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WORST GAME for Christian Gonzalez? What happened with Gonzo on coverage of Packers' WRs? Does Gonzo have the flexibility to press or play off-coverage? Mike Vrabel joins!
Vrabel: "What the issue is, is just the preparation" "If you play like that, you have no chance to win"
Struggles continue against above .500 teams. Concern with Drake Maye when he goes up against elite talent?

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Transcript
00:00How are you feeling this morning? How is your energy?
00:03Whatever you just read.
00:04Yeah, that's what you need.
00:06That was basically could describe me right.
00:08I thought you were talking directly to me, into my soul.
00:12Well, listen.
00:13I was ready to buy, like, here's $100.
00:15I'll give you a dollar back, $99.
00:17I guarantee you, I'll get you a year's.
00:19You were speaking to me.
00:20I could get you a year's supply of testosterone.
00:23I'll get it set over here tomorrow.
00:25ASAP.
00:25Get it here in seven minutes.
00:27Yeah, we'll get it in seven minutes for you.
00:30Not pretty yesterday.
00:32Nope, nope.
00:33You talked a little.
00:34Drake May talked about practice when he spoke postgame.
00:38You talked about it, too.
00:40And you said, you know, it can't be easy.
00:43So I'm wondering, and Drake said we just need to really, you know,
00:47essentially work harder in practice.
00:50Are you feeling like maybe that's an issue?
00:52No, I mean, I think what the issue is is just the preparation
00:55and making sure that, you know, we're ready to go.
01:00And that's, I have to do a great job of reinforcing that
01:04and getting that message home.
01:06And we're halfway through the season.
01:09There's only so many reps that you can take.
01:11There's only so many bodies that we have.
01:13Guys are, you know, some guys are working hard to get to the game.
01:16It's not like by on Wednesday that they're ready to go
01:19and that they're 100%.
01:20We have a lot of guys that are fighting to make it to the game.
01:25And in saying that, it's how do you continue to find ways to improve?
01:29How do you find ways to prepare at less than 100%?
01:35And that's the realities of the National Football League.
01:38That's what every team goes through.
01:41We're not indifferent to that.
01:43And so, but then ultimately you have to come out and perform.
01:47And, you know, if you play like that, you have no chance to win.
01:50You have to play good to give yourself a chance to win.
01:53And even by playing good doesn't guarantee a victory.
01:56Mike, we all watch the game,
01:58but none of us are there on Wednesdays for the install meeting.
02:01So we're there and we're trying to figure out, like, we talked to Ty.
02:05We hear on the broadcast, Christian Gonzalez, obviously.
02:07I mean, prior to this game,
02:08I think he's only given up 60 yards against a wide receiver.
02:12When he's off coverage, is that more of, like,
02:16the defense dictates his alignment?
02:18Or does he have the flexibility to maybe, even if he is playing zone,
02:23go, you know what, I want to walk up and press.
02:25And maybe, because there's questions like, oh, why is he off?
02:28And they're running quick out routes.
02:29Like, what is the leverage of flexibility that he has
02:33to just be able to manipulate his alignment?
02:37I mean, I think some of that's based on certainly his comfort level
02:42and where he likes to play.
02:43Some of it is the call, if, you know, that dictates.
02:47You know, again, we have to be in a challenge mindset.
02:52If you play off, then we have to sit there and flat foot some routes
02:56and make sure that, you know, there's different ways to be able to play,
02:59whether you're up and press or you're playing off.
03:02I mean, everybody's executed both of those things, whether that's man or zone.
03:07And, you know, not being able to, you know,
03:10there's a fine line between challenging and making them earn it.
03:13And, you know, we certainly knew coming in that that was going to be a key,
03:17that we were going to have to make them earn it, and we didn't.
03:21You know, just way too many X plays for a team that was doing a great job
03:26of that coming in.
03:27To the uneducated eye, me, look like at times there was coverage confusion
03:32with those guys.
03:33Does that go back to that?
03:34Well, I mean, I think that there was, you know, I mean,
03:36somebody needs to be over the top and helping on one of them.
03:40And then certainly whether it's coverage confusion
03:43or their ability to execute, you know, we try to rotate and spin coverages
03:49and play man and try to get some pressure
03:51and then certainly play some zone.
