New England Patriots
The Patriots, who are poised for a playoff run, are focusing on the players they have instead of deadline deals.
With seven wins in the bank and a remarkably easy schedule ahead of them, the Patriots chose to stand pat at the trade deadline.
New England is leading the AFC East, and is second in the conference overall.
Vrabel was asked if the Patriots were close to making a move. He used an interesting analogy to explain his view of the situation.
“I would say that deals are like being pregnant,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “You either are or you aren’t. It’s either a deal or it’s not, so I don’t know how close you can be.”
“I know that everyone worked hard, that we investigated, looked in, made phone calls and [did] what personnel departments do,” he added. “And in the end, we decided that this was what we were going to do and decided to move forward with our preparation for Tampa.”
Winning is the most important thing, Vrabel said, but the Patriots also have to consider their long term approach towards building around Drake Maye.
“We’re 7-2 with the guys we’ve got in this room,” defensive lineman Milton Williams said. “I think most of it is for the future. They’re trying to make the right moves for the future. I’m just saying that from my point of view, I don’t know … we’ve just got to keep it going.”
Stefon Diggs said he didn’t get too caught up in following trade rumors.
“I didn’t really think too much about it, I just felt like, obviously, that’s above my pay grade,” Diggs said.
The Patriots are one of three AFC teams with a 7-2 record, along with the Broncos and Colts. The Colts, with a 6-1 record in the AFC, currently hold the tiebreaker for win percentage on conference games. The Patriots and Broncos are both 4-2 in AFC play, but New England is ahead of the standings because of strength of victory.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Patriots have an 87 percent chance of making the playoffs.
But if you ask Vrabel about the suddenly wide-open AFC, he’ll tell you that this is no time for the Patriots to get ahead of themselves.
“For us to sit here, think that anything is wide open and talk about playoffs, we’re focusing on our 10th game in a row,” Vrabel said. “That’s what we’re focused on. How do we get prepared on Wednesday? How do we get our bodies back? How do we get mentally prepared, physically prepared to go on the road to a place that is hard to play?”
“That’s where our focus is. It’s not trying to predict the future of saying, ‘Well, it’s wide open.’ We’re just going to keep focusing on what’s in front of us, and that’s what those conversations are about.”
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