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"Start games better" What makes it so difficult to play in Miami? Patriots HC Mike Vrabel joins #live at Gillette Stadium
Tale of two halves? What were some of the adjustments at halftime
"Do you guys think you mishandled the return of A.J. Brown from his IR stint?"
TRADE DEADLINE 11/10- Do Patriots have the financial flexibility to make a move(s)? Did they make a call to the Colts?"We will try and do what we can to make team better

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00:00Where are you on this, you're a player with the organization for a long time,
00:05now the coach, this whole thing about the Patriots struggling in Miami
00:09first half of the season.
00:11Is that just a statistical anomaly, or is there something there?
00:14I mean, I just, again, after however many games,
00:18it's probably normally not like it is yesterday.
00:21It's probably the heat and not playing very well or whatever it may be.
00:26But, you know, certainly we have to start games better.
00:32But I appreciate the way that the team responded,
00:35and they came out in the second half.
00:37So I don't think it's a statistical anomaly.
00:39I mean, it's what the numbers say it is.
00:41Yeah.
00:42How bad was that weather yesterday?
00:45It was pretty bad early.
00:47I mean, I would say it was getting ready to look like the Tampa Atlanta game
00:52was tracking that.
00:54But it looked like it, you know, at about 5.30 or 6,
00:57it was going to probably get a little clearer.
00:59And it wasn't as bad.
01:02Certainly, if we had played that game at 1 o'clock,
01:05it would have been interesting.
01:06Not as bad as the 7-hour game you coached.
01:08Yeah, that 8-hour first game, yeah.
01:108-hour game that you coached.
01:12Mike, when you look at the game and the adjustments that you made in the second half,
01:17we kind of have in this conversation, I thought it was more about you just basically went in there
01:22and chewed their asses out and said, we got to play better than this.
01:26And it wasn't about really changing X's and O's.
01:29It was more about getting those guys to get their head out of their ass, in my opinion.
01:36It's probably a little bit of both.
01:38I mean, we try to do, you know, things throughout the game that we're trying to make adjustments
01:43and, you know, plays that we maybe need to call again for whatever reason
01:48or make adjustments to plays that we call or things that we want to have up and say,
01:53hey, you know, let's be ready for these.
01:58You know, whatever I, you know, say is pretty much whatever I feel, right or wrong.
02:04But, you know, I don't think it was just like, you know, it's like, here you are.
02:09We put ourselves in this position.
02:12We probably ought to start doing some things that help us get out of it.
02:17How much credit do you give to Ben Brown going in at left guard
02:20for that change in the offense from the first to the second half?
02:23I mean, I think it had, you know, something to do with it.
02:26I mean, Ben competed and, you know, Walter competed and, you know,
02:31wanted to take a look at Ben.
02:32So, you know, I think it probably, you know, Ben played okay, played, you know, did well
02:40and, you know, things to improve on.
02:42But it was good to have him back out there.
02:44Do you guys think you mishandled the return of A.J. Brown from his IR stint?
02:52You know, we'll see where A.J.'s availability is this week.
02:56Was the new injury related at all to overcompensating for the high ankle sprain
03:00or was that separate entirely?
03:03Yeah, A.J. wasn't available yesterday.
03:04He didn't travel with us.
03:05So, we'll see where he is today.
03:07I'm looking forward to going over there and seeing him at treatment.
03:10Yeah, we were just having an argument about it and about –
03:14What's an argument look like for you guys?
03:15Well, we kind of look stern.
03:17I'm sure it's really ruckus.
03:18We look sternly in each other's direction.
03:20Pillow fight.
03:23But, you know, a player wants to play and a player is healthy.
03:26I think the argument from some was that the team rushed him back too quick
03:31and could have waited a while.
03:32And maybe that led to the need to bother him again.
03:37Yeah, we'll see where his availability is this week.
03:39Okay.
03:40Ramondre Stevenson continues to impress me, especially when you look at –
03:43We should bench him.