03:54So we'll have to get back together and work and do it together.
04:00You know, that's the most important thing.
04:01And that's the thing that I know that we'll do.
04:03And I'll make sure that that gets done starting with me is that it gets done
04:06together and it gets done with what's in the best interest of the Patriots.
04:12Mike, there was a play 17-7, and obviously there's going to be good games,
04:16bad games, but where Christian Gonzalez seemed to sort of avoid going to the
04:21outside of a block from Tucker Craft.
04:23And it looked kind of like he didn't really want to get hit by the running back.
04:27I don't know what happened.
04:28Did compete?
04:29Was that an issue from what tape you saw from Christian Gonzalez last night?
04:33I don't know.
04:35On the reverse where he came underneath the blocker?
04:38I believe so.
04:39I'm watching the final.
04:40I didn't see the snap of the play.
04:42No, it's not a reverse.
04:43Yes, it was reverse.
04:44Yes, it was reverse where he came underneath the block of Tucker Craft.
04:48You know, I think sometimes stick and avoid can be something.
04:53Again, he's trying to make a play, and I don't think that the competitiveness level,
05:00we weren't good enough.
05:01And so, you know, sometimes those corners are got guys coming at them,
05:06and they could stick and avoid.
05:07And, you know, I don't think that play hurt us as much as some of the other plays did.
05:15But, yeah, I mean, what's he going to do?
05:17Stay outside, and the guy's going to cut up inside.
05:19Like, it was him and the blocker in the back.
05:21We didn't have enough guys over there to make a difference on that particular play.
05:25We can, you know, nitpick it all we want.
05:29You know, maybe he could buy some time and, you know, stay outside
05:32and see if we can get some pursuit there, sure.
05:36When it comes to turnovers and some of the mistakes that Drake may make.
05:40I thought you were going to say the inability to create them as well.
05:45Yes, which, well, we can get to that.
05:48When it comes to Drake, is he at times just trying to do too much?
05:54I don't know.
05:55You should ask him, and that would be a question that you guys can ask him.
05:59I know that he's preparing extremely hard
06:02and has played well for us here the last couple games.
06:07And, you know, maybe there's some miscommunication
06:12or whatever the interpretation is with Mack,
06:14thinking that he's going to scramble, and so Mack's trying to stay alive.
06:18I think that's unfortunate.
06:20I think Eli ran a good route, and Drake got excited,
06:23and safety dropped the post.
06:25And, you know, again, when you run all those layered routes,
06:28you have to be able to see it, you know, from the top down.
06:33And, you know, that's kind of how it went.
06:35But he hit some as well, and he'll continue to hit them.
06:38We just can't turn the ball over four times
06:40and think that we're going to have a realistic shot at winning.
06:44When you talk about turnovers and creating them,
06:46what would you like to see more from your defense specifically
06:49that will lead to you guys creating more turnovers?
06:53Well, you've got to hit the quarterback.
06:54You have to be able to tip some passes.
06:57You've got to be able to hit players hard enough to knock the ball loose
06:59or hammer it when they're going to the ground rake.
07:02Same thing we've said for, I don't know, eight years as a head coach.
07:09I think those are the ways turnovers are created.
07:11Since you arrived, they had a stat on the broadcast,
07:14you're now 6-6 against teams with winning records
07:17and 16-2 against teams below 500 or below.
07:24How do you get your team better against better?
07:28Obviously, you're not going to be 16-2 against teams that are over 500,
07:31but that chasm is pretty noticeable.
07:36Just another chance this week.
07:38I think the Lions have a winning record.
07:41I don't know.
07:44Again, every game in the National Football League is difficult.
07:50What are you looking for here?
07:56It feels from an outside observer that when your quarterback specifically plays better teams,
08:04he struggled and he doesn't give you guys as much of a chance to win.
08:08I watched that game yesterday.
08:09The first series of the game, that interception, it just set everything back.
08:14I don't know how, whether that's preparation, whether that's confidence being instilled in them.
08:19How do you develop that confidence that you can do this against very good teams?
08:23Yeah, and again, we do, you know, coming in, certainly, that's what they did.
