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Mike Vrabel joins live! The Greg Hill Show
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00:00Only week four, but that seems like a really big win for this football team.
00:04Sure.
00:04Yeah, I mean, on the road, division opponent.
00:08You know, we talked about us being able to get back into the race.
00:10And that was a well-timed win for us.
00:16When you look at missing Gonzalez, Barmore, and you look at the defense,
00:20them being able to keep Josh Allen to only four rushing yards,
00:23how much credit do those guys deserve for a win?
00:25A lot.
00:26I mean, again, playing the second play was huge.
00:28We didn't play it very well early on a few times.
00:33Certainly was able to do it when it mattered.
00:38So they did a great job.
00:39We still have to continue to try to get some red zone stops
00:42and force them to kick field goals.
00:43And that really can help us down the stretch here
00:46or the next part of the season, second quarter.
00:49What was the difference in Drake May's performance
00:53from the first three weeks of the season to yesterday?
00:56What did you notice that he did differently to play at the level he played at?
01:00Well, I mean, I felt like there was, you know, he was decisive
01:03in whether that was him scrambling and taking off.
01:05And, you know, if he saw that the running lane was there
01:08to be able to use his legs, to be able to extend.
01:13You know, I thought he looked out in front of things.
01:14And if it was there, I thought he let it go.
01:16And if not, you know, try to find somewhere else to go with football,
01:20put the ball in really good spots down the field.
01:24You know, I thought, obviously, the one to roam, you know,
01:27we could have had down the field, whether that was the one, you know,
01:30missed Kyle probably and then came back and was able to give Chiz a great ball.
01:34When it comes to the game plan, for me,
01:36it looked like it was a more aggressive game plan.
01:38Would that be safe to say?
01:39And if so, is that just because of the matchup you have?
01:42No, I don't see it that way.
01:43I think we call it a lot of the same stuff.
01:45And it's just kind of where the ball determines, you know, decides to go.
01:50Did you feel like you were more aggressive, you know, went forward on four?
01:53Yeah, I mean, again, I think, yeah, I think that's probably accurate.
01:56I don't know.
01:57I didn't know if he meant, like, from the offensive or defensive game plan.
02:00Offensive.
02:02Yeah, I wouldn't say that that was any different.
02:04I think that those same types of plays and those same things
02:08have been getting called in the games.
02:13From that, I think when you're playing that type of quarterback
02:15and being on the road and knowing what you're probably going to need to win,
02:19which isn't a lot of field goals,
02:22I think that's where we kind of decided that we needed to be aggressive.
02:26The locker room, the Bayard and other guys commented on how you are
02:30as an underdog coach and how you galvanize guys
02:33when it feels like the world outside of the room that you're in is against you.
02:37What about your maybe, you know, underdog player,
02:41how you came about as a star with the Patriots?
02:44What about your upbringing as a football player makes you successful in that spot?
02:50This is, you know, I really just try to give the players everything that I think they need
02:55or can handle each and every week.
02:59You know, lay out the ways to win the football game, figure out who's available.
03:05Again, this is a great testament to the players to go out there and perform.
03:10You know, I mean, guys like, you know, Draymond Jones, who's battling
03:15and wanted to be out there and finding ways to be out there.
03:18And Craig and all the guys that were competing, that's what it's about.
03:23I just literally try to figure out, hey, where are we at coming into this week?
03:27What kind of message can I give them?
03:28What can we talk about?
03:31And understanding that the past can't sit there and predict the future.
03:38And it has to just say, hey, man, that was a bad week.
03:40You know, here's what we have to do to go win
03:42and not try to think that that's somehow going to affect
03:46what we're going to do in the next game.
03:49Do you get a different feeling after a week with these guys heading into a game like this?
03:54Like, does it feel any different to you after a week of practice?
03:59No, as far as what?
04:01Just being able to, like.
04:02Do you go into yesterday going, all right, we had a great week,
04:05and it felt different?
04:07I mean, I think I always do that, and I say that, you know,
04:10I tell the story about practice, you know.
04:13And we were in Houston one year with Billy O.
04:18Maybe you should ask him next time.
04:19I know you guys talk with him.
