Patriots Postgame Transcripts 9/14
New England Patriots Head Coach Mike Vrabel
Looks like you’re trying to keep up with Antonio along the sideline. What were you doing?
MIKE VRABEL: Again, I told you, we had to have those guys be a weapon for us. Too many times we had penalties, and we didn’t. Rhamondre answered and then Gibby answered. Again, we had a similar situation in practice where we had a couple bad plays, and I’m like we’ve got to just keep — we’re going on. We’ve got to snap the next play. Then somebody hit a play, a back hit a play. I’m like, you see, it just takes one play. That’s exactly what Rhamondre did to get us out of that lull. We unfortunately just gave up the punt return but then answered, and Gibby answered and that unit answered. Again, I felt like we were willing to get into a street fight. We had a little lull, and we didn’t pack it up and quit.
To follow up on that, was that involuntary by you, running along? Just talk about that, where you were when all that was happening?
MIKE VRABEL: I just was watching about the 50. I’m just excited for these guys. I’m really excited that they could fight and compete, come on the road, be in a game, get off to a good start, not be front runners — everything that we talked about. We tried to get the drive stops sometimes. We ended the drives with scores, with touchdowns, much better in the red zone. Offensively the only thing that stopped us today was us, so there was a lot of really good keys there. Again, the penalties on special teams, there’s lots to coach from, but it’s going to be easier to coach from a win. We’ll be able to coach them hard and make sure we’re trying to fix the things that hurt us. We got off to a good start. Again, we knew that a lot of that was to make sure we made them earn it, and we didn’t get the drive stop on a couple of those X plays and they scored touchdowns.
On the extra point for the kicker, Borregales, missed his two extra points, but you put him in for the 53-yarder and he nails it.
MIKE VRABEL: Yeah, you’ve got to have a lot of confidence in him and I do have a lot of confidence. It didn’t waver. I was going to try to go for the fourth-and-5 to try to get it there. Then when we got backed up, I immediately just kicked the field goal. I’m happy for Andy. That’s why he’s here. I thought after the first two he really settled down, and that’s what we’ll have to have.
Your thoughts on the performance of your quarterback this afternoon?
MIKE VRABEL: I think there’s a lot of good things and a lot of things we’ll have to fix. The command and the operation, and when he feels that lull, that’s when we’ve got to tighten the screws on these guys and get them set faster and get them out of huddle faster and really push them. He’s a jockey, and he’s got to know what the flow of the team looks like offensively. We had a couple of penalties and false starts. Again, things we really aren’t going to be able to overcome eventually.
You talked a lot this week about precise over perfect and kind of pushing through when bad plays happen. Do you find this win revealed more about the character of your team or built it?
MIKE VRABEL: Again, I appreciate the character. Certainly don’t have to put it to the test all the time with mistakes and silly penalties or being offsides and having an interception. There’s a lot of things out there that we have to do better, but we didn’t pout, we didn’t drop our head. We went on to the next play, and we kept competing and I appreciate that. We’ve got to learn how to compete and believe that we can come down here and win football games, and I think they did.
As you try to put your fingerprints on this program, Game 2, I know it’s early in a long season, but what does a game like this represent to you, five lead changes back and forth on the road?
MIKE VRABEL: Again, that we’re not front runners and that’s a big thing in this league. When you play in the National Football League, you have to be willing to take some punches, and that’s OK, but you’ve got to give more than you take because that’s the nature of this business, having been in it a long time. There’s pros on the other side, good players on the other side, good coaches. Again, proud of our team. It will always be about the players now and forever.
Obviously not a perfect defensive performance, but big plays from Milton, Marte, Harold Landry at the end. What does it say about the team in general?
MIKE VRABEL: Yeah, those players, we need them to play good for us to win. I’ve said that for as long as I can remember. Your best players have to play good if you want to win in this league. Again, talking about Te, our punt team has improved and he’s our PP, and he takes a lot of pride in that. He stays into every meeting. He’s into it. He plays the show team, and he’s ready for his opportunity. He went in there and made a play, made a huge play, so I was proud of him.
Sticking with the defense, how did it go with Zak calling plays today?
