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“He knows there’s times where he has to push and times where he has to be hard on us. It’s a great dynamic that we have.”
FOXBOROUGH – Mike Vrabel brought a little bit of deadpan humor back with him from Buffalo.
The Patriots coach was asked where he gets his patience from. Rhamondre Stevenson has started all five games despite being tied for second in the league in both rushing fumbles [2] and receiving rumbles [1]. Vrabel also stuck with Andy Borregales after the rookie missed a pair of extra points in Miami during Week 2.
“Oh yeah, I think anybody that knows me knows that I have a great deal of patience,” Vrabel said.
Both players helped the Patriots upset the Bills on Sunday. After his first-quarter fumble, Stevenson scored a pair of second-half touchdowns that gave New England a 10-point lead. Buffalo eventually tied the game at 20, with 2:17 go in the game. The Patriots ran the clock down to 20 seconds and gave Borregales the opportunity to kick the 52-yard field-goal, which he nailed.
“Everybody’s role is vitally important,” Vrabel said. “But, also, we’ve got to protect the identity, and part of that identity is the ball. We also believe in treating people the way they treat the team. What kind of teammate they are, how they prepare for their job, the things they are willing to do to help the team.”
“Rhamondre is an excellent protector of the other people with the ball, whether that’s in blitz pickup or chasing the ball and being around it and doing all those little things. I think it’s just a fine line of making decisions, and all of our backs are going to play. They’re all going to contribute, the same way as the ball finds different guys when Drake throws it. We’re going to need everybody throughout this season.”
Depth is a factor when deciding who plays, and the running back group took a hit when Antonio Gibson suffered a torn ACL Sunday and will miss the remainder of the season. But, there’s also a style choice that factors into those decisions. Bill Belichick, for example, showed far less patience when it came to fumbles during his time with the Patriots.
Vrabel strikes a balance between getting on his players and having faith that they’ll be able to work through their mistakes, cornerback Christian Gonzalez said.
“I think he just gets that from being a player in this league, and a great player at that,” Gonzalez said. “He knows what our bodies feel like playing through things.”
“He knows there’s times where he has to push and times where he has to be hard on us. It’s a great dynamic that we have. We’re able to talk to him about whatever, and he’s one of the best coaches so it’s been fun.”
Vrabel is a “player’s coach,” cornerback Carlton Davis said. He pointed to the team meetings after the loss to Las Vegas in the season-opener as an example of how Vrabel addressed the team as a group and stressed the importance of a group effort.
“If somebody didn’t make a play or had a turnover, obviously we want to take accountability for it,” Davis said. “But we also understand that it takes a team and it takes everybody to accomplish a goal. So, before the game, I told Rhamondre that whatever happens, we’ve got your back bro. If you score a touchdown we’ve got your back. If you fumble we’ve got you back, because that’s what a real team is.”
“That’s what we want to be for our brothers. We don’t want to be bandwagon guys. This game has ups and downs. We want to stay as narrow as possible, but if we do experience the highs and the lows we want to bring our brother up to the happy medium. That’s all we really can do, and we’ve going to continue to do that.”
Jones provides spark
Marcus Jones sparked the Patriots in the return game during their blowout win against Carolina last week. On Sunday night, he made a key play on defense, picking off Josh Allen in the red-zone late in the third quarter.
“They forget about him, like, I’ve got to stop that for real,” Davis said. “It’s a three-man tandem. He’s such a special player inside for us. He makes so many plays and it shows up on Sunday … he’s the smallest person out there, just out there fighting. That’s inspirational in itself.”
“If he has the [courage] to take on a tight end that’s three-times his size, then why can’t I? Why can’t I set a block? Why can’t I take one for the team? So, playing with Marcus has been one of the great joys of coming to New England and I’m happy to be a part of that DB group. ”