04:22He gave the players and the coaches off on Thanksgiving
04:26and came back in on Friday to practice before playing Drew Brees.
04:30They were averaging, like, 35 points a game.
04:33And the show team against the defense probably scored 10 touchdowns, probably.
04:40And it was just like, with every touchdown, it was just like,
04:43oh, God, this is going to be awful.
04:46And he came in on Saturday, called us all in, and it's 6 in the morning,
04:50and he's just watching the tape.
04:51It's like, touchdown, touchdown.
04:53We go out on Sunday, we hold them to three points.
04:58And it was like, well.
04:59Those two don't always correlate.
05:00Exactly.
05:01And I just always chuckled, like, you can practice great,
05:03and then go out there, and for three hours, it just doesn't happen.
05:07Yeah.
05:07And then I can always rely back on, well, if we had a bad practice,
05:10we could always be the Texans back there when they held Drew Brees to three points.
05:16So, yeah, I mean, I think that we were intentional.
05:18I do think that they were intentional in the week
05:21and what they were trying to do
05:22and the things that they were trying to focus on and improve
05:25and how they wanted to try to play the game.
05:27Again, I think we get an excellent look from our show team.
05:30Those guys take their jobs very seriously.
05:33They come in.
05:34They meet with assistant coaches.
05:36They watch the tape.
05:37They try to be prepared for practice
05:39so that they can do their best to emulate the players
05:43that they're going to be asked to be in practice.
05:46One of the areas where I think you guys did a really good job,
05:49and, you know, as I'm watching the game,
05:52you guys did an unbelievable job on Josh Allen
05:55and not allowing him them off-script big runs
05:58or them off-script big passes downfield.
06:00Was that more of a game plan?
06:03Like, we're not going to pressure too much.
06:05We're going to try to keep him in front of us
06:07and make him be more of a pocket passer,
06:09which he's still pretty really good at that.
06:11Yeah, I think that his play extension to his right
06:16can be very, very troublesome for defense.
06:21And so we said, hey, if you're on the left,
06:24you have a great responsibility,
06:26and it may not be a really rush or a pass,
06:29but you have got to make sure that he's not extending
06:33and doing things to our left.
06:36And he kind of got Gabe the one time,
06:39and Gabe, you know, tried to match the hand,
06:41halfway jump, but then, you know, he stepped back in.
06:44And again, those are difficult plays,
06:46and he, you know, was able to get one down the field,
06:48a big one.
06:49But other than that, it was okay.
06:51It was kind of what we wanted to try to do.
06:55And then pressure is based on, you know,
06:58not really wanting to pressure
06:59or run yourself out of gaps in a run game.
07:02You talked about the unsportsmanlike conduct call postgame,
07:06but you're going to try to use fudge next time?
07:08No, that was for you.
07:10That was directed at me?
07:12Yeah, that directed at the official.
07:14That was directed at you.
07:15I see.
07:16Well, I did bring you, I brought you extra blueberries.
07:19No, I just...
07:21A pallet.
07:21I brought you a whole pallet of blueberries.
07:24I guess I can't swear.
07:26And again, it wasn't...
07:28I didn't call him a name.
07:31I just...
07:33That'll have to be better.
07:34Well, there was a rep that swore
07:35to Cardinals player in the Giants game.
07:38I mean, did he give himself a penalty?
07:40Which is weird, because some of the things that,
07:42you know, as players we say in this league,
07:44you know, you MF...
07:45And you would think the referee would be like,
07:47all right, I get it, you're frustrated,
07:48I'm going to kind of keep him on.
07:49But some of them take it personal.
07:51Speaking of taking it personal,
07:53last week, when we were talking about
07:55Drake May and the injury,
07:57it seemed like you were miffed about the conversation.
08:01That, like, we were bringing up something to you
08:03about his shoulder that you were like,
08:04this is crazy, I haven't...
08:06Were you unaware on Monday morning
08:09about a shoulder injury?
08:10Or were you frustrated that he had talked about it?
08:13Were you mad at us for bringing it up?
08:15No, I never get mad at you guys.
08:16You guys can ask whatever you want.
08:18I just think that, you know,
08:21we're able to see exactly what is
08:24the situation with each guy's health.
08:27It doesn't...
