Mike Vrabel on Drake Maye: "He Was In Control." — Patriots Press Conference

[0:02] Karen, you working? [0:05] Okay, great. [0:06] Somebody go ahead. [0:11] Mike, I guess just the premise of what did you like about the way your team responded [0:15] to what you were able to do last Sunday to take into this week, into this game? [0:19] Last week doesn't matter. [0:21] Today's not going to matter here in about 10 minutes. [0:23] We're going to have to focus on the Jets and the division here at home. [0:26] We still have a lot to improve and to clean up. [0:30] Mike, you said earlier this week that Max Crosby can pretty much do whatever he wants. [0:34] He didn't do much of anything in this one. [0:36] How did you guys slow him down? [0:37] I'm just proud of our offensive line, and I want to recognize them. [0:41] I thought that they understood what the protection was [0:44] and how to keep the middle of the pocket clean. [0:46] There was a lot of time for us to progress down the field. [0:50] I mean, they run blitz zero, and we blocked it up [0:52] and was able to hit some plays down the field. [0:56] And so that's a testament to them for understanding what they have to be able to do. [1:01] And the guys stepped up. [1:02] Caleb had to go in there, and everybody, we had all hands on deck. [1:06] You guys entered the game with four active wide receivers, three active corners. [1:13] You just talked about Caleb going into the game. [1:14] Why do you think this team has been able to embrace the next man up? [1:17] Because that's what it has to be. [1:20] We try not to panic. [1:22] We try not to – we just try to get the next guy ready. [1:25] We ask everybody to prepare as a starter. [1:27] It's a credit to the football players. [1:28] You know, put the guys on this team, the guys that we've tried to bring in here, [1:32] and they realize that when you get an opportunity and you do something with it, [1:36] that you get more opportunities. [1:39] Mike, to your right, players obviously did a great job today, [1:43] but what do you make of the coaching staff? [1:45] The offense gains 500 yards, missing all those pieces. [1:48] The defense shut down the Raiders, missing four corners. [1:51] What do you think of how the coaching staff responded this week? [1:54] You know, I mean, again, I think all the credit goes to the players. [1:58] You know, Josh and Zach and Jeremy, they do a fantastic job. [2:02] I think our coaches are great and they understand the game plan [2:05] and they try to get their players ready. [2:07] But ultimately, you know, that's what they expect. [2:12] That's what they expect of themselves. [2:13] But, you know, the credit goes to the players to be able to go out [2:16] and, you know, put a bunch of yards up and get short-yarded stops [2:21] or get their down stops and understand how to, you know, sudden change [2:25] and getting their guys ready and a lot of moving parts and going hurry up [2:29] and throughout most of the fourth quarter, you know, [2:32] getting other guys in different spots. [2:33] So they expect that they have high expectations of themselves as coaches [2:38] and I'm lucky to be able to have them. [2:43] Coach, how good does it feel to have some consistency here the last two weeks [2:46] and start getting your footing here in terms of the way you're playing? [2:51] I mean, there's a lot to improve on. [2:52] There's a lot to work on. [2:53] The penalties are ridiculous. [2:54] So, you know, we'll have to focus on that and, you know, [2:58] figure out things that we can improve on, which there will be a lot of. [3:03] Mike, speaking of things that have been great decision-making today, [3:06] be it the throwaways, not having a turnover, what did you see there that you liked? [3:12] I mean, all the things that you talked about. [3:13] I felt like he was in control and, you know, gave him some time. [3:17] And we always talk about when we have clean pockets [3:19] and his ability to transfer up into, you know, really good pockets [3:22] that, you know, we're going to gain yards. [3:24] And, you know, being able to recognize man or zone or wherever he wants to go [3:27] with the football and the timing of it. [3:29] And, you know, it was unfortunate he got the grounding or whatever, [3:33] you know, you want to call that because he's, you know, [3:36] trying to get rid of the football to an eligible