guys, have an urgency and have a unit that, whatever the protection is, then the quarterback knows where the issue is. Then if the receiver has to side adjust, they side adjust. Or if we get a three-man rush, that we have the ability to stay in the pocket, let things progress and buy some time. So, it all works together. I think that that's something that Drake has done, and I think that's something that we've all done at times. Then if he feels like it's man coverage and he feels like he can run, then go and be aggressive. He did that a few times yesterday, and then there are probably a few times that he probably could have manipulated the pocket as well.
Q: Karen [Guregian] asked you about Dre'Mont. You also had two guys go out at safety. Sort of a double hit.
MV: Again, we're looking at Dell [Pettus] for an ankle. We have guys on the practice squad. I think some of the veteran practice squad guys are going to factor in this week. I know that Mike Brown has been with us since the spring, and I think that's the balance that you weigh with the practice squad. We've talked about that. You have some young guys that you're looking to develop, some veteran guys that have played in games that are preparing as a starter and that'll be ready to go. So as the week unfolds, we'll have to make sure that everybody's ready to go. If guys can't end up making it, then however we sign guys or elevate guys.
Q: How has Jaylen Reed done in terms of his getting acclimated to the system since he got here?
MV: Yeah, I think Jaylen has done a nice job. He's worked hard. He got put in there – again, we have to be ready to go. He had some plays that were good. He's helped us in the kicking game. He would go in there at PP [punt protector], that's not an easy thing to do, so I'm glad that he was prepared and ready to go.
Q: How important is it to have a guy like Kevin Byard [III] in those type of situations, in a room like that, when Jaylen has not been here that long, traded for and then kind of thrown into a situation like that? How important is it to have that veteran leadership?
MV: With Kevin, the communication at every position's critical. So, how do you work with the guy next to you? How do you help somebody else do their job better? That's something that we can all focus on, whether that's an offensive lineman, that's a defensive lineman, or two safeties that are reminding each other what the call is, the coverage and the adjustment.
Q: The pressure Drake was under yesterday, did it impact his footwork at all?
MV: I mean, I think there were a few pressures, and there were a few times where we had them blocked, and I thought TreVeyon [Henderson] blocked well when asked to go in there. Again, footwork's about fundamentals. Those are fundamentals of the position, and making sure that you kind of feel the rush, but you're seeing the coverage and finding windows to throw. We had Hunter [Henry] another time, and [Cameron] Heyward got some push in there, got his hand up and tipped a pass. So again, it's about knowing how to manipulate the rush sometimes, knowing where you want to go with the football and being decisive.
Q: What are your thoughts on how Jared Wilson has fared so far at center?
MV: I think Jared, that wasn't one of Jared's better games yesterday. There were some times where we have to hold up in the middle and pass rush, but I also know that sometimes, when we break those runs and he's at the second level and getting guys covered up, that he's at the point of those attacks as well. So, I think he can protect better. I know he can protect better. I've seen him protect better. But they also had a lot of really good, nice blocks when we ran the football, broke through there and were able to get to the second level.
Q: Are you seeing repeat looks from opposing defenses, or does it feel like teams are copycatting each other when they have success against you guys defensively?
MV: I mean, I think there are only so many different options that you have. There are only so many different – some base, some quarters, some post-safety zone, played some man. They brought the Will, they brought the star. Again, that's kind of what they do. Most teams have those same options available to them. So, a lot of the things that happened yesterday offensively, those were up to us. We stall, we hit big plays, and then we have a penalty in the red zone, which is hard to overcome. We hit a big play, we have a delay of game. We turn the football over, we have a guy open, and we check it down and turn the ball over. So, a lot of those things that we did, the lack of success, the continued success, consistent success was due to us.
Q: To go back Onwenu, just to clarify, was it a broken ankle? Did he break it?
MV: Mike hurt his ankle. I think you guys could see that on the TV.
Q: You mentioned the wide receiver group. How did they fare with A.J. [Brown] being out? I know they got the second half of the last game basically, but how did they adjust to some of the things that you want to do?
