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Patriots win 10th in a row- Mike Vrabel joins live! At Gillette Stadium-The Greg Hill Show!
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00:00By the way, we were sold the bill of goods by the guys
00:04doing the broadcast, Buck and Aikman. They said you'd have the stash
00:07taken care of this morning.
00:10That was not on the tops of my list. It was just trying to get down here this morning.
00:14So you're going to keep it? No. Probably gone today.
00:18I like the cleats. Pretty cool.
00:22And certainly that's 11 wins
00:26and a good effort here at home.
00:32And that's a team that's so interesting.
00:34Wiggy has been talking a lot this season more than any other
00:38about parity in the league.
00:39You look at that Giants team. They beat the Eagles,
00:43beat the Chargers. That's a football team that could
00:47have bothered you a little bit. I think they all can.
00:50If you don't show up ready to go and you don't do the things that
00:52are important to winning and you don't play complimentary,
00:56and you take a nap, you lose.
00:59But I thought it was cool just talking about
01:02my shoes and the players' shoes and just the causes that they have
01:06and seeing, you know, Drake and the rest of our team
01:10and Gonzo, you know, things that they hold dear
01:14to them, I think is important.
01:17So I'm glad that they were able to do that on a national stage.
01:20Now, I need you to give me the lottery numbers
01:23because I think it was last week you said
01:25Jones is going to pop a punt return.
01:29And he actually did it.
01:31What did you see on that play that ultimately led to him
01:34being able to score?
01:35You got to get him started.
01:36And to do that, you got to block the guys on the edges.
01:38I thought our guys did that.
01:39I thought Charles Woods, I thought Myles Battle got, you know,
01:44did their job.
01:44Dell got him started.
01:46And then you're going to need some blocks, some legal blocks down there
01:49to spring them for a touchdown.
01:51And I thought guys were doing that.
01:53And, you know, we do that on Friday.
01:54And it's not that pace, but it's like, okay, he catches the last one.
01:59And, you know, the show team's running down on the punt
02:01and everybody's kind of finishing.
02:03And he kind of weaves in and out and goes and scores.
02:06And I'm standing over there.
02:07I'm like, well, it looks just like it did on Friday.
02:10I said, that's pretty good or whatever Saturday was for us.
02:14The last couple of weeks, we've asked you about the defense starting off slow.
02:18And how do you fix that?
02:19Last night, they were firing on all cylinders.
02:22They looked so fired up.
02:23Did anything change in practice this week that got them there?
02:26Or it just was working for them?
02:28No, I just appreciate how they came out and they were aggressive.
02:31It had been a while since we'd played.
02:32And it just was a long week.
02:34And we talked about attacking and aggressive and just saying, hey,
02:39if they're going to run a quarterback or if they're going to run a gadget play,
02:42it's hard to scheme these gadget plays up.
02:45And sometimes the best answer is violence.
02:48And some of those guys chose that.
02:51And that was good to see.
02:52Missing, obviously, missing a couple of guys on the line last night.
02:55But you get next man up from low.
02:58Yeah, this league is about that and making sure that guys get in there.
03:01And, you know, Ben played a lot last week.
03:04Verderian played most of the, you know, second half.
03:08And so they had a week of work.
03:09I thought it was a good plan that the players believed in.
03:12And ultimately, they went out and performed.
03:15And I think we're excited about playing.
03:18I heard a suggestion yesterday, somebody, an insider,
03:23that you guys wanted to make sure Will Campbell didn't rush himself back,
03:29hence putting him on.
03:30Yeah, I mean, it was, I mean, I'm going to assume that every player
03:33wants to get back as fast as possible.
03:38So there's a lot of reports on everything that we do.
03:42Not going to say which ones are close to accurate or which ones aren't.
03:47But eventually, you know, I mean, I'm going to make the decisions on how,
03:51you know, the players play or are they not.
03:52And I go through the same thing.
03:54Can they protect themselves?
03:56Can they make it worse?
03:56And they can do their job up to what we expect of them
04:00and what they expect of themselves.
04:01And so we felt like the best thing was, you know, put Will on IR.
04:06And he's working hard to come back,
04:08just like everybody else that wasn't available in a football game.
04:12A lot of online and post-game pontificating,
04:15saying that the Patriots were headhunting Jackson Dart.
04:18The New York media is all up in arms at the chippiness of the Patriots.
04:21What would you think?
04:21How would you describe the defense's performance last night?
04:23I thought it was good.
04:24I thought it was excellent.
04:25I thought that I didn't see anything on the first view
04:30that would tell me that, and again, this is both sides,
04:34and this happens in this league.
04:36And if you're in bounds and you're not sliding, you know, again,
04:40when Harold, the first act, when Harold got him, I said,
04:43hey, you've got to be careful.
