Patriots LB Robert Spillane joins!

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Patriots LB Robert Spillane joins! Drake Maye playing QB as well as anyone in the nfl?  Spillane joins/talks what he has seen from Maye? Who are the top 3 leaders of this team?

Transcript

00:00Robert, good morning.

00:02Good morning. How's it going, guys?

00:04So, you have confidence in the coaches that if they were going to square up

00:10and take on the media, the Patriots beat writers, that they would win that game?

00:15No doubt.

00:17Our coaches would relish it at an opportunity to go up against the BDA, I'm sure.

00:24I don't want to put you on the spot, but that's what we're here for.

00:27Who's the toughest coach you got?

00:32Coach Rabel, right?

00:34I knew it.

00:35All right, good answer.

00:36Good answer.

00:37Well, speaking of coach, he said yesterday to the media that he had told you guys

00:45to block out the noise, and whether that noise is this team being in first place

00:51or that noise is his return to Tennessee,

00:55is that something that you guys are focused on

00:59and need to focus on all the way up to Sunday?

01:03Yeah.

01:04I mean, blocking out the noise is focusing on the noise within the building,

01:08the noise player to player, player to coach,

01:11and that's what we're focused on this week.

01:13And I think we've had a great week of preparation up until this point,

01:16and we'll put our finishing touches on today and tomorrow

01:20and be ready to go by Sunday.

01:22Robert, to that point, the noise inside the building,

01:27how were you guys able to come off that high of winning Sunday night football

01:30against the Bills?

01:31Nobody thought that you guys could do it.

01:32Then continuing to work all week to make sure you were prepared

01:35for a game against the Saints that some people were wondering

01:38if it was going to be a trap game.

01:40This is a week-to-week business,

01:44and win, lose, or draw the previous week, you're moving on.

01:48Nobody's waiting in line for last week because these games come quick,

01:55and we will continue to prepare and trust the process

02:01as we go throughout this thing.

02:03Win, lose, or draw each week is a new opportunity to go out there

02:07and get one, get a win, essentially.

02:12Robert, Vrabel talked about you guys doing a great job of creating turnovers,

02:19especially punching balls out.

02:21So I asked you as a defensive player,

02:24how are you able to be able to still make sure that you're able

02:29to get the guy on the ground but still thinking about punching balls out

02:33and putting yourself in a position to where you can create turnovers?

02:41You've got to be confident in your positioning on the play,

02:43especially on the tackle if you're going for the ball.

02:47Oftentimes it's the second man in or the guy that the runner necessarily

02:51doesn't see getting the ball out.

02:55And if you're that primary tackler,

02:56it's always good to just throw violent hands through the tackle

02:59and hoping that you get on the ball.

03:02I think the more attempts we have throughout the year,

03:04the more likelihood that we're going to get these turnovers.

03:07So we're just going to continue to preach the process

03:10of making attempts on the ball throughout the week in practice.

03:14And then it shows up on Sunday.

03:17Robert, do you believe, in general,

03:21do you believe that a flag should be thrown when the penalty occurs

03:25or is it okay to throw it 5 to 10, maybe 15 minutes later?

03:29Yeah, I don't really worry too much about officiating.

03:35I stay out of those meetings.

03:38I'm sure they're working on ways that they can be better

03:42as officiating crews in general just as we are as players.

03:45Yeah, good answer.

03:47That's a good answer.

03:48They have a lot of room for improvement.

03:50So, Robert, would you say Drake May is playing quarterback

03:54as well as anybody in the NFL right now?

03:56Yeah, it's not fair for me to say that because I don't watch film

04:01on 32 NFL quarterbacks.

04:03I really focus on a team that got suited for this weekend.

04:07I do love watching our offense after games.

04:11So just being able to admire his play,

04:17and I think he's done a great job this year,

04:19and he's really been a phenomenal leader Monday through Sunday.

04:23So he continues to show up in big ways, not only on Sunday,

04:27but throughout the week in preparation.

04:29So I'm excited to see how he can continue to lead that offense.

04:33I'm sure the answer might be everybody in the locker room,

04:36but if I had to hold you accountable, who are –

04:39you mentioned Drake and leadership.

04:41Who are the three biggest leaders on this team right now?

04:44I mean, Drake is a massive leader for us.

04:50Being the quarterback of our team, he has a lot of weight on his shoulders,

04:54and he's only been able to step up this year.

