It's Seemed Like Mike Vrabel Wanted to Change the Patriots Culture. And Based on the News Out of Foxboro, He's Succeeding on All Fronts.
It would be terribly unfair to compare and contrast the coaching styles of Mike Vrabel and the man he replaced, Jerod Mayo. One has over a decade of experience at both the pro and college level. Is a former Coach of the Year. Has taken teams to the playoffs. And has worked in different organizations and been exposed to a wide array of differing philosophies. The other had none of those things. Was put in the impossible situation of replacing a legend. And had to hire an offensive coordinator who hadn't actually offensively coordinated in 15 years. Besides, it's the first week of May, before there's even been a single practice. So to repeat, any comparisons would be unfair.
But you know what else is unfair? Life. And watching a 4-13 team. And watching a 3-13 team suddenly figure out how to win a game no one wanted. And losing the No. 1 pick in the process. Not to mention ridiculousness like this:
Still, I'll be fair to Mayo by admitting that while the culture of the Patriots on his watch was bad, but by no means did it start with him. Sometime between the end of the Tom Brady Epoch and Bill Belichick getting fired mutually agreeing to part ways with Mr. Kraft, there had been a shift. You could sense it. Off the field, you had guys missing curfews or worse, carrying guns through the airport. On the field, penalties and turnovers were on the rise, and situational awareness was on the decline. Too many times to count, they'd find a way to blow a winnable game by screwing up at high leverage moments. When for two decades it was always the opposite. Worst of all, the most unpardonable sin of the Dynasty had started to become the norm. In increasing numbers, error committers were becoming error repeaters.
Vrabel never specifically stated his first order of business was to change that attitude. Instead he sort of implied it. Saying things like he was interested in building a violent team. One that was tough in the trenches. Disciplined. Dedicated. Whatever coded language he used, we all knew exactly what he was implying:
And so far, again in early May, it seems like this noble endeavor is going swimmingly. At least based on the news out of Foxboro over the last couple of days.
Let's start in the logical place, with one of the most significant free agent signings the Krafts have ever written a check to. Milton Williams is the highest paid player in franchise history. He's coming off a Super Bowl win where a case has been made he could've been the MVP. In short, he's got the job. He could coast a bit and no one would hold it against him. Certainly not the Patriots organization, since holding anything against anyone during the voluntary portion of the offseason will cost you. Players right now are on the honor system. The football version of the tip cup on the counter at Dunkins; where it's nice if you do but no one's forcing you. But in Williams' case, it's not an issue:
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That's the kind of approach you hope for in return for your 4 year, $104 million $51 million guaranteed investment. But far too often you don't find out what you get until the bonus check clears. And by then it's too late. But judging Williams by his actions so far, he's embracing the 51 million reasons he's expected to be a leader on his new team. And as a side note from the article Mike Reiss refers to here, Christian Barmore has been a full participant as well after dealing with blood clots last year. So Vrabel's stated goal to build from the line of scrimmage-out seems to be going gangbusters as well.
On the subjects of big additions to the roster, the trenches and leadership, it sounds like they've got more of the same on the offensive line:
Source - Listening to Brad Davis, his offensive line coach at LSU, [Will] Campbell will establish his presence right away. He watched him do it as a freshman, witnessed the transformation of the line right away, and has no doubt Campbell’s impact will be immediate.
“As a rookie, as a young player, he can go in and absolutely change the culture of the offensive line in that organization,” Davis said when reached last week. “He doesn’t have to go in there and do anything out of the ordinary. He just has to be himself.”
Between his work ethic, practice habits, preparation, it’s hard for others not to take note of how much Campbell cares and wants to win.
Davis said if he had a meeting at 2:30, Campbell would arrive at 2:00. He’d watch film and take notes to make use of the 30 minutes he had before the meeting.
If the players were expected to be in the weight room to lift at 6:30, Campbell would be there at 5. Over the course of his three years at LSU, Davis said there was no deviation.
“He’s not going to have to come in, and fight for his voice. The people who are wired like him, and have a true love of the game, and a desire to improve, they’ll gravitate toward him,” Davis said. “And he’ll be able to cultivate a culture of guys that want to win. That’s what this kid’s makeup is.”
File this away for the next time you're talking to someone who hasn't done a minute of homework on Campbell other than knowing his arm length and memorizing how many guys with 33-inch sleeves have made the Pro Bowl. If you had to choose which trait you value more in the guy whose job it is to keep your quarterback out of Urgent Care, wingspan or work ethic, which would it be? We've had plenty of offensive linemen come through here who seemed to only be casual acquaintances with the film- and weight rooms. And give me a guy who's focused, prepared and loves the game over some Stretch Armstrong:
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… who's just punching a time clock any day.
Sticking with the draft picks for a moment, this was another great find by Reiss:
ESPN - It appeared wide receiver Kyle Williams had an important decision to make last December.
He had one game remaining in his college career, but with Washington State in the midst of a coaching transition and more than 20 teammates immediately entering the transfer portal, the question was: Would he play in the Holiday Bowl?
To Williams, however, there wasn't a decision to make -- he was always playing.
Such a mentality appealed to the Patriots, who selected Williams in the third round of the NFL draft (No. 69 overall). …
"When your best player puts his foot down and says, 'This is important, we need to do it,' and he's the first one to step out on the field, there is a lot of power in that," said former Washington State coach Jake Dickert. … "As a person, you're not going to get much better."
All Kyle Williams did in that bowl was catch 10 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown.
And in his next, the Senior Bowl, he declared he models his game after a guy who would become his future teammate:
Which nicely brings us back to that Reiss column:
While Diggs is still rehabbing from a torn ACL in his right knee, veteran tight end Austin Hooper seemed surprised at what he has been able to do during the team's voluntary offseason program.
"Energy, man. He's a freak. You can see him already with the explosion, the change of direction, the top end [speed]. It's like, 'Dang, it must be nice'," Hooper said.
So to review: The highest paid guy is putting in all the work. As is the guy with the blood clots and the WR1 who tore his ACL last October. The top rookie is known for his "work ethic, practice habits, preparation" and