MIKE VRABEL: Good. We had some good plays, and we had some plays we would like to have back. Again, a lot of it, as long as the operation is good, there’s no perfect play. There’s good calls. There’s no perfect call. It’s about getting it in there. The players understand it, and we’ve made adjustments to the things that they’re doing, and that gives them a chance to succeed. We weren’t scrambling, I didn’t feel, at any point in time. You could look at the other side, and they had the delays late in the game. They had different things that backed them up that really helped us. So our ability to get a call in and keep our composure and be ready to go — again, just keep making them earn it and get the drive stopped. Eventually, that was a big key for us defensively, and we got the drive stopped and got the one stop that we needed to get stopped.
The defense, they did make the plays in the end, but for a while there, Miami didn’t have the ball very much. They’ve taken the lead. How concerned — explosive plays were again an issue. What did you see out of the defense there for a while?
MIKE VRABEL: We’ll have to do better. We won’t be the only team that they get explosive plays against, and we’ll just have to continue to be better. I know that. I understand that. There were times where we did, where we took away those throwing lanes, and there were times that we certainly didn’t. I told you that we had to be willing to give up some of those plays outside the numbers. They hit a couple off us, they hit a couple of those sevens and those corners. So I told the team that that was what going in we were going to make them hit them. They probably hit too many, but again we’ll be OK.
Rhamondre could ground and pound, but how about the catches he caught?
MIKE VRABEL: I think he’s always been. He’s had good hands, you know what I mean? He’s athletic with the ball in his hands. He makes good catches. He drops, steps, and goes. He turns second-and-15 into third-and-3, and those are critical when you can do that and not end up in third-and-8. Excited for him. Just really excited that he could have a real impact on this football game for us throughout the entire day.
New England Patriots QB Drake Maye
How big was that one for you?
DRAKE MAYE: It feels good. It took everybody. That’s the biggest thing. It took everybody — special teams, offense, defense, trainers, everybody that helps us out. That felt good, and I’m proud of our guys for sticking with it. So many ebbs and flows of the game. Just proud of the guys, that one feels good.
From your perspective, coming off the week you had, how proud are you individually of this performance today?
DRAKE MAYE: Shoot, I’m proud of this team, these guys around me. My job is to try to get them the football and lead these scoring drives, and defense played their butts off. Just proud of the guys around me. Great team win.
What was your vantage point on Antonio’s kick return?
DRAKE MAYE: I was right there actually. I was right there watching him. I saw him kind of cut it around the edge, and the kicker didn’t know where he was at. He just kept turning, and I knew he wasn’t catching it then. What a play. Like I said, they made a play on special teams, we make a play. That’s this league. It’s close games, and you’ve got to come out in one-score games. You’ve got to come out on top. That was awesome.
What did you see when you guys come off during the punt return? You guys come off the field just before the kickoff return. Were you guys huddling, looking over your shoulder, not knowing what’s going to happen next with the kickoff return?
DRAKE MAYE: Yeah, we were over on the sideline getting juiced up ready to go, knowing we got to drive and then go score. Thankful — I knew they kept kicking it to him. If they keep kicking it to him, he’s going to take one back eventually. So it was cool to watch.
On the wheel route to Rhamondre, what did you see on that play?
DRAKE MAYE: Yeah, just trusting him. We throw those kind of routes all the time in practice. We work on them. I’ve thrown them to him after practice, working on them, catching them over the shoulder. I thought I overthrew it at first, and he made a great play – scored on it. I thought all three backs made a big impact today. Those guys up front blocked hard.
You talked last week about running less sideways and getting upfield more, were you happy with your performance on the ground today?
DRAKE MAYE: Yeah, just trying to keep the defense honest. They play a lot of zone and match some routes. Just trying to keep them honest. Those guys up front did a great job of making lanes and cutting down rush lanes. Like I said, just trying to get what I can.
What does it mean to you coming off a loss last week and dealing with all the lead changes for your team to continue pushing and obviously come out with a win in a hard place to play?
DRAKE MAYE: We were preaching all week start fast. We did that, and we knew they could respond, and they responded well. We’ve got to come out of the half better. We had a three-and-out. Got to keep the drives going in the first half, get a first down, and once we do that, we’re pretty tough to stop. That’s our mindset. Like I said, just enjoy this win and get back after next week.
You seem a lot more confident and comfortable. Did you feel that way on the field?
DRAKE MAYE: That’s how I try to approach it every week. I try to approach it like that every week. Just try to stay calm and cool in the huddle. Those guys respond to me and I fire them up. I feel like that’s my mindset every week. It’s my job.