MV: Well, I mean, for the most part, I thought we made good decisions. I thought we caught the ball. I think Drake can help Romeo [Doubs], Romeo can help Drake. I think those are bang-bang plays on a slant. Pop [DeMario Douglas] made a good decision getting in there, a lot of space early in the game. So, I mean, Pop had to play the block that sprung Treveyon. So again, those guys, their job is to be versatile, move around. We had put guys in different spots based on Eli [Raridon] coming out of the game early on, so making sure that everybody's where they need to be. But I mean, we hit a couple plays down the field. Rome had a couple plays, Drake kept his eyes up on third down, extended, hit that play. I mean, again, we'll keep looking for opportunities. Kyle [Williams] had a huge third down conversion, got drilled and converted. So, I think when we get some opportunities, just take advantage of them, and I think we did for the most part.
Q: Pop said after the game one of the knocks on him was that people said he was small and he couldn't block. With that play, is that something you would use as an example when it comes to smaller receivers and blocking?
MV: Yeah, I mean, I think it's a great technique. I think he took a great angle. I think he came to balance and took the guy on the angle. He found him, didn't lose speed. Pop's willing, and again, with pad level and hand placement, I think half the battle is being willing to go in there and do it.
Q: Mike, can you explain what happened on the back-to-back timeout?
MV: Yeah, I blew it. Injury timeout. I was all caught up on the fact that they should've been winding that play, which again, I don't understand. Clearly his shin came down in bounds, and so in my haste to try to correct the officials, the injury timeout under two goes on us, and then we were going to see what they ran and I called timeout. So yep, I blew it, and I was hoping to try to convince the official to run the clock, and then the injury stopped the clock. So, that went in as a team timeout under two minutes.
Q: How important is it to get the running game successful in terms of the identity of the offense?
MV: Well, I mean, the identity can come from a lot of different places. It just doesn't have to come from the run game. I think that if we can use that to our advantage, we can push piles, work combinations and move defensive linemen by working in combination and that it's something that's successful, then hopefully you can build some plays off of it. Had some positive runs yesterday. Had some ones that stunk, too, so we'll have to be better there.
Q: [Christian] Barmore said after the game that you got, and this is his words, "On their [expletive]," the defensive line, to just dominate more. Did you feel like you got the kind of play you were looking for?
MV: Yeah, I thought we were trying to attack the line of scrimmage. Again, we feel strongly about that group, and they all can play. We have to be able to do that defensively up front. Set edges, build walls, create a new line of scrimmage, find roles for all of them to help us.
Q: Mike, on the Christian Elliss strip sack, was Gabe [Jacas] able to do something on that side of the line to help Elliss get free in terms of occupying the tackle there?
MV: Yeah, I mean, I think he just was doing his job, doing what was assigned to him that play. Gabe has been very conscientious to learn, and there are going to be mistakes, but he usually finds a way to correct them. He's coachable. We talked about him. He's in here early. He's meeting with Smitty [Mike Smith] and everybody else and making sure that he's doing everything he can to help his teammates.
Q: Mike, on that play, is the coaching point falling on the ball or is it, it looked like a scoop, or is that just a bounce of the ball?
MV: Yeah, I mean, again, I don't know how a ball's going to bounce. But yeah, I mean, if we can scoop and score, we want to scoop and score. We want to be able to scoop it up, and if you're in traffic, you want to be able to recover it. But we also want to score, and we want to be aggressive. As long as we keep kicking it that way, I think we'll be okay.
Q: Speaking of scooping and scoring, what was it like to kind of see [Elijah] Ponder make that play?
MV: He had a couple of them last year. I know the ball found him a couple times last year, and he would start running, or he had the one in Denver that they blew dead. But it's good that good things happen when you're around the football.
Q: Do you want your identity, defensively, to be one that you guys are pressuring and blitzing? Does that do anything for you guys moving forward week-to-week where teams know, "Okay, we've got to prepare for a variety of different looks here?"
MV: Well, our identity needs to be about affecting the quarterback. It needs to be about creating turnovers and being able to force teams into longer yardage situations. If that, each week, requires us to pressure, then I think that's what we'll try to do. If we feel like it doesn't, I think we're multiple enough to be able to do that based on what we feel like it is each week. So, we know that you have to affect the quarterback, you have to be great in the red zone, and you have to be able to create some turnovers.
Q: Elliss and [Robert] Spillane, was that a high-level game for both those guys?
MV: Yeah, they're both very active. I think there are things in there that they can improve on or they can do a little bit better. But again, their communication level's really good with everybody, making sure that everybody's in the right call no matter what we need to do. I would say that they were both very active, and that was really good to see. We have to have great efforts from those guys. We can't be blocked by running backs. That's not the formula. Running backs can't block linebackers, and tight ends can't block edge rushers.
