“There is not a player on our team that is 100% healthy.”
“There is not a player on our team that is 100% healthy.”
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel stopped by WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Tuesday morning after the team made its return from Denver following the AFC Championship game win over the weekend.
Now Super Bowl bound, Vrabel discussed a range of topics in his weekly interview.
Here’s a quick rundown:The Sunday snow in Denver.
After the Patriots notched a field goal on the opening possession of the second half, no other points were scored in the eventual 10-7 grinding victory over the Broncos.
Part of the explanation for both offenses struggling — beyond the quality of the opposing defenses — was the onset of a snowstorm.
“The wind was a factor, and then it was kind of a wet snow,” said Vrabel of the challenging conditions.
“The footing was interesting,” he added. “Those are just things that you to be ready for, and try to plan for, and adjust accordingly.”
Asked by former Patriots tight end Jermaine Wiggins (now a WEEI co-host) about why players weren’t wearing specialized “seven stud” cleats for the conditions, Vrabel joked about the age gap.
“It’s impossible to try to get these guys [to wear them]. They never use them growing up,” he said of the different cleats. “It’s like telling them to stay off their phones.”Drake Maye’s end-of-game improvisation
As the Patriots tried to clinch the game by getting one more first down, second-year quarterback Drake Maye opted improvise and run the ball himself around the edge.
Vrabel was asked if he was “mad” about the decision (as Maye predicted he might be).
“No,” Vrabel replied. “Where the timeouts were and everything else, there are certain times where you’re OK getting out of bounds if you get a first down. There are times where we’d definitely like to stay in-bounds, but if you’re in that situation, resetting the downs with them [not having] any timeouts, then we’re good to go there.”
Does he have a problem with Maye freelancing on the called play?
“No he doesn’t go rogue,” Vrabel explained. “Those aren’t things that does. We discuss those things. Josh [McDaniels] and I talk him through, and what want to do in five-minute [situations], plays that we have available, and those are always things that we can go to. Just trying to get everybody on the same page, and Drake was able to do that, and used his legs.