08:28You know, this is what happens
08:29when you start talking about injuries.
08:31They just go around and around
08:32and around and around and around.
08:33We have a job to do.
08:37Either we're available, we're not available,
08:39or we're working through something.
08:43Practice, limited, all those different things.
08:45So, I guess it's just...
08:47When things are Monday morning,
08:49it's not even 24 hours past the time of the game.
08:52And so, you know, we had guys come in on Tuesday
08:54that report something
08:55that they didn't really feel on Monday.
08:56So, I think until you get the entire scope
08:59of how the player feels,
09:02it just doesn't do us any good to talk about injuries
09:04or, you know, reference them.
09:06And that goes for me and everybody else.
09:09Were you told at all during the game
09:11on Sunday against the Jaguars
09:12that he had been dinged?
09:13I hear things about players
09:15throughout the course of the game.
09:18So, just like yesterday.
09:19Hey, this guy's...
09:20We're looking at this guy about his shoulder.
09:22We're looking at this guy about his knee
09:23or, you know, his foot.
09:25Or, you know, hey, we got him back in.
09:27So, you know, those conversations happen,
09:30you know, throughout the course of the game.
09:32CJ Gardner-Johnson had some interesting comments
09:35when it came to Efton Chisholm after the game,
09:37calling him an elevated player,
09:38saying we probably won't hear from him again
09:40in the season.
09:41What would you say as the head coach
09:42for a guy that went out there,
09:44put on a great performance,
09:45who Efton Chisholm is?
09:46For a guy that's been on eight teams in four years?
09:49I mean, I guess he knows the drill.
09:51Yeah, yeah.
09:52The practice squad.
09:54Perfect response.
09:55You know, it's good.
09:56I mean, great catch by that guy.
09:58And you were so happy for him after that game.
10:01Oh, my God.
10:01Nobody works harder.
10:02I mean, again, that's just...
10:03You love to see players take advantage of opportunities
10:07and help the team win.
10:09He is very well respected.
10:11He practices.
10:12He's on the show.
10:13He gives the show team.
10:14He takes a million reps.
10:15Nobody logs more miles or yards
10:17or whatever we track than Chisholm.
10:20Well, I always say 30% of the NFL
10:22is made up by undrafted guys.
10:24When you look at this team,
10:25and I'm glad that you never get mad at us
10:27even when we have whisper reports,
10:29but when you look at this team
10:31and you look at what you were able to do
10:33in Buffalo, divisional game,
10:35winning a game like that,
10:37we always talk about winning in-division games,
10:39what was the biggest takeaway for you
10:42from how your team performed
10:45but also understanding the importance of it?
10:47It wasn't like the,
10:49oh, my gosh, this is going to be the end of the game
10:51when that was a mistake.
10:52And I love the resiliency.
10:53I love the fact that it was just,
10:56okay, what do we have to do?
10:58Where's the fire at?
10:59How do we have to put it out?
11:00With sudden change, go three and out.
11:03Get the ball back, we were able to score.
11:05You know, those things,
11:06we have got to start recognizing
11:07that we can complement each other.
11:09You know, we can get a big return.
11:11We get one more block on Marcus
11:12and maybe he's, you know,
11:14hitting at the punt return for a touchdown
11:17or a much larger gain.
11:18So just a sense that we're a team
11:21and that we can only send 11 guys out there at one time,
11:24but there's also the ability
11:26to kind of feed off each other and fuel each other.
11:29Turnaround, after celebrating the win,
11:31you got the Raiders.
11:32Seemed like a pretty legit team.
11:35Yeah, I mean, I think Kirk's doing a fantastic job.
11:37Obviously, there's a reason
11:38he's had a lot of success in this league.
11:40It's very good situationally.
11:43Smart, accurate.
11:45You know, so those things, you know,
11:46I mean, again, they're playing well.
11:47I think they're playing with a lot of confidence,
11:49which is, you know, where you want your team to be.
11:52One of the things that, like,
11:53from the standpoint of an offensive player,
11:55and I looked at that game
11:56and talked me through a little bit
11:58about what your thought process was.
12:00You guys get the ball back.
12:01You run on first down,
12:02but play action on second down, incomplete.
12:04But then you still go, you know what?
