The New England Patriots hired Mike Vrabel to run their 2025 and beyond football operation. Vrabel is a defensive coach first and foremost. That makes perfect sense, since he was a top defensive end/edge for the Patriots and won Super Bowls in Foxborough.
After making several key additions on defense, Vrabel's new group had high expectations but didn't exactly deliver in the season's debut against the Raiders. The thought was that Vrabel had added playmakers at each level of the defense from the defensive line on out to the defensive backfield. Unfortunately, those playmaking expectations were not evident enough.
Free agent signee, defensive tackle Milton Williams, the team's highest-paid player, had a solid game with two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss. But big plays inside are sacks. Williams had none. The expectations are high, and he'll deliver on them once things get settled.
Cornerback Carlton Davis III, also a free agent signee, had a decent game but without plays. He had two passes defended, but that's what cornerbacks are hired to do. Interceptions change games, however, and he didn't land one. The only player who excelled was Vrabel's early free-agent signee, edge Harold Landry III. He had a game.
Harold Landry III dispelled all his critics in 60 minutes
Harold Landry III was maligned by some media types as an ill-advised signing by Mike Vrabel. He knew better. He coached the former Boston College Eagle for five years in Tennessee. Landry instantly, on signing, became the Patriots' best sack artist. How that wasn't understood is puzzling. He had 50.5 sacks in six seasons in Tennessee previously.
Landry immediately justified Vrabel's confidence, notching 2.5 sacks and four quarterback hits in his first game as a Patriot. Without doubt, he's the Patriots' best sack guy. Expect a season with double-digit sacks. He also likes the potential of the Patriots' defense going forward.
Boston.com's Conor Ryan quoted some positive and encouraging words about the Patriots' defense from Landry, who had that massive first game as a Patriot against Las Vegas.
“I feel like we came out with good energy. … I felt like you could see the glimpse of dominance that our defense has,” Landry said.“We all know on the defensive side of the ball, the sky’s the limit for us. I think for us it’s just that consistency snapping in and snapping out and not having any lapses. You can easily tell that we have so much potential on that side of the ball."
That sounds encouraging, coming from the team's best pass-rusher and one of its best defensive players, as well. It bodes well when top cornerback Christian Gonzalez returns from a hamstring injury, and along with Davis, locks down any team's top two receivers.
What else does Vrabel have to do to maximize his defense?
A lot of the issues with the defense and the offense for the Patriots are due to the massive scale of the reconstruction done in the offseason. Vrabel took a sledgehammer to the old roster and added more than 20 new players. This means there will be a settling-in period, as was evident against the Raiders. Yet, losing by one score, while symptomatic of the 2024 team, could be worse.
Vrabel knows that when Gonzalez returns, it will open up a lot more opportunities for the first two levels of the defense to make plays. If no one's open, good things happen upfront. Yet, like his two predecessors, Vrabel persists in not deploying a potential defensive playmaker at his best position.
Keion White has been an OK defensive end/edge. Yet, at 6'5" and 285 pounds, he's tailor-made to play inside in a Mike Vrabel attacking style defense. Yet, instead of White teaming with Milton Williams and Christian Barmore inside, Vrabel has used his signee, Khyiris Tonga, a 335-pound nose tackle, there. It's the wrong play, and a misuse of White's talents.
White is an unblockable, pocket-collapsing machine like Barmore and Williams if deployed inside. Playing all three inside is a mismatch nightmare for any offensive line. All three command double teams, and there aren't enough blockers to handle everyone. Unfortunately, Vrabel is repeating the mistake of both Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo. The hope was he'd get it. So far, he doesn't.
Harold Landry III will continue to be the Patriots' best pass-rusher as expected. When Christian Gonzalez returns, he'll give the D a huge boost. But if Vrabel wants to maximize all of his available defensive talent and avoid the mistake of his predecessors, he'll put Keion White inside in a gap. If he does, good things will happen. If not, expect White to leave after 2025 and be great somewhere else.