You talked about being more efficient passing the ball and executing in the red zone, two areas you guys were good today. Is there a reason why? Josh’s play calls?
DRAKE MAYE: You usually get what you emphasize, and these guys really held true to that. We want to score touchdowns in the red zone. I think we came up short one time, but other than that, we thought we did good down there. Kept doing positive plays, and we think we can do better. Just got enough positive plays and keep stacking those, and good things will happen.
Mike Vrabel’s first win as Patriots coach. I’m curious how you would describe what the atmosphere was like in the locker room?
DRAKE MAYE: It was awesome. Just rallying around coach, how much he cares about us, how much of a player’s coach he is. I took the football that, the one I kneed there and gave the ball to Stick, our equipment guy, and let Coach get that ball. That means a lot and I think it meant a lot to him. It took everybody, but obviously he’s leading the charge. That meant something special.
Do you think your team knows how big of a win this is? You guys haven’t won since 2019. I know you weren’t here, but do you think they get it?
DRAKE MAYE: I think we’re just trying to get in the win column. All the stuff about the past and all the records, we haven’t won down here since this, we’re just trying to come down here and do our part and worry about this week and this season and get back after it next week.
We talked to you a lot about the first quarters and being a little amped up, rushing was the word you used. Any difference in the approach, aside from the execution was good, those two drives were accurate and you scored touchdowns?
DRAKE MAYE: Yeah, just stayed cool and calm. I was feeling good. Feeling good in warmups. Kind of down here in this humidity is what I grew up throwing in. North Carolina, the ball feels good, spinning it well. From there, trying to get the guys quick completions, trying to let the guys up front get used to the flow of the game. Yeah, like I said, I think that was a one-time thing in Minnesota, I was playing with my best friend Sam Howell, so whatever.
How does a win like this help build team culture?
DRAKE MAYE: It’s proof of what the work you put in can result in. It’s proof of why you work so hard, why you have extra meetings, why you get treatment on time, why you do the little things. At least you have proof now of a good turnout and come up in the win column. I think that’s why and just proud of these guys.
New England Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte
(There was a lot of penalties on offense, but you guys were able to pull off the comeback. Tell us what that makes of the offense?) – “I think we had a lot of penalties in critical situations, especially on fourth down, to slow the game. It can be frustrating at times, but I just think even though we won, we still have to be better on offense. We’ve just got to be better.”
(What did Head Coach Mike Vrabel say to you guys after the game? You have been on a team that has had some bad luck down here and you guys helped him get his first win and get out of this place with a win which has not been easy for this team.) – “The win kind of goes back to all of the hard work we put in during the week. I feel like it’s not a surprise that we won, because that was ultimately the goal to come out here and win.”
(It was a tough-fought game, back-and-forth, the first win of the season. Just tell us where you guys are as a team right now?) – “We lost the first game, won the second. Can’t get too high, can’t get too low, we have to come back in Wednesday ready to work.”
New England Patriots WR Stefon Diggs
(How much do you learn about this team in a win like this?) – “It’s a gritty win, an ugly win. I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day. I think that we came in here ready for a fight. Obviously we had a little lull, and we talked about it all week that it takes one person to make a play. Drake (Maye) made a hell of a play. As far as staying consistent and staying in the green, we saw what it did for us. We stayed in the green and no self-inflicted wounds. Obviously we had success, but we just have to eliminate those penalties.”
(What did you think of Patriots QB Drake Maye’s performance? He only had four incompletions, made plays with his legs, what did you see out of him?) – “[He’s] growing up, it’s early. Game 2, obviously we try to go 1-0 each and every week. I feel like he made a jump from last week, just settling in. It’s hard being a young quarterback, but I feel like he is doing the best job he can and obviously four incompletions, that’s something to be happy about.”
(Take us to the sideline, a game that had five lead changes, what were the conversations like on the sideline for all three units and what kept the confidence high throughout the day?) – “Just staying positive. Obviously, if it’s up to me, I’m going to always yell and say everything that I want to say, but more just positive reinforcement and saying we got it. That’s how the game is – you swing, they’re going to swing back, you have to keep swinging. At the end of the game, we’ll see the chips lay, but there’s no give-up on this team. There’s no guys out there hanging their head. I feel like we took a step this week and obviously there’s a lot of things to clean up.”