04:57I think Stefan Diggs is also a tremendous leader for us.

05:01Every day he brings great energy, not only in practice,

05:04but in meetings throughout the building.

05:08And you want somebody on defense now?

05:11Yeah.

05:13Yeah, I would probably say up front, if you're looking for a D lineman,

05:18you know Milton Williams and Christian Barmore are always ready to show up

05:23with good energy.

05:24So they've been great leaders throughout not only the D line,

05:28but through our whole team.

05:29Robert, you specifically have had success going into week seven,

05:34three double-digit tackle games for yourself.

05:36What do you attribute all that success to?

05:39What is making you perform so well so far this season?

05:44Yeah, I just look at years and years of preparation to get to this point in my career,

05:49to where I'm at, where I feel comfortable and confident.

05:52It comes down to trusting your positioning on the field,

05:58trusting your 111th piece,

06:00and trying to dominate your position as much as possible.

06:03So I'm going to continue to try to be a good teammate,

06:06try to be a leader and a voice that the guys have some calming presence behind.

06:12So I'm really looking forward to get back out there this weekend

06:16and put that on display.

06:18Robert, I know that Mike Vrabel does a good job of getting you guys

06:23to not buy into the press clippings or Steph Diggs to drink the Kool-Aid,

06:29but he also has to get you guys to buy in and believe that you can be just as good

06:36as any team in the NFL right now and have a legitimate chance to win a championship.

06:42How has he been able to maybe push that message to you guys in the locker room

06:46that we don't get to see on a daily basis?

06:50Yeah, I mean, he brings energy every team meeting to start the day.

06:54So we know at 830 he's going to be on the floor setting the energy for the day.

07:01What's the only thing that's important to us right now is to go out and get a win in Nashville.

07:07Everything else is interesting and sounds good, but at the end of the day,

07:11the only thing that can help us achieve our dreams is going to go out there

07:17and get this win this weekend in Nashville.

07:20All right.

07:20Well, he said game balls on him for everybody last week.

07:24Did you get yours yet?

07:29I don't know what you mean by that.

07:32He said locker room, game balls for everybody on him.

07:37I just wondered if you got it yet.

07:38I don't know if they delivered them yet.

07:39I think they take time to paint them and all that.

07:41It's coming in the mail?

07:44FedEx, whatever?

07:47Must be.

07:49Okay.

07:50All right.

07:50I haven't seen it yet.

07:51Okay.

07:51All right.

07:52Well, I'll see what I can do to help that get there.

07:54And, Robert, I appreciate you taking the time to speak.

07:56Thank you, guys.

08:01I appreciate it.

08:02I didn't want to throw you for a loop there.

08:05Well, they got to paint those game balls.

08:06I didn't know what you meant by that.

08:07I was like, I don't think they'd just show up immediately,

08:10but I haven't seen them yet.

08:12I just want to make sure the guy is –

08:14I mean, if he says he's going to pay for game balls for everybody,

08:17they're on him.

08:18Greg's never gotten a game ball.

08:19It's like, listen, I mean, if you don't want it,

08:21I would certainly take it.

08:22Pretty cool.

08:23His name's on it, though.

08:24If you ever get one, your name's on it.

08:26Oh, that is cool.

08:26Yeah, it's named.

08:27Final score?

08:28And it's painted.

08:28Yeah, it's final score.

08:29So they are pretty cool when you actually do get a game ball.

08:32They don't just hand you a blank ball.

08:33Yeah, they're pretty cool, right?

08:35I mean, if there's any –

08:36I mean, if there's wrong information on it or something,

08:38let me know.

08:38I'm trying to get –

08:39I mean, we talked to Greg on Monday.

08:41I could get that thing –

08:42I could get that puppy fish.

08:43Did you tell him you need one?

08:45I'm going to tell him –

08:46honestly, I'm going to tell him I want yours.

08:48Yeah, exactly.

08:49I said, hey, me on Splane doesn't seem that excited about the game ball.

08:53Could you just throw Greg Hill on the bottom of it?

08:56That's what I'm going to say.

08:57You need more stuff.

08:59I love that.

09:01That'll give him a chuckle.

09:03All right.

09:04All right, man.

09:05Go get him, and we'll talk to you again soon, all right?

09:08I appreciate it.

09:09Have a good one.

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