08:28You know, they've done a great job of it, and we didn't do anything to combat that.
08:35You know, I don't think that the, you know, again, preparation can always be better,
08:39and your performance can always be better.
08:44And that doesn't, but it also doesn't dictate the game.
08:48You know, I mean, we say start fast, and if you don't start fast,
08:52then you better find a way to get yourself back into the game, which I thought we did.
08:58And then in the third quarter, just not being able to get a stop,
09:01not being able to grab any of the momentum that we may have had in the second quarter.
09:09So, we know that we have to play well against everybody that we play.
09:15So, whether they have a winning record or a losing record, I can't control that.
09:19I can only focus on how we play and how we respond.
09:22And we didn't respond well enough last night.
09:26Certainly, the turnovers didn't help, but I also know that Drake's won us a lot of games
09:34and contributed to that, and he'll continue to find ways to help this football team win.
09:40Mike, you talk about momentum.
09:41It's kind of interesting.
09:43When you go into halftime and, like you said, you just have a touchdown to Chisholm
09:49and you're able to put yourself right back into the game,
09:51where do you think that momentum gets lost between, you know,
09:55the end of the second quarter to the start of the third quarter?
09:58And why do you think that momentum might change or might get lost
10:02or you're able to take advantage of it and continue to roll?
10:07I mean, they're going in there doing the same thing.
10:10You know, they're ready to come out and get a drive together.
10:16And we didn't play well enough.
10:19It's not some magic formula.
10:20You have to go out and you have to cover a kick
10:22and you have to play defense, get off the field,
10:25and we weren't able to do that.
10:29Trade deadline tomorrow.
10:30I know you're always saying you're looking to improve the team.
10:33Does the result yesterday affect how you go into that at all,
10:37change how you go into that at all?
10:38No.
10:40I mean, again, we want a bunch of guys that want to be here,
10:43that want to make it hard on each other in preparation,
10:47push each other, challenge each other, improve,
10:52take accountability.
10:55And if that's not them, then let us know by tomorrow.
11:00You know, that's what we have to do.
11:03That's the mindset that we have to take.
11:05I always read into stuff you say.
11:08So you said afterwards, I think you were talking about practice,
11:10but maybe in general, going forward, it has to be tough, not easy.
11:15Sure.
11:16Is that kind of what you're...
11:17Yeah, I mean, things in this league has got to...
11:19It's a difficult game.
11:23There's ups and downs.
11:24You have to have a mindset that's willing to withstand all the things that go on,
11:32injuries and missed plays, missed opportunities,
11:37and just the journey that has to be difficult.
11:40And we have to embrace that it has to be hard.
11:43It has to be hard to learn a new team each week.
11:45And it has to be hard to practice when you don't feel great and get yourself ready to
11:49go mentally and physically.
11:51This can't be something that's easy.
11:55Mike, we always talk about the NFL being a copycat league.
11:59And when you start to look at offensively, especially when you're getting, you know,
12:03third and maybe a little bit more than five, teams tend to bring the pressure.
12:08There were a little bit of confusion on some of the, maybe, blitz pickup.
12:13Some guys are just getting beat outright physically.
12:16Do you start to see, like, teams, when you get in, like, maybe that third to seven to ten,
12:21they're just going to heat you up because they feel like maybe this is an advantage for them?
12:25And you feel like you guys have to get better in that situation?
12:28Well, I think we have to get better.
12:29I don't know.
12:30So I think that that's kind of where most teams will pressure, you know, that third and
12:34seven plus.
12:36You know, sometimes we've picked it up.
12:39Sometimes we're short a guy.
12:41We have to know if we're going to side adjust or hot, you know what I mean, getting guys
12:46over there to the right spot.
12:48You know, the quarterback has to be in tune with the line.
12:51The back has to be able to get his pickup.
12:52And, you know, certainly that was something that was another key to the game as it relates
12:58to our ability to block pressure.
13:02They were second in the league in negative plays caused.
13:05So that wasn't anything that surprised anybody, the fact that they pressured.
13:12What about last week reporting that there was a dust-up where Christian Barmore thought
13:18that Andrew Callahan was Burt Breer, that was frustrated about trade reporting?
13:26How difficult is that?