04:44You know what I mean?
04:45I don't think he was going for his head, and he just slid.
04:47You know what I mean?
04:48Harold's coming at him, and he slid.
04:50I said, you've just got to be careful.
04:51We know when a quarterback slides, they're protecting him,
04:53and we have to go in, you know, making sure that he's down
04:57and giving himself up, but we're not hitting him in the head or neck.
05:01We coach that all the time.
05:02We know that that's what happens.
05:04You know, the quarterbacks are going to slide late.
05:05They're going to be protected.
05:06We can say anything we want about it.
05:09We just have to understand what they're calling
05:10and what we have to do.
05:11But if there's a football player running down the sidelines,
05:15we're going to have to hit him.
05:18And let's just go through this every week on a Friday tape,
05:23and we put it on there.
05:25It's whatever quarterback of the week.
05:27It happens twice a week.
05:28They're over there prancing around, and you're going to get hit.
05:32And if we show that to Drake,
05:34and our defenders are being coached the same way,
05:37when I say we better not get cued over there by the sidelines
05:41because this is legal, I turn around and tell the defense
05:44if this is happening.
05:46Mike, we as fans, we always have expectations prior to the season,
05:52during the season, throughout the season.
05:53I'm glad that they change.
05:55They change.
05:56And so I was going to ask you this.
05:57As a coach, do you take that same approach?
06:00Like, does your expectations change throughout the season?
06:06No, I mean, I think that that's probably a good question.
06:09I don't – I mean, our expectations are trying to figure out
06:12what we need to do to improve, what we need to do to give ourselves
06:16a chance to win a football game,
06:18and try to do it as consistently as possible each and every week.
06:22Try not to get caught up too much in things that are interesting.
06:26We focus on things that are important and what we need to do the next week
06:29and what the next task is.
06:32You brought up Harold, but then also Christian Ellis.
06:35It felt like it was a statement game for physicality for you guys.
06:39It looked like for the naive eye, like myself, watching the game,
06:44that it was the most physical you guys looked this season.
06:47Did it feel that way for you?
06:48And was it a statement to the rest of the league of how physical you guys can be?
06:52We don't need to make a statement to anybody in the league.
06:54We just need to focus on ourselves and try to continue to improve.
06:59And I was talking about earning the respect of the guy next to you
07:02and the guy across from you.
07:04That's all that we're trying to do.
07:05We take a lot of pride in the way we cover kicks.
07:07We said that they were the top five kickoff return unit.
07:11We were number six in the league in kickoff coverage.
07:14I expect us to be top five in the league in kickoff coverage
07:17by the time the season ends, and so that was a challenge for us.
07:21We have to go down there and send a message.
07:25Courtney, I wouldn't say your eyes are naive.
07:27You go to a lot of football games.
07:29I do.
07:30I think we could actually, if you're able to take a look at the screen,
07:34Courtney was at a game on Sunday.
07:36Courtney, where'd you go?
07:37She was down in Three Rivers.
07:40Yeah.
07:41Do you even know the Three Rivers?
07:43The names of them?
07:44No.
07:45Wow.
07:45That's a lot of Steeler gear for somebody that doesn't know the name of the
07:48Rivers.
07:49It is.
07:49The stadium actually fits on.
07:51A lot of us notice that.
07:52There's a lot of Steeler gear.
07:54A lot of Steeler gear.
07:54Is that the guy I met at the bar?
07:56That's my husband.
07:57That's the husband.
07:57Yeah.
07:58He's got the champion's hat on there.
08:01Well, honestly, if you want me to explain myself, I'm on a Mike Rabel tour, and so next
08:08week I think I'm headed to the Ohio State, and then maybe after Walsh Jesuit in Ohio.
08:12Well, Ohio State doesn't play.
08:15Maybe they do.
08:15Well, I'm just going to walk into campus.
08:17Walsh Jesuit unfortunately lost in the state semifinals.
08:20Okay.
08:20Some are calling it treason.
08:22No.
08:23I was rooting against the Bills.
08:24A traitorous activity.
08:26Against the Bills.
08:27I mean, did you have a good time?
08:28Did you guys hang out?
08:29Yeah.
08:29Big time.
08:31I mean, at least if you'd be a fan, like, you'd know the rivers, the names of the rivers
08:35that the stadium sat on.
08:36Right, yeah.
08:36Who's your favorite all-time Steeler?
08:38Uh, probably you.
08:40Wow.
08:41That's a better answer.
08:42Oh, that's what I was going to say.
08:44She's got to name her kid Frank on here.
08:47That's a good answer.
08:50That's a good answer.
08:50So you got it out of the way.