New England Patriots LB Marte Mapu
(On the interception, what was, not the exact defensive call – it looks like you were sort of playing zone robber there in the middle and reading the quarterback’s eyes. What was your responsibility on that play?) – “Yeah, that’s just exactly what I was doing, just reading the quarterback’s eyes, how the play played out, it’s just allowed me to do that.”
(Did you guys have three or four safeties in the game at that time? You have three in the game, a lot.) – “Yeah, it might have been two.”
(How big of a win was it for you guys to really come out, come down here, this game went back and forth, a lot of emotions going back and forth, but you’re able to sustain it, able to overcome it, and come away with a win in that locker room?) – “I think it’s important just because how early it is in the season, we weren’t able to start this new regime off with a win. So I think this does a lot for our identity and our character as a football team, being able to grind it out all the way to the end and ultimately, do whatever we have to do to come out with the win. So I think it does a lot for us there but we got to keep winning.”
(Coach Vrabel spoke very glowingly of you, he said you’re in all the meetings, all the special teams, had up guy on the punt and you’re just so involved. Then you get in there, get a chance to make that play. How happy are you to get it for him to get that first win as head coach here?) – “Yeah, for sure. I mean, that was just the tip of the iceberg. If we were losing by a lot and I got that pick, it wouldn’t matter; if we’re winning by a lot and I got that pick, it wouldn’t matter. So for everybody to do their one part, come up with one play at a time, it just ended up being my moment at that point in time. But they’re a great football team, and I mean we just came out to win.”
(You were asked about the swings and emotion after De’Von Achane apparently scored and then that they ruled correctly that he stepped out of bounds, how did you guys regroup in that defensively?) – “That’s kind of going back to – I kind of spoke on our identity and stuff like that. You’ve just got to have a next play mentality, flush it, because if you’re on that play for too long, then next thing you know, you look up and they’re winning again.”
(These new kickoff rules, now that you guys are getting used to, it seems like these were implemented to the league to sort of take that out of the game. Feels like these are big plays in games now. Can you see these moving forward that you could use, not only the punt return game, but especially the kickoff return game as a weapon?) – “Yeah, for sure. I think that’s everybody’s goal in mind going into the week, they want to make the return units a weapon. So whether you’re on the defensive side, you want to stop that, and then when you’re on the offensive side, when you’re returning, you want to show that weapon. You want to make it do damage.”
(What did you see on the two returns?) – “On the punt return? I didn’t really see it. I was on the opposite side, so I got to see the film. But on the kick return, I think it was a great job from the people that just came off the sideline and also the people that were just on the field to come in together in the huddle and be intentional about going out there and not just being down on ourselves about the score, them having an explosive play like that. We were able to respond with our own, so that kind of just shows the power and unity.”
New England Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson
(My goodness, you did it with your legs. You did it with your hands. Talk about the big play over the shoulder, down the sideline. You almost scored on the play.) – “Almost. I got a little tired, I ain’t gonna lie. (laughter) But I think that’s a play, me, all the running backs and Drake and all the quarterbacks have been working on all offseason and just dialing that up. So I was excited to be in the game when they called it and make a play.”
(How would you just sum up this game?) – “It was a dog fight. We went in knowing it was going to be. It’s just being relentless, playing four quarters and coming out with the dub is huge for us.”
(Mike Vrabel, I think he mentioned it was like we knew we were to be in a street fight. When you win a street fight, what can that mean to a team?) – “It just shows our toughness, I think. It shows we can do it for four quarters. Don’t be a front runner, don’t only be good when things are going good. Adversity is going to happen so just fighting back against that and becoming victorious, that’s huge.”
(Are you happy to stick with that run too, especially early? Your games, I feel you get stronger as the game goes on, lowering that shoulder?) – “Yeah, I think so. I kind of told the running backs, we’re downhill this first half and then try to make something happen. So just trying to lean on our toughness and make something happen, make the defenders move out our way.”
(What was your view on Antonio’s kick return?) – “I had a front row view on that. Great return. I always knew he had the ability to make huge plays, explosive plays like that. So I’m just proud of him for making that play for us, and it was a huge turn in the game for us too.”