13:27I think that's hilarious that he has no idea who either of those guys are.
13:31I think that's comical.
13:33That's how much the players think about those guys.
13:37Is that difficult for you as someone who wears a bunch of hats, who's got a lot of power,
13:41obviously, in the personnel department as well as the head coach, that you talk to these
13:45guys that may hear their names, accurate or not, floated in trade discussions in advance
13:50of the trade deadline.
13:50Is that something that you have to deal with as the head coach?
13:54I just try to coach every guy and try to do what I think and have conversations with
13:58them that are going to try to help them prepare for the game and perform in the game.
14:05And, you know, people are going to say what they want.
14:09That's the world we live in.
14:11And so my role is to try to get the players to improve, to understand how they can help
14:19themselves in the game, which in turn helps the team.
14:22That's what my challenge is.
14:26You guys leave on Wednesday for Munich?
14:29We moved it up.
14:30We're leaving tonight.
14:31We're getting the hell out of here.
14:33Are you joking?
14:35We're leaving in 10 minutes.
14:38We're actually going to go somewhere else.
14:42Wednesday night.
14:43How's that affect the schedule for these guys?
14:47Or is it just in your mind?
14:48I'm just trying to get over there to have a good practice on Friday and Thursday as a
14:53walkthrough and a review that's a long travel and, you know, see if we can't just get over
15:01there and have a review on Wednesday and, or excuse me, on Thursday and then be able to
15:06have a good practice on Friday with some speed as opposed to landing on Friday and not really
15:12sure what that looks like after a long flight.
15:16Mike, another tough challenge, obviously, against the NFC North opponent.
15:20Obviously, I know that you haven't probably met with the guys yet.
15:23But when you guys play good, you guys can beat anybody on any Sunday when you're playing the
15:29way that you guys play.
15:32Going into this message, what is there, like, anything that you're in your mind that you
15:36want to tell these guys, you want to talk to them about?
15:38What's kind of like your message?
15:39I'm not going to tell you before I tell them.
15:41That's something I won't do.
15:42All right.
15:43We'll figure that out here tomorrow before 2.
15:46How'd it go with Brady and Gronk on Saturdays?
15:49There was cameras caught you guys chatting before the great ceremony for the Patriots Hall of
15:53Fame.
15:53Was it nice to reconnect with Tom?
15:55Yeah, of course.
15:56And I talked to Tom, guys.
15:58Like, I think you guys just take everything I say at face value.
16:03It's great.
16:04It was well-deserved.
16:06It's a really cool event that this organization has.
16:10It's cool to be able to have so many players deserving to go in the Hall of Fame the way
16:15that the fans vote.
16:16I feel like there's a connection to the player that the fan says, man, I put this player into
16:22the Hall of Fame.
16:23It was one of my favorite players.
16:25And then they come and they celebrate and the fans and everybody is all across the plaza
16:31and on the stairs.
16:32And it's a really cool scene.
16:35Of course, when I came, it poured down rain so that I didn't have to worry about there
16:39being no fans out there.
16:40Or I got to go inside.
16:44But it's a really special event.
16:47And I'm glad that a lot of the former players could be here.
16:51And certainly the former players from the 2016 team.
16:55It was nice to see those guys and celebrate them.
16:59And Bill got in a car and came up here Saturday night.
17:02I wasn't a part of any of that.
17:04So why?
17:05Did you see him?
17:06Are you tracking him down?
17:07I just I thought it was really, really shows how he feels about the player.
17:12Of course, if that's the case, I wasn't I was unaware of that.
17:16But that's really cool.
17:18Yeah.
17:20Are you thinking about fit wise getting a pair of red trousers to made to wear with
17:25the with the jacket like Gronk did?
17:28Potentially.
17:28We'll see.
17:29I mean, red trousers.
17:30That was a pretty good, pretty good look.
17:31Yeah.
17:32It looks sharp.
17:33Now he pulled it off.
17:33The Bronk did definitely pull it off.
17:35That red jacket looks good on him.
17:37All right.
17:38Well, enjoy Germany.
17:39Yeah.
17:40And we appreciate you taking the time.
17:41Okay, great.
17:42Thanks.
17:42Go get that done, man.
17:44All right.
17:44Question.

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