08:52There you go.
08:52So who's the fan?
08:53So your husband's the fan?
08:55No.
08:55They both are.
08:56One of my best friends has a very strong connection to the Steelers, so we go to the Steelers.
09:00Very strong.
09:01Yes.
09:01Very strong.
09:01I mean, you want me to translate that off air?
09:04I mean, I'm always repping the Pats again, no matter what.
09:07Yeah, same.
09:08Not a way.
09:08I would never.
09:09I would never.
09:10Well, you guys make a great couple.
09:12I'm happy that you guys had a good time.
09:14Yeah, we had a great time.
09:15Aaron Rodgers definitely doesn't have a wife, but other than that.
09:20Ohio State was mentioned.
09:21They were talking to Brady this weekend on the Fox kickoff before Ohio State, Michigan,
09:26and he was reminiscing on how many bets he lost to you with the Ohio State.
09:30What was the best thing you got Brady to do as part of those rivalry bets?
09:34They wore my jersey for practice one day.
09:36And then it was whatever he wanted to bet, we would bet.
09:41So those were good Christmases for the kids back in the day to make a wager.
09:47Yeah.
09:48But he wore my variable jersey to practice.
09:50That 94 jersey.
09:50I know you don't like comparisons, but Curtis, earlier this morning during his lead, said
09:57that this season, season two for a quarterback, Drake is better than Tom Brady was season number
10:02two.
10:04Any input from you on that?
10:07No.
10:08I mean, it probably was a different offense.
10:12I would say there were probably more screen passes, more underneath throws to Troy Brown.
10:18I think it was just a different game back then.
10:20It was, you know, 2001.
10:22And so I don't think things had quite opened up like they have now and with the different
10:27personnel groups and the multiple receiver sets.
10:30But could you say that there has been more on Drake's shoulders here through 13 weeks
10:35than was on Brady's in 2001?
10:38In terms of the roster, the team?
10:40Yeah.
10:41I mean, that's a long time ago.
10:42I don't really have the best memory of that.
10:45I just think that, you know, the circumstances around that season were very unique.
10:51And Tom being able to step in there and, you know, lead the football team and us, you
10:58know, five and five after 10 weeks and whatever that season was, I think they're all different.
11:03But certainly that one was unique and nothing that I've been a part of.
11:07I don't want to pile on, but have you ever seen a kicker miss a ball like that?
11:13I mean, I've done that.
11:14How many times do you smoke a drive down the middle of the fairway and make a six?
11:20Yeah, why?
11:20We were saying you take a divot, you need no contact with the ball.
11:25Sod just rolls right over the ball.
11:26I mean, just pipe a drive.
11:31It was like a decel and just sod comes over the ball.
11:35I don't know.
11:36I didn't know if it was a fake.
11:37I'm watching on the sidelines.
11:38I'm like, what the?
11:39You know, and then.
11:40Yeah.
11:40It's like the turf monster got him.
11:43Yeah.
11:44Again, I don't envy that position at all.
11:47Again, just being able to go out there and operate.
11:50And again, nobody cares about the long snapper, the holder and kicker until the operation
11:55isn't good.
11:55So I don't envy that position.
11:58You talk about, you know, just the way your offense looks passing wise and just, you know,
12:05just the evolution of Drake made this season, you know, and some of those balls, especially
12:09some of those deep balls that he's just like dropping in a bucket.
12:12What have you seen from him as far as his growth through this season when it comes to
12:17his accuracy?
12:17We talk about it every week, just the accuracy to move off of the spot or transfer up into
12:25the pocket, keep his eyes downfield, remain calm and not tense, I think is pretty critical.
12:33I think that there's an athletic delivery and there's a looseness that sometimes if anything,
12:40you do something, you try to, whether you're playing baseball or trying to hit a golf ball,
12:46like we were just talking about, and you're trying to choke the life out of the grip and
12:50you're just squeezing it so tight that it just, there's nothing to it.
12:53And I just think that watching him throw sometimes, there is just a, there's a looseness and there's
12:58an athleticism to him that allows him to be accurate and put the ball where he wants to.
13:04Pretty ball, he does have a pretty ball.
13:07We were talking about Steph Diggs at the beginning of the show.
13:09He was talking to media after about how the team is keeping each other accountable.
13:13He also talked about the little back and forth with you that was funny on the sideline when
13:17he was helping the guy up that he knocked over.
13:19You said, go, go, go.
13:20I'll help him up.
13:21Yeah, yeah.
13:22It seems like we were served a narrative about him that was very negative before he got here
13:28and it was clearly wrong.
13:29How proud are you of him that he's been able to prove himself, not just on the field, but
13:33also as the type of guy he is to the rest of New England?
