Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Transcript 8/13
PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
August 13, 2025
Q: How would you assess how Stef Diggs has performed thus far in training camp. We didn’t get to see him play in the game. You stated on the radio it was a coach’s decision. Can you elaborate on that a little on what went into that?
MV: I think the same thing that goes into most every decision, that we just try to communicate with the staff, personnel staff, training staff and see where we are with the player and how much he’s getting – how much work he’s getting at practice, and I think that that volume is good and being able to come back and have a good day in the red zone. We’re just trying to track what this may look like in the season for veteran players that we have. I think good experience with, just in the end, trying to get each player exactly what they need to be ready for the season, and then also once you get into the season, where things are at week-to-week.
Q: Mike, how important of a day is today, this week and the opportunity that you have with all the reps you’re going to get in the preseason?
MV: Well, every day is important in training camp, obviously. We can’t waste any. This will be a great opportunity to go against a talented team, a well-coached team. We’ll see how much they do defensively. They have a lot and so it’s always a great challenge there. This is another opportunity to kind of practice the way that we practice, but against a different team. So, similar to Washington and how we functioned and operated there. We’ll have an extra day, so it won’t be some of the situations that we worked on in one day in Washington. We’ll be spread out until tomorrow, and again, I just want us to be able to practice, compete, stay up and take care of their team, take care of our team, but do it against a different group of guys.
Q: What makes going up against this defense such a unique challenge?
MV: They do a lot. They communicate; they disguise very well. They’ll show you something and then rotate to another coverage. There’s ability to pressure players from all three levels, from the front, from the linebackers and from the third level. So, you’ll get different personnel groupings that we’ll have to be ready for. We’ll get different movements, run pressures and coverages where the quarterback has to be aware, whether it’s man or some kind of rolled trap coverage that we have to be careful about where we’re throwing the football.
Q: We’ve seen Carlton Davis on and off the field over the course of the summer. How has he looked from your perspective? Do you anticipate him being good to go for Week 1?
MV: Well, that’s a ways away. I anticipate he’ll be practicing today. That’s what I try to focus on is what we’re going to do today and what the players are going to do today. So, to speculate about where he’s going to be Week 1, I’m not going to do that with anybody. I’m going to focus on today, and I’m excited to see him get back out there and continue to work and build back towards that potential start of the season.
Q: Which other players will not be practicing this week?
MV: Gonzo [Christian Gonzalez] won’t practice, [Marte] Mapu won’t practice, Rhamondre [Stevenson] won’t practice, [Jahlani] Tavai, Hunter Henry probably won’t practice but he won’t practice today, we’ll see where that is tomorrow. A couple guys – [Kendrick] Bourne obviously won’t practice.
Q: Have you decided how you’re going to use the starters in Saturday’s preseason game yet?
MV: No, I mean, similar to where we were with Chris [Price], focused on today and then see how much work we get in and tomorrow, and then if I feel comfortable, kind of figuring out where things go after that. So no, I have not.
Q: Did Rhamondre pick something up from the game?
MV: That’s probably something coming out of the game. I think some residual stuff from the game.
Q: Jaylinn Hawkins has gotten some more run with the ones. What have you seen from him that has warranted that opportunity?
MV: I think he’s done a nice job of coming in, communicating and playing pretty much all the different techniques that we’ve asked these guys to do on the back end. I think he’s playing with some speed and plays with some physicality. You saw a couple passes out to the perimeter that he was on and tight coverage in the game. I just really evaluated him and decided to get him back from last year. He did a nice job and played all special teams, played a lot of defense when guys went down. So, he’s continuing to take advantage of his opportunities, and then we’ll see where that goes.
Q: We’ve seen Kyle Dugger repping less with the first team recently. What does he have to do to get back into that mix?
MV: I think just making sure that he’s where he needs to be and understanding the coverage concepts and everything we do. Keep working and keep progressing. A lot of this is the guys that have earned a right to take a look with that first unit, and again, there’ll be different lineups and different things, so just focus on the reps that you get. Right now, his attitude’s been great, and he’s had a long recovery in the offseason. He’s been out there, and he’s continued to get better and work, and I think the more that he practices, the better he’s going to feel and the more that it’s going to translate onto the football field.
Q: On the radio the other day, you talked about Drake Maye and leadership. It seems like that’s been a focus for you just based on some of the mic’d up stuff we’ve heard from you and some of your public comments. Is that an area you feel like he’s lacking in some way, or how much of your job is trying to draw that out of him?
MV: Well, it’s not that it’s lacking. I just – I always want more. I think I have to as a coach. I think that we always want to try to take a player and we want to meet them where they’re at and then be able to improve on that. So, there’s no finished products no matter what. We always can continue to work on things, focus on our reaction, our response to things and how – as a quarterback or any player, you want it to be perfect. It’s never going to be perfect, and you can sit there and paralyze yourself sometimes by mistakes. We need to focus on our responses to those mistakes that are so critical. There are so many snaps in the football game that – there’s certain things that can go up and down, and performance is one of them, and our attitude and our effort is something that can’t.
Q: Mike, Garrett Bradbury and Josh McDaniels mentioned a little bit of game planning coming in for their defense. How much, if it all, did Garrett help given his experience playing here in Minnesota?
MV: Yeah, I think he’s helped a little bit, and I think we just didn’t want these guys to come in without any idea of what that would look like. There is a lot of front multiplicity. There’s a lot of stuff that they do, and I think it’s only fair to give the players some kind of idea of what may – or hopefully see today, and if it’s not, then we’ll make some adjustments as we go on here through practice and then into tomorrow.
Q: What about the Vikings offens? What’s the challenge in defending Kevin O’Connell’s scheme?
MV: There’s an urgency to which they operate. They’re good up front. Excellent, skilled players. The ball comes out quick. They don’t wait out things, and there’s a good blend of what they’re trying to do. They’ll move the pocket. So again, it’s a very good personnel group. See how they said it, check me if I’m wrong. You guys back home should start saying that sometimes.
Q: Correct me if I’m wrong, I think the last year you played with the Patriots was the year Kevin O’Connell was there. Can you tell us anything you might remember?
MV: If that was 2008, then that was my last year. Was that his first year?
Q: Yeah. Can you give us anything on Kevin O’Connell, the quarterback, that you remember?
MV: The same thing I said about Kliff Kingsbury. He wasn’t as good as Tom Brady.
Q: Mike, is Rhamondre Stevenson going to be a long-term thing?
MV: I don’t think so. No, I mean, hopefully we’ll get him back here sooner rather than later. I don’t think it’s anything that’s significant.
Q: Mike, the focus for today’s practice versus what’s scheduled for tomorrow, what are the differences?
MV: We’ll be more in the red zone tomorrow. We’ll be out on the field today, more full-field stuff. Doing a thing here that Kevin likes to do, play second-and-long, which for us would be a get back on track. We’re trying to get back half the yardage to get in third-and-manageable and then play out whatever third down scenario comes of that. So, I think that’ll be a great opportunity for us to see if they blitz, if they play zone and what we need to do on both sides of the ball to try to keep them in third-and-long. Then offensively, we’ve got to try to get some yards back to help our third down offense. So, that’ll be something that probably will look a little different. Second-and-10 and then it’ll go to third-and-2 or it’ll go to third-and-10.
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