Head Coach Mike Vrabel on WEEI 10/27: "We're going to try to look to improve any way we can"

Greg Hill (0:00)

Once again, and the coach is here. Good morning, how are you?

Mike Vrabel (0:02)

Good morning, how are you?

Greg Hill (0:03)

Great to see you. Great to see you too. Time for us to do our victory shot here with the coach. This is Pure Green.

SPEAKER_3 (0:12)

Cayenne Pepper.

Greg Hill (0:13)

Cayenne Pepper, wake me up shot. Coach, congratulations. Five in a row, number six on the season. All right, there you go.

SPEAKER_4 (0:25)

Right down the hatch.

Greg Hill (0:26)

That gets you going, gets you fired up, doesn't it?

Mike Vrabel (0:28)

Wow, it's a wake me up shot. It's a wake me up.

Greg Hill (0:30)

Yeah, it is a wake me up shot.

Mike Vrabel (0:33)

Give Courtney another one. She's ready.

SPEAKER_4 (0:35)

Those things are good.

Greg Hill (0:36)

You want another one? That baby will be up.

SPEAKER_4 (0:40)

He started moving last time.

SPEAKER_5 (0:41)

Let's see if we can get it again.

SPEAKER_3 (0:43)

You're really going to be moving now.

Greg Hill (0:45)

Yeah, really, take it easy.

SPEAKER_3 (0:48)

It's a little early to get them to take shots.

Greg Hill (0:52)

Well, listen, you talked a little bit about it post game, but again, kind of a slow start. This team, you can seem to be able to count on them, certainly in the second half and you dominate, but I know that's something you probably want to focus on.

Mike Vrabel (1:06)

We get them to third and long and then we get picked, and really just not being very aware.

You got to keep playing and then they over-aggressive and slip the full back out of there, so it was a good design on their part. And we have to play the complete game and we're always going to find things to improve on. And so hopefully that we can start a little faster and then finish in the red zone. I think that's really to be two or six, that's not going to win a whole lot of games. We've got to score touchdowns when we get down there.

SPEAKER_3 (1:42)

Mike, one of the things, the areas where you did do well is you look at your running game against the team and the Cleveland Browns. I think they're only giving up about 70-something yards per game. You guys were able to go out there, rushed for a buck 70 this two weeks in a row where it looks like you're really running the ball good. What are you seeing from this run game?

Mike Vrabel (1:59)

Well, I thought we, one, I thought we mix the scheme up, I think, from some inside runs to some perimeter runs and then forward disclosure. I think, you know, the quarterback runs help too. You know, I mean, the quarterback being able to pull the ball down, get some yards, help us in that regard. So you know, I've been through this defensively before where you're like, okay, the running backs had 50 yards and then you give up loose plays of the quarterback for 65 yards of scrambles and you're like, well, we didn't really practice any of those defending the run and fitting it and tackling it wasn't like a scheme run. So I think just being able to use those numbers and improve on it. So where did we have, you know, did we have some guy, everybody blocked and did we break some tackles or did we, did we miss some blocks where we loose on the combos, you know, all that stuff and the numbers are good. We just have to look at how we're executing. Where did we maybe miss a cut or did we not get the force on some of the perimeter plays or things like that?

And I think we did a good job and I think there's a lot more there that we can do, but I did think that we mixed some of the inside runs and some of the perimeter runs well yesterday.

Greg Hill (3:16)

Speaking of Drake running the football, you were busting his balls a little bit post game about sending him to spring training to learn how to slide. Yeah, did he, do you feel like he did better when it came to that yesterday?

Mike Vrabel (3:25)

I mean, I don't know. I mean, again, we, you know, he's dead set on hurdling somebody and scoring from, you know, a 60-yard touchdown run. So we'll keep working on it. I'm going to get a cardboard box like we did at fifth grade back in the St. Michael's in the Catholic Diocesan Baseball League. We got a refrigerator box and we cut it open. We taught the kids that didn't know how to slide how to slide. So we're going to practice sliding on a cardboard box. Great coaching back there by Mike Mulligan back in the day.