Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Transcript 10/16
Q: Can you say or tell us if A.J. Brown will be playing on Sunday?
MV: We won’t make that decision until tomorrow, so we’ll have to see how he responds from practice today and then go from there. Him, along with a couple other guys.
Q: Who would those guys be, Mike?
MV: We’ll have to see how Will [Campbell] responds. There’ll be some guys listed as questionable. We’ll see how TreVeyon [Henderson] responds in the morning. Again, see how they come in and then we’ll evaluate and go from there. But I would say that Carlton Davis III and [Karon] Prunty will be out, and then we’ll have some other guys that will be questionable.
Q: Alijah Vera-Tucker played every snap so far and been with you all obviously offseason. What would you say he’s brought to the program?
MV: I think it’s really meant a lot to him, and I think I’ve seen him improve. The hope and the vision was always that him and Will could continue to develop together and really try to solidify the left side of the offensive line with two players that we feel like are talented and still have room to grow. It means a lot to him. I can see that in the way that he prepares and the way that he responds. So, just keep moving forward and trying to progress.
Q: How do you feel like A.J. looked in practice this week?
MV: I mean, I think he looks okay, like everybody. Some good plays, some bad plays. We’re trying to see where his conditioning level is and see how he may feel here after practice today.
Q: Dre’Mont Jones has seemingly battled through an injury to get out there and play. What has it been like just to work with him a little bit so far this season?
MV: Yeah, I didn’t spend any time with Dre’Mont. I mean, we’re kind of from the same area. Growing up, he went to the other Catholic high school – Jesuit High School in Cleveland – and got to Ohio State after I did. I followed his career, and then obviously always admired the way that he played and his versatility, and just a real professional. He knows his stuff. He knows his information. When you’re asking him questions or going through the game plan, he’s got a good grasp of what he needs to do based on what we’re asking him to do. So, I think it’s been good for him in that room with some young guys and his experience.
Q: Rhamondre Stevenson, I don’t know how much you knew him before you got the job, but what have you learned about him and what he means to the team?
MV: I didn’t know Rhamondre. He’s a talented player that cares a lot about team. He’s a great teammate. A good skill set, catching, running. I watched before I even met him and watching the tape, just the kind of pass protector he was, the way that he played without the football, his ability to try to make blocks for people when he didn’t have the football were things that stood out to me. Those are usually a good indication that they care about the football team. They’ll do whatever they have to do – the way they play without the football in their hands.
Q: What’s your assessment of Braelon Allen, and what have you seen from him this year?
MV: I mean, a big back. Usually, the first guy doesn’t tackle him, doesn’t bring him down. A lot of his X play runs have been after contact where somebody’s like, “Oh yeah, they’ve got him,” and no, they don’t. So again, he breaks a lot of tackles. He runs hard. I think he’s a smooth runner and doesn’t look very rigid. I’ve always liked him from even coming out of college.
Q: What’s the level of trust in Corey Kiner after last week’s fumble?
MV: Again, we all have to take care of the ball, but Corey did a lot of really good things, so there’s a high confidence. Nobody notices or really talks about the guy that comes back into the gap and hammers the ball out. You guys always fail to mention that. You guys always just put it on the guy who has the ball. We all share in that, and we’ll be better. But I like the way Corey runs. Yes, he does have to hang onto the ball, and we’ve got to do a better job of protecting the guy and keeping people away from him.
Q: What do you see from Corey Kiner in terms of preparation each week?
MV: He works extremely hard. It’s a new system for him. He didn’t have the luxury of being here since April like a lot of guys. So, he works really, really hard with Tony Dews. Again, I just love his spirit, his energy. He’s willing to do whatever it is asked of him to help this football team. I think he saw some good runs last week, and we’ll see if we can get him some more runs this week and continue to develop him and see if he can play some special teams for us and things like that. But he’s a great person, and I love his spirit.
Q: How has it gone with Marcus Bryant this week, and does he have a chance to play?
MV: He’ll be another guy that we’ll look at here in the morning to see about his elevation and see where that is and see how he feels after a few days of work.
Q: And the other question I have for you, talking to a couple players, it seems like you mandated knee braces in practice, at least in training camp. What’s your philosophy as far as knee braces for offensive linemen practice versus games?
MV: It’s just something that we’ve done as far as padded practices in training camp. There’s a lot of, I guess, reports or studies that it’s a minor impact that it makes potentially for an MCL injury, but not as it would relate to an ACL. So, nothing that really I’ve ever done for games to be able to mandate knee braces in a game.
Q: Harold Landry III has been around the team, and is the plan for him to return at some point this season?
MV: Of course, the plan would be for him to return at some point, when he’s ready to go. Harold has been around. He’s working extremely hard, and he just isn’t ready to go yet. So, we just have to be patient and continue with what he’s doing, which is coming in every single day, doing his part to be around the team in the morning, and then go and do his rehab. He’s just not ready yet, and so we’re not going to put him out there. But of course, when he’s ready, that would be the plan.
Q: You said last week Caleb Lomu didn’t do so well with his Friday update.
MV: Much better today. Yes, he had some good laughs. He came back strong this week.
Q: Along those lines, just the rookie class as a whole, since going back to the spring, anything stand out to you just on the group in totality and what they’ve done?
MV: I think that they’ve improved. I think they’ve improved and they’ve played for us in some good spots. I think that’s just what you realize, that they’re 21, 22-year-old kids. It’s good to see them improve. We have to invest in those guys and we can’t lose sight of them. Maybe they’re not playing 80% of the snaps, but Eli [Raridon], we have to continue to invest in developing him and see what he can do and how he can help us. And Caleb [Lomu] and the whole group, and Karon Prunty was coming on and really gaining confidence as a gunner, as a special teams player. So, we have to continue to do that, and that’s exciting. They’re very coachable – much more coachable than some of the veterans. So that’s why I like coaching those guys.
Q: One of the things that we talked to Jeremy [Springer] yesterday about is Brenden Schooler coming back, and he was obviously very effusive in his praise, loved what he did. From your perspective, what did he bring to the field, and how good was it to see him?
MV: Well, you hear him – special teams means a lot to him. You hear him communicating. He understands the concepts. He understands the scheme. He understands what’s going on, and he can communicate that to everybody. So, there’s an energy there. Then certainly the skill set, physical skill set, of being able to be fast, play multiple positions, cover kicks and try to help us create some explosive plays in the return game.