(What was that moment like in the locker room after the game just with Coach getting in his first career win here?) – “It’s great. We love Vrabel. So we want to go out there and play hard for him, and I think they did that today for him. I think he should be proud about that. But just going out there getting a dub, we put all this work in, from OTAs to training camp. Winning is hard in this league, so when we win, we’ve got to celebrate it.”
(How about for you? I mean, last year you were one of the Patriots who stayed on with this team. And personally, you faced adversity in your personal life to come out today, play the way you did and help Mike Vrabel to his first win?) – “It feels great. Like you said, it’s been tough. Been tough on me for the last couple of months, but just putting my best foot forward and just know what my Pops would want me to do. He probably would have loved this game, so just remembering that and just remembering the things he would say and just keep going. Yeah, I think he’ll be proud of today.”
New England Patriots DT Milton Williams
(How’d that sack feel?) – “Man, it felt great. God is good. Man, that’s all I can say. God is good.”
(What did you see on the play, exactly, though?) – “I mean, the whole game they did a good job of making sure that getting the ball out of Tua’s hands quick and we just kept going. We were talking about on the sidelines, just keep rushing, keep rushing and just executing. I always talk about just executing and playing hard. Me and Harold made a good call on that one, because it was starting to chip on that side. We made a call to run a gain, and shoot, I got off the ball and executed when they need to be executed. Back end held up, made them hold the ball and that’s all I’m asking for. You make them one time and I’m trying my best to get back there and affect the game.”
(Can you talk about the emotions back and forth on you know, one moment you look at the scoreboard, you’re up, next moment you’re down, you got to fight back?) – “That was crazy, two back-to-back special teams touchdowns. That was crazy. This one of the craziest games I’ve been a part of. We just put our head down and kept fighting. Coach always talking about just making this game a street fight, making this game a street fight and not stopping until the clock hits zero. That’s what we emphasized all week, and we came out here and closed it out today.”
(How important is it to give you kicker confidence after missing two extra points and then he’s got to come on at the end and kick 53-yard field goal?) – “Man, we’re going to always have confidence in whoever we put out there. Shoot, I was going to pull him to the side and tell them, like I don’t care what you missed, like we’re going to go back to you. We brought you here for a reason, just execute. All I can say, just execute, and he went out there and made a big kick for us, put us up where they had to score touchdown. Just good complementary football at the end of the game.”
(After that, they seemingly did score a touchdown and RB De’Von Achane stepped out of bounds on that play, how’d you regroup defensively? What did you guys talk about in the huddle?) – “Like you said, luckily, he stepped out. That would’ve be bad. Just next play, something bad happened, you got to move on. In this league, they’re not going to stop and they’re not going to wait on you or nothing. They’re not going to feel sorry for you. You got to go to the next play. We messed up that play, go to the next play and make sure you’re in a position where you’re supposed to be and execute, and we did that.”
(Was that confusion with their team? Especially late in the game. Going to their sidelines just looked like delay of games, false starts, illegal motion. It just seems like they had trouble getting set at times and confusion.) – “I know they had some guys out there. They had some guys out on the line. I don’t know as much on the outside, but I know inside, they were missing a couple guys. So that might have played a part, but they did a great job. Shoot, coming into the game, like I said, they know we got up front. We’re gonna see a lot of RPOs, screens, quick game, to try to keep us from affecting the game. But as soon as we can, like I said, make him just get off his first read and shoot, we’re gonna get back there.”
(How much was the heat a factor?) – “It was warm out there. It wasn’t really too much a factor. I was talking to somebody on the bench. We first went out and he said, ‘Man, it’s hot out here. ‘I was just like, ‘No, it ain’t hot. It feels like New England, it ain’t hot. It ain’t hot.’”
(Is that a mental thing?) – “It’s a mind thing. Coming out here, you know it’s gonna be hot. So you can’t even – don’t even mention it until, like now I can say it’s hot. Game over, we won, but at the beginning, no, it ain’t hot. It’s cold out here. Shoot, just put your head down and go and let’s figure out a way to get a win.”
(What does win like this do for this football team?) – “Man, we’ve been working. We’ve been we’ve been going hard. Coach has been on us. This ain’t gonna do nothing but help us. Just keep going, keep building. But like I said, we got to move on quick in this league and get ready for Pittsburgh coming here next week. But this is a good win for us, good division win. We’re back at .500, and let’s keep building on it.”