13:37Well, I think it just goes back to the recovery and the rehab, how hard he worked and we didn't
13:44want to put a timeline on anything, but he was ready to go.
13:48He's practiced, I would imagine, every single day or every day that we've, you know, wanted
13:54him to practice by plan and he's remained durable.
13:58He has an energy and a spirit to him that I think the guys gravitate towards.
14:03But I would say the biggest thing and the thing that I'm most probably impressed by is
14:08that he has the ability to laugh at himself.
14:10I mean, this is, nowadays it's hard.
14:12Sometimes guys, you know what I mean?
14:15He's in the public eye and you don't have the ability to laugh at yourself and you take
14:20yourself way too seriously.
14:21And I appreciate that with everybody and especially Steph and that, you know, whether guys are
14:30getting on Drake or they're getting on Steph and I think that that's the thing I'm probably
14:33most proud of.
14:34And if they make fun of me, then I got to laugh at it and I think that's all part of it.
14:39It's all part of being a team.
14:41You've talked about frustration sometimes in the red zone.
14:44You end up that first drive last night and walk away with three, not seven.
14:49I'm sure that's something that you're...
14:50Yeah, we'll look at it.
14:51We'll continue to try to, you know, figure out how to get it in there and make sure that
14:59we're doing everything that we can to score touchdowns.
15:01And, you know, it's just the precision and the timing and everything has to be perfect.
15:07And if you run it, you got to score with your guy.
15:10You got to move somebody into the end zone.
15:12And so there's a lot of things that go into it.
15:14And those aren't excuses.
15:15Those are...
15:16That's the facts.
15:17And those are things we have to continue to improve on.
15:21Big bye week plans.
15:22You guys going away for a bit.
15:23What's the players looking like for time off this week?
15:26Players will have plenty of time.
15:27The coaches will have plenty of time.
15:28And I think that everybody's earned the right to get away from here, but also focus on things
15:35that we can do to improve and places that we can put the players to help them, whether
15:40that's the red zone or both phases, you know, whatever it is that we're doing, figuring out
15:47if there's things that we need to tinker with.
15:50I don't think you can make wholesale changes this time of the year, but there's something
15:55that we can do that can help us in some of those areas that maybe aren't up to par with
16:00some of the other ones that we'll have to do.
16:03And then get back and prepare for Buffalo.
16:07A huge division game here at all.
16:09How pleased were you with the balance of your special teams, offense and defense, last night's game?
16:16I mean, it was fun to watch.
16:17It felt like there was a flow, felt like they were feeding off each other.
16:20There was an energy.
16:22We asked that the special teams set the table for us in each phase and, you know, get the
16:28drive started if it's a return.
16:30And we did that, obviously, on a punt return and being able to cover kicks and do those
16:37things that are going to help the defense and create some energy.
16:39And it certainly did at any time you can turn the football over in that area, albeit it
16:45led to three points, but still critical three points.
16:50Do you like the fact that because I'm really I'm enjoying the fact of what they did, especially
16:55for the kickoff return rule, where it actually has turned that back that play back into something,
17:01whether it's a big return or last night's game, a huge play on a kickoff coverage.
17:06I think that you have to be sound and you can see that there's a lot of early down contributors
17:13on those phases.
17:15So, I mean, you just see that we have starting players that are on that unit and we have
17:22to continue to work and see how we can improve a kickoff return.
17:25But, I mean, it's the league refers to it as an action play and, you know, there's a lot
17:30of action on it.
17:32I wanted to get your opinion as a guy who coached in college a little bit.
17:36We've been talking about Lane Kiffin and just in general, good thing or a bad thing when
17:41it comes to college?
17:42Do they need to adjust the way the hiring process goes when you have a guy leave a program
17:48like that where they're at right now?
17:50I mean, here's what I would say.
17:52I would say that it's close.
17:54I don't the NFL doesn't have everything figured out and it's not perfect.
17:57But I would say that any chance that they could have and mirror the rules that we have, whether
18:04that's on the playing field, off the field, timeline, et cetera.
18:10I mean, when you start paying players, it's professional football.
18:13And I do think that the NFL has some really good ideas and they've done it and they've
18:19worked through a lot of these potholes and things that happen along the road and that
18:28we should try to help them manage their game the best that we can.
18:32Did it ever get close or theoretical in your mind, the opportunity to return to college as
18:37a head coach maybe at Ohio State when you were fired from Tennessee or was it always stay
18:41in the NFL?
18:43I mean, I looked at every opportunity that was presented to me and that opportunity wasn't
18:49presented to me.
18:51So, you know, I would say that I would have looked at anything that, I mean, when you get
18:57fired, you, you know, beggars can't be choosers.
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