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Does Mike Vrabel feel the burden of the Patriots past? His answer was a whopper
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- Does Mike Vrabel feel the burden of the Patriots past? His answer was a whopper
FOXBOROUGH - Mike Vrabel has changed up quite a few things that were reminiscent of the team’s championship past.
For example, instead of coming out as a team during the opening introductions, Vrabel has broken tradition, and had the players from one side of the ball individually introduced.
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The post-game locker room breakup is also different.
He’s done his best to have this team create its own identity, as opposed to carrying on the traditions of the past.
Asked Friday if there was a burden of trying to live up to the past, and if he was trying to break free of that, Vrabel served up a hot potato.
“I don’t know what the burden is,” Vrabel said. “They’ve won eight games in two years. So, none of that matters. Whether it was the Super Bowl, or a not very good year, it doesn’t matter.
“In this league, if you take a nap, you’re going to get beat. That’s how it is. We’re not trying to take a nap. We’re just trying to play good football, be competitive, take advantage of our opportunities ... I don’t have enough time to focus on what happened yesterday, let alone what happened seven years ago.”
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The past Vrabel is trying to move on from, is coming off back-to-back four-win seasons and becoming an NFL afterthought. That’s the history.
The six championships were a long time ago, with the most recent one being 2018. In Vrabel’s mind, there’s no real need to separate from that.
The Patriots coach, whose team is 6-2 in first place in the AFC East, made his point by listing the handful of people in the organization still present from the championship days, which aren’t many.
“We’re just trying to do what we feel like is best,” Vrabel said. “With the players and the communication and me and the staff and Eliot (Wolf), and everybody else involved. That’s all we’re trying to do.
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“We’re just trying to win games, Get good guys, have them enjoy coming to work, coach the (expletive) out of them, watch them have success, be excited for them. None of that is, ‘Well they did it this way (in the past), we’re going to do the opposite.’
“There’s a lot of things and ideas that are good that you take from people. And there’s some things you come up with on your own that are good, and then there’s some ones that are clunkers. And when they’re clunkers you own it, change it, and fix it.”
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