03:45That's what we should do.
03:45We should bench him.
03:48Who's that?
03:49Ramondre?
03:49I don't know.
03:51Exactly.
03:51That nice first down he picked up at the end of the game.
03:54We should bench him.
03:54We should cut him.
03:56We should get rid of him.
03:57Are you talking about A.J. Brown?
03:59And Drake.
04:00All the guys.
04:01Everybody that has one bad play, we should fire him.
04:07But for Ramondre, when you look at whether it was the block last week,
04:12he looked solid in yesterday's game.
04:14But a year ago, people were calling for his head, and you stuck with him.
04:19Is Ramondre's growth on this team just him continuing to work at this over and over again?
04:25And how proud are you of a guy who just a year ago was having issues on the field
04:30and was able to overcome them and be one of the best guys out there for you?
04:34Well, he certainly does a lot for us.
04:36He's a versatile running back.
04:38He's very good in protection, plays extremely well without the football,
04:42whether that's chasing to try to help the guy get extra yards or protect the guy with the ball.
04:50And, yeah, ball security is critical.
04:52But his protection on third down and when they blitz, I think that's a strength of his.
04:58And so I think the things that he does on the football field tell me that he cares deeply about
05:03the team.
05:03And I've enjoyed coaching him.
05:07I love how his growth has been as a leader in the running back room and in offense.
05:13And then, again, I'll go back and say that there were times last year when he didn't take care of
05:19the ball
05:19that we did a terrible, horseshit job of protecting him.
05:24And, again, there were times where he didn't have good technique,
05:28and there were times that we didn't protect him.
05:31So I think he's worked, continued to work hard at that,
05:35about running hard and gaining yards after contact, but also taking care of the football.
05:42Yeah.
05:42You know the thing that I watch the game and that I really get impressed with,
05:46as somebody who was an undrafted guy, see a guy like Chisholm go out there,
05:50you know, busting his ass,
05:51obviously makes a play where he's got to be smarter with the football.
05:56But then he's given another opportunity to go back into the game.
05:59He's not banished to the bench.
06:04What is your, like, as you as a coach, like,
06:06what are you saying to these guys to give them the confidence to know?
06:10Because you are every play you're playing for survival.
06:13But what are you saying to these guys to let them understand, like, hey, move past this play.
06:18You're going to get another opportunity.
06:19Yeah, I think the mistakes happen.
06:21You know, we can't, you know, can't make the same mistakes over and over again.
06:26And we can't obviously make too many mistakes, but they're going to happen.
06:29And it's how we respond and how we come back from, from those.
06:34And certainly this is a, this is a team and the defense went out and, you know,
06:38we're able to, you know, hold them to a field goal there and a sudden change opportunity.
06:42And, you know, but again, Chisholm does a lot for us and, you know, he's a valuable piece.
06:46So, you know, guys are, imagine if we would have benched Drake May after he threw a couple interceptions.
06:53What were?
06:54I mean, that's what you guys sound like sometimes.
06:57Yeah, I know.
06:58It's ridiculous.
06:59It is.
07:01Well, I mean, we could take a different approach.
07:04No, you should just do what you guys are doing.
07:06It seems to be working.
07:08What did the officials, what did the officials tell you?
07:11He was, he said that, that was, you can't, oh, I don't know.
07:16He hit him too hard, I think.
07:17Yeah.
07:17He said it was unnecessary.
07:19It was too hard of a hit.
07:20To which I said, I'm not sure what's unnecessary.
07:22The quarterback was throwing a pass and he contacted a legal, an eligible receiver within five yards.
07:29Within five yards.
07:31Uh, I don't know.
07:33Yeah.
07:33You were very respectful with them, though.
07:35I said it was a great call.
07:36Yes.
07:36Yeah.
07:37What about the Kyle Williams?
07:39He said that was a great call, too.
07:41I said, this is how good I think the call was.