receiver. [3:38] And, you know, seven officials couldn't see, you know, Hunter standing there. [3:44] Why are you guys laughing? [3:47] I mean, that's what they told me. [3:48] They didn't see it. [3:49] So I said, dude, what do you think you can do? [3:51] What do you think of the run game overall? [3:54] I think inconsistent. [3:56] You know, there's some good ones in there. [3:57] And then we got too many for, you know, no yardage. [4:00] We just want to be able to stay consistent with that. [4:03] And, but there was some good ones there at the end. [4:05] And I thought it was just enough. [4:07] And Drake made some good decisions with his legs. [4:12] Mike, why do you think the offense was so efficient [4:15] with four of those scoring drives under three minutes today? [4:20] Well, we had some X plays, you know. [4:21] I think just the guys hit X plays. [4:24] And Kyle Williams, you know, I mean, again, [4:26] I think this is something that we focused on is, you know, [4:29] he probably started blocking his guy a little too soon on the screen. [4:32] And they called him for offensive pass interference. [4:34] And he doesn't let that affect him. [4:36] And he comes back and runs an amazing route. [4:38] And Drake gives him a great ball. [4:39] And so, you know, the players were able to stay focused on the next play [4:43] and understand that the history of the last play [4:48] or the history of last week, [4:49] it doesn't have any bearing on what their performance has to be on the next play. [4:57] I'm curious with Kendall Vildoer, [4:59] obviously with all the injuries at cornerback, [5:01] just how do you feel he stepped up today and performed? [5:04] Just exactly what we would expect. [5:06] You know, that's why we, you know, had him in that position [5:09] and had the ability for him to be elevated or get signed [5:13] and step in there and compete. [5:15] And nothing was perfect. [5:17] Nothing is ever going to be perfect. [5:18] But, you know, for him to understand what he has to do [5:21] and, you know, great opportunistic hammer and turnover [5:25] and punch out there, it's, you know, [5:27] the competitive spirit of some of these guys is really, truly special. [5:33] You know, you talked about the wide receiver depth a lot this summer [5:38] on your right over here. [5:39] What did you see from Pop, Kyle, and Afton in this game? [5:43] All of them. [5:43] I mean, they're all ready to go. [5:44] They all play different positions. [5:45] That's not easy, you know, to learn three different positions [5:48] and being able to step in there and block and make plays. [5:53] The ball found each and every one of them. [5:55] And, you know, I think Todd does a good, great job. [6:01] And, you know, I think they all care about each other. [6:04] You know, those receivers, they don't care who catches the ball. [6:08] They don't care who catches the touchdown. [6:09] They're just as excited for the next guy if it was them. [6:13] And I think that that's truly what we want to build around here. [6:16] You know, and I've got to get it to be the entire team. [6:19] You know, I've got to get the entire team to look at it like that. [6:23] Go ahead, Karen. [6:24] I know you were late. [6:25] It doesn't sound like you were very happy, [6:33] but given all the injuries that you came in with [6:38] and suffered during the game, the effort all across the board. [6:45] Yeah, I'm happy. [6:47] You know what I mean? [6:47] There's just a lot of things that we have to do to improve [6:49] and we have to come back. [6:51] And, again, the players, the effort in which they play with [6:55] and being able to get stops in a red zone and finish off drives [6:59] and not let penalties affect us, like, those are all positives. [7:02] Those are things that crumbled us early in the year, especially offensively. [7:07] And so we were able to overcome that. [7:09] But eventually you're not going to be able to overcome some of the mistakes [7:12] that we made and some of the penalties. [7:13] And, you know, so, again, we're never going to be satisfied. [7:16] We're going to enjoy this and we're going to get back to work [7:18] and figure out who's available, [7:20] try to put a plan together to beat the Jets here at home in another division game. [7:24] So I'm extremely happy. [7:27] Thank you. [7:27] Thank you, Coach. [7:28] Thank you. [7:28] Thank you. [7:28] Thank you.