New England Patriots - NESN.com
In his first year as the New England Patriots‘ head coach, Mike Vrabel has completely transformed the team. After winning just four games last season, Vrabel has come in and immediately turned things around, as the team is riding an ongoing eight-game win streak that has pushed their record to 9-2.
One of the main goals Vrabel set for himself in year No. 1 with New England was to change the culture within the building at 1 Patriot Place. Vrabel wanted the Pats to play the sort of hard-nosed style of football they used to play during their dynastic run under Bill Belichick.
While some folks have complained about their “easy” schedule, there’s no such thing as an easy game in the NFL. Winning games in consecutive weeks isn’t all that easy, as the Patriots have shown us over the past couple of seasons. And while the players have to go out and deliver, it’s hard to miss the impact Vrabel is having on this squad.
Winning games you are supposed to win in the NFL can be difficult, as it’s easy to slip into bad habits when you are bathing in success. But to this point, the Pats haven’t done that, and a big reason for that is the message Vrabel is sending to his team. Need proof of that? Here’s Vrabel’s response to a reporter when asked who he thinks the fastest player on the team is.
“I think that the speed that I’m focused on now is the speed in which we recover mentally from a positive play or a negative play,” Vrabel said on Friday. “As the head coach, how do I get us back to neutral? How do I get us back prepared for the next situation?”
It’s one thing for Vrabel to tell his players to stay focused on the task at hand, but he’s going out and setting an example with these comments. He doesn’t care about who the fastest player on the team is: he cares about winning football games.
New England will face tougher challenges down the line, especially if it ends up finding its way into the postseason like it appears to be on track to do. For now, though, all Vrabel is worried about is finding a way to beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon.