07:43That was the most shocking thing.
07:45And why did it take so long?
07:48Because I think that they said, wow, we better really look at this.
07:52Which it could have been fixed expeditedly and then replay assist and everything else.
07:57But, you know, I mean, again, that's why we have the system and we have to be able to throw
08:02the challenge flag.
08:05But I'm with you.
08:06I don't think that it needed to go to that extent.
08:10Crazy.
08:11Are there so many, like, when I saw the Ellis hit on the receiver coming across the middle, my mindset
08:17was, oh, maybe this might be a new rule that they did.
08:19Like, defensive player.
08:21Are there so many?
08:22Like, you're kind of, like, confused on what's weak?
08:25No, I don't.
08:25I mean, there is.
08:27I think that the head and neck, you know, on a receiver that's kind of coming across.
08:33This has been, you know, for a while.
08:36And I just think that the contact that they saw, it was physical.
08:42But it wasn't in the head or neck.
08:45But if you get a guy, a receiver, and reroute him in the head or neck, basically it would be
08:51similar to, like, a blind side block.
08:52Right.
08:53Okay.
08:53And so, you know, I'll have to try to do a better job of getting some clarification on that and
09:00trying to get Christian to still be physical but also be able to disrupt the route.
09:07So, when it comes to the injuries you guys keep suffering, I know after the game yesterday you had said
09:13Drake adjusting to guys going in and out is just what makes him one of the greatest quarterbacks.
09:19When it comes to Josh McDaniels and his ability to change game plan with guys going in and out, how
09:24impressive has that been?
09:25Well, I think it has been with Josh and that staff, especially the, you know, I guess maybe the skilled
09:33players.
09:33I don't know how much it changes up front.
09:35You can kind of, you know, I think those guys, that's, you know, inserting a guard in there and then
09:42here's the protection and making sure that they know what to do.
09:44But, you know, most importantly is the guys are confident in what they're being asked to do.
09:51And we're not asking them to do things that they maybe are capable of.
09:55So, you know, I think that Josh has done a good job and he's conscious of it and we have
10:00conversations and I appreciate, you know, his thoughts.
10:04And then obviously with, you know, Thomas and Todd Downing, being able to, you know, convey that to Josh and
10:15also through the week and making sure that guys are ready to go.
10:17A week from tomorrow is the trade deadline.
10:19Do you have the financial flexibility to add if necessary between now and then, no matter what the cap currently
10:26sits at?
10:27I mean, I think we'll try to do what we can to make the team better.
10:31You know, I mean, we'll see if there's things that we feel like can help us.
10:36We'll try to do.
10:37Have you been fielding calls thus far about, you know, there's been, were you in on the guard, Quinton Nelson?
10:43Did you make phone calls to the Colts at all about those, the players that they have traded away?
10:48I think this time of year, everybody talks and I'm sure there's lots of conversations with all the teams and
10:55the personnel people and, you know, how they have conversations.
10:59Yeah, I know we will probably have a conversation about this later.
11:03Just in general, there was the situation with Ali Gordon that happened with the penalty gets a little bit emotional.
11:10There was a play.
11:11I don't know if it was even in the same situation, but I saw you talking to Cameron Latu.
11:16And I know it was a look like he was a little bit emotional on one of the plays on
11:20the sidelines.
11:21Was that something similar where you're like, hey, don't let your emotions get us a 15-yard penalty?
11:27Or was that just maybe me reading into the game?
11:29Yeah, no, I mean, again, there's things after the whistle that, you know, they see out in the open.
11:33And when you have a physical play, this is an emotional game.
11:38And it is very emotional.
11:39We just have to control our emotions after the whistle and do everything that we can.
11:45And sometimes these officials see things, they interpret it one way.
11:50And so when you stand up or you stand over top of somebody or you get in somebody's face, they
11:55sometimes call a penalty.
11:57And that was a critical penalty for them.
11:59And I don't want to be able to be in that same spot and give them a reason to make
12:05that call.