12:06We're going to throw it,
12:07or at least we're going to run a naked boot.
12:09If there's nothing there,
12:10great play call.
12:11Hunter Henry picks up the first down.
12:13Like, what was that mindset of going into that?
12:16Because now as an offensive player,
12:17like, oh, they really confident in us
12:19of getting this first down.
12:20Well, I think that the look that they gave us
12:21with no safeties, you know,
12:23in the middle of the field
12:23and thinking that they were going to be aggressive
12:25and, you know, trying to get the first one.
12:28Wasn't able to hit it.
12:29Josh came back with a good call,
12:32and Drake, obviously, and Hunter made it work.
12:35You know, those are calls that we've had
12:37and we've run,
12:37and, you know, the players obviously
12:39bring those plays to life,
12:40and they did that.
12:42And just think that that's what we're going to need.
12:45I mean, you see kickers, you know,
12:4656, 58 yarders every week,
12:50and Josh Allen.
12:51We just figured that we were going to have
12:53to end the game with the ball in our hands.
12:55Well, it was just a way to win it, right?
12:57Like, you know, obviously your defense could stop him.
12:59You stopped Josh Allen several times
13:00over the course of the game,
13:01but the trust you showed in Drake May
13:03and the offense in that spot
13:04seemed to be something that was responded to.
13:06Yeah, I think that's just how the game was going
13:10and certainly the trust that we had.
13:12And, you know, those were, you know,
13:15critical moments that we had at times,
13:17a lot of times last year.
13:18A lot of times we ended the game
13:19with the football in our hands
13:21and being able to kneel on it.
13:23And so that's something that we really want
13:25to get back to and try to, you know,
13:29however many times that we can do that,
13:30that would be the plan
13:31so that you can just sit there and kneel on it
13:33and let the clock run out.
13:35You gave Drake a game ball,
13:38said we're not going to take any S anymore.
13:40Say it.
13:41Let it go.
13:42Let it loose.
13:43Say it.
13:43There's certainly been a lot of that floating around.
13:47I mean, come on, let it say it.
13:49You guys seem like you have a great relationship.
13:52And do you think of adversity?
13:55Are you a guy who believes adversity helps a player,
13:58helps a football team when you go through it?
13:59I mean, I think adversity has to help everybody
14:01in whatever you do.
14:03I mean, again, life isn't easy for anyone.
14:07And football, sports, work,
14:09I think you have to be able to go through some of that
14:11to appreciate ultimately where you want to go
14:14and what you want to do.
14:15So, you know, everybody's battled through things
14:18and everybody's journey is a little different,
14:20but certainly everybody has to go through some adversity.
14:23All right.
14:24Well, I was just going to say, you know,
14:26I know that you guys are going to play a tough team
14:28in Vegas and their ability to get after the quarterback.
14:31What are some of the things that you might talk to Drake about
14:34as far as, especially when that pocket's not going to collapse
14:37around you as far as the ball security,
14:39because you're going to get a good team
14:41that can get after it with the Raiders
14:42to get him to understand, like, when you fail that,
14:45man, start to tuck that thing away
14:47rather than still trying to keep your eyes downfield
14:49and make a play.
14:50Yeah.
14:50I mean, again, I think that one, again,
14:52it salted pretty good.
14:54So, I mean, yeah, we want to take care of the football.
14:56I can't really put that one on him.
14:57We got to hold up a little quicker
14:59or a little longer than what we did
15:02and continue to work on it
15:04and understand, you know, when you start to feel,
15:05you want to look downfield,
15:07but then obviously when you start to see,
15:08feeling things caving in, you know,
15:10you got to have two hands on the ball in the pocket
15:14and being able to rip through
15:15or pull through defenders
15:16and, you know, try to decide
15:18if you're going to keep your eyes downfield
15:20and try to find a check down,
15:21but, you know, it's just, that's tough
15:23and we have to do a great job inside out,
15:25but also give the quarterback somewhere
15:27to transfer up into the pocket.
15:30All right, Coach, congrats on a big win.
15:32Thanks, guys.
15:32Appreciate you taking the time.
15:34Appreciate it.
15:34Mike Rabel, head coach of the New England Patriots.