Head Coach Mike Vrabel 1/11: "The big dogs come out in January"

Mike Vrabel (0:00)

You make it down, Karen. There you are.

Karen (0:03)

I ran the whole way, Mike. Good. There's a saying that defense wins championships.

Your team had six sacks of Justin Herbert and pretty much made his life miserable. How well did you think they played today?

Mike Vrabel (0:20)

Well, I thought they played extremely well. I thought they were committed to stop on the run. I thought they were, you know, the sudden change was critical. You know, it was a very good defense that we were playing and, you know, we turned the ball over far too many times. But what our defense was able to do early in that game in the red zone inside the five yard line or inside the nine yard line was, I think, really set the tone for them for the rest of the game and, you know, could have been better. You know, we had a lot of scrambles and we knew that. And again, trying to rush and trying to, you know, make sure that those scramble lanes aren't there. Secondary did a fantastic job with the play extensions and making sure that, you know, those plays didn't get loose and I'm just really proud of everybody.

SPEAKER_3 (1:12)

Mike, how proud were you to see the effort and the finish towards the end of your defense? Obviously, they could smell blood. Milt Williams doing what he does to finish it off. And speaking of blood, how's your lip and what's that like?

Mike Vrabel (1:23)

Well, we talked to him about being willing to spill some blood out there and that the big dogs come out in January. And I think Milt took that to heart in the way that he played the game and the way he finished the game. And he came over and got me pretty good. But that's what happens.

SPEAKER_4 (1:42)

Mike, congrats on the win. Wonder what you thought of Drake May's performance tonight.

SPEAKER_5 (1:46)

Looked like he had a slower start, but finished very well.

Mike Vrabel (1:49)

Yeah, I mean, again, we got to take care of the football. I thought he came through when we needed him. You know, the tip pass is something that, you know, was unfortunate. It turned into an interception. But the throw to Hunter, I thought when we needed him was, was elite.

SPEAKER_6 (2:11)

Coach, talk about Zach Kerr. Obviously, defense plays unbelievable tonight, but he stepped in this season with everything that happened with Coach T. He's done a remarkable job.

Mike Vrabel (2:21)

He really has.

SPEAKER_6 (2:22)

Talk about his, you know, the game he called tonight on defense.

Mike Vrabel (2:25)

Well, I would tell you that this means a lot to him. These players mean a lot to him. I think that they want to do well for Zach and for the entire staff. They put a lot into it. And I'm proud of Zach for not only the performance, you know, calling the game, but the preparation and what goes into it.

And he's earned every bit of recognition that he's getting and should get. And again, it takes everybody. There's great communication from upstairs, getting it to the players, and they certainly respond, and all the credit has to go to them. But Zach was able to change up some calls there at the end, and I felt like that mixed the pressure in, because that's what we felt like we needed.

SPEAKER_4 (3:19)

And Mike, congrats on the win. On third down, you guys were one of ten defensively, one of three on fourth down. Was that a specific point of emphasis during the week, and how much momentum did you guys take from those stops?

Mike Vrabel (3:31)

A lot, and I think they probably got tired of hearing me talk about them being fourth in the league in third down, and what they were able to do as an offense, and you know, so to be able to do that, you know, but you have to be able to create some longer yardage situations, and we were able to do that. So that was, you know, real positive. I think being able to get drives stopped, certainly this, you know, the Chargers want to possess the football, they want to wear you down, and I don't think we ever let them do that.

Chris Ryan (4:10)

Chris Ryan on the left. Mike, was there a particular aspect of their defensive performance which you thought was the most significant? Was it stopping the run? How you were able to pursue? Herbert, what stood out the most, and do you think kind of sent them in the wrong direction?

Mike Vrabel (4:23)