12:06Sounds like the kind of thing you might want to bench a guy for.
12:10Well, I mean, we only have so many guys.
12:14But you guys just want to keep benching everybody.
12:17So we'll just bench them.
12:19All right, well.
12:20No, let's keep going, man.
12:21It's only been 15 minutes.
12:23It feels like it's been two days.
12:25All right, well, let's talk about this weekend.
12:27What are you doing for your birthday?
12:29I'm going to go out to dinner tomorrow night.
12:31No way.
12:33In the North End.
12:36And then a little celebration come Friday night.
12:40Oh.
12:41You know, I really don't.
12:43I haven't been excited about it because 60 seems like I'm kind of in the.
12:49It's like kind of the two minute drive of life.
12:53Like I don't have.
12:54You're saying Friday.
12:55Friday, I have.
12:56I have some.
12:56I have some.
12:57I get out of here a little early.
12:58So if you are having a party, I'm not.
13:01I'm not available.
13:01I have any.
13:02I have anything else.
13:03I was going to say, we'd love to have you a little, like a quick appearance.
13:06Come in and say hello, maybe.
13:07Paid appearance.
13:10Rocky's Ace Hardware, maybe.
13:12I mean, I'm not going to lie.
13:12I asked you for a vest like four weeks ago.
13:15I thought you might walk in with it this morning on my birthday.
13:17I'll see if I can find you a red vest.
13:20Probably a few of them laying around there.
13:22Ask, ask, ask.
13:22You wanted that red one, right?
13:23Yeah, I want the red one.
13:24Yeah.
13:25Double X.
13:25Medium.
13:27Medium.
13:29So looking ahead to this weekend.
13:30Yeah.
13:31Packers team.
13:31Mm-hmm.
13:33Talented.
13:34You know, quarterbacks, excellent.
13:35Skill players are really good.
13:38Defensively, they really affect the quarterback.
13:42Just catching up on them a little bit here.
13:46You know, so again, this is a team that's used to winning.
13:50They've won a lot in the last few years there with LeFleur.
13:53So, you know, we'll have to have a great plan here going, you know, they've got a couple
13:58days rest on us.
13:59They played Thursday.
14:01And so I'm sure they'll be well rested when they come in here.
14:04How crazy was that Christian Watson the last time they played going out, breaking a rib
14:09and then coming back into the game from an ambulance?
14:12He's got 10 days now to rest up for you guys.
14:14That looked like a WWF, you know what I mean, where they put a fake ambulance and the guy
14:20comes back.
14:21Speaking of WWF, Gronk being honored this weekend.
14:25Obviously, you're a Patriots Hall of Famer.
14:26What did he mean to this team and how fun will that be to celebrate him this weekend?
14:33Yeah.
14:33I mean, I never played with Gronk.
14:34So, I mean, I just admired what he did.
14:37And obviously, the success that they had while he was here and the impact that he had is
14:41a really tough player to defend.
14:43And, you know, he was blocking was important.
14:46Blocking.
14:46Yeah.
14:47Blocking.
14:48He did that block.
14:49He did that block.
14:49Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:50And caught the ball.
14:51Yeah, yeah, he did.
14:51He did both.
14:52But, you know, the impact that he made on the game and I guess just how he ran after the
14:58catch.
14:59I think he's got a great spirit and enthusiasm, which is infectious.
15:03And it's something that every team would really want to have.
15:07And so, excited to see him this weekend.
15:11All right, Coach.
15:12Thanks, guys.
15:12Appreciate it.
15:13Thanks for taking the time.
15:13Have a great day.
15:14Question of the week right there was brought to you by Rockies Ace Hardware, celebrating
15:18100 years of hometown service.
15:19And the conversation with the coach is brought to you by Cross Insurance, Cross Insurance
15:23official insurance broker of the New England Patriots.
15:27We are at Gillette Stadium, Patriots Monday.

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