Head Coach Mike Vrabel 11/4: "We're focused on today and how we get better"

Mike Vrabel (0:01)

Hi Karen. It's good to see everybody back. It was thin on Monday.

SPEAKER_2 (0:07)

You mentioned Monday, that you were going to see how AJ was progressing, and perhaps have a better idea whether we'd see him out of practice this week. Do you have a comment on that?

Mike Vrabel (0:20)

I don't think you'll see him today. I don't think you'll see Barmore and Trevion are away with illness. So those guys won't be there. There will be some other guys that will come out later and practice after the immediate availability. But those three guys probably won't practice at all today.

SPEAKER_3 (0:38)

You know that Mack Hollins is eligible?

Mike Vrabel (0:40)

Yeah. Yeah, Mack and GVR will return to play. We kind of, you know, just want to get guys out there to practice. There's only so much that the trainers and the strength coaches can do with them.

So hopefully we can work those guys back in and see where they are here as we work through the week.

SPEAKER_4 (0:59)

Mike, there's a report out there, a national report, that Christian Baumwar and Carlton Davis are available as you approach the trade deadline. It kind of sparked a discussion about a five-and-three team that seems to be very much in the middle of the AFC.

Mike Vrabel (1:14)

Yeah, I think sometimes national reports have the tendency to do that. I have not shared that information with anybody. That's nothing that's, you know, this time of year. I think that all these things kind of get drummed up. So, you know, we're focused on trying to prepare for Green Bay, make the corrections from the game. You know, I mean, this is business as normal here. So, I don't know where a lot of these things come from.

Certainly not any conversations with me.

SPEAKER_5 (1:43)

When you have a player that's involved in those trade buzz, do you feel compelled to clear the air with them?

Mike Vrabel (1:49)

No, I mean, I think what I feel compelled to do each and every day is try to coach our football team, try to get the guys prepared, try to find, you know, at this point in time where we are in a season is what small little things that we can improve on. And you talk about those two players in particular. So, the conversation is, you know, when Christian was able to get a sack the other day, you know, the same move he's been making, and he cleared his feet. He cleared the trash of the center and the guard. And so, I said, hey, let's continue to work this. There's a couple of times where, you know, our feet are getting tangled up inside there, but we're clearing and we're edging on a guy. So, those are the conversations that I have with players. Or, CD, hey, this is a good job replacing.

In the run game, you know, let's be mindful of whatever else our technique is here, in zone or man or we're in a combo call in a bunch. Those are my conversations that I try to have with all the players. And I've asked the coaches to kind of, you know, do the same thing as we're at this point in the season, eight games in and, you know, still trying to find ways to improve as maybe the reps and practice go down. So to your point, those are the conversations that I have with all the players.

SPEAKER_3 (3:02)

Are you around his injured reserve of possibility?

Mike Vrabel (3:05)

Again, I can just speak on today and where he's at today and what we feel like he can do today. So that's why I said he wouldn't be out there today.

SPEAKER_4 (3:14)

Are you guys going to treat players at the deadline if the situation is right?

Mike Vrabel (3:18)

Well, and I've said this a bunch, and I'm sure that Elliott, when he speaks and Ryan and whoever else speaks on our behalf, we'll always try to look and see ways to make the roster better and make our team better. And so that could be multiple ways. And we've had some moving parts here with the roster and guys, coming off the roster, trying to get them on the practice squad. Got guys coming back from designated for return. We only get so many of those spots.

So there's certainly a lot of things that we have to look at with the roster.

SPEAKER_2 (3:54)

What's your concern level with AJ and his knee?

Mike Vrabel (3:59)

My concern is about trying to prepare for the Packers. That's really my only concern is trying to figure out what we do today on first and second down and how we practice and how we can carry over the second half of last week's football game, where we looked like somewhat of the expectations that I would expect us to look like.