The Patriots' OTAs are in full swing, and the media attention is intense. Every pass, run, rush, and block is analyzed ad nauseum by the voracious New England media. Perhaps that's a good thing, but perhaps not. In any event, after every open practice, the micro-evaluations abound.
Among the key focal points has been, is, and will be the play of the quarterback. Everything revolves around him, and it's Drake Maye in the media's crosshairs. Last week's practice produced the abomination of four, count 'em, four interceptions in one practice, no less. By Drake Maye, the Pro-Bowler!
The sky was certainly portrayed as falling by the Patriots' media, who latched onto those gaffes like a voracious wolf on a bone. The overreactions were palpable. Fortunately, however, one man, the key one, Mike Vrabel, kept a cool head. Expect a brilliant season from Drake Maye, and Vrabel knows it. He's a seasoned professional.
Mike Vrabel keeps things in perspective regarding Drake Maye's early struggles
While the media was clucking about the falling interceptions last week, Vrabel remained his calm, composed self and took charge of the issue in an expectedly top-notch manner. Vrabel gave his take on the catastrophe of Drake Maye's first open-to-the-public OTA before their second practice earlier this week.
"'Well, I care. I care about every player’s performance and that we continue to improve. There has been great improvement,' Vrabel said. 'Everybody’s going to have a bad day. There’s a lot of reasons that go into it. We’re not going to analyze every single practice and have explanations for things that came up. The command, the operation, all those things have continued to improve.
“Hopefully the operation, the communication today, and the execution has got to be better. We only have so many of these opportunities. I’m hopeful that in front of us, the media, that we have a better day.'”
A professional's way of answering the question and defusing all the angst. Vrabel's comments were a masterclass in how to address the question without providing any additional fodder for the media to run with. If we were looking for a professional in command, Vrabel made it evident in that press conference that he's that guy.
Mike Vrabel equivocates as he answers ... Brilliant!
First, Vrabel defuses the entire catastrophic scenario by saying players have bad days. He acknowledged that four INTs at any time isn't an optimal situation, while simultaneously diminishing its importance. It's only one practice. Of course, Maye's next practice was INT-free.
He went on to say that he's not going to panic when a practice goes wrong, nor try to microanalyze every mistake that occurs in a practice, one practice. Then he went on to stress that there is a global aspect to the development of a football team, and that every microcosm of every practice is not worth his bothering to react to.
Vrabel is concerned with progress. That means that the team will progress, and it's not a linear progression. There will be both bad and good days. Traditionally, defenses are ahead of offenses early in the camps. This is especially true when you have a new offensive coaching staff, new systems being installed, and a myriad of new players added to a second-year quarterback who has to absorb it all and make it mesh.
So the sky didn't fall, and Mike Vrabel didn't go ballistic or act fretfully about one day's practice. This is Professionalism 101, and Vrabel is the Professor. It demonstrates how a tried-and-true, game-tested NFL coach and administrator navigates the day-to-day intricacies of an offseason. That's the good news. The bad news is, Vrabel also has a disciplinary tiger by the tail, and how he deals with that will be much more challenging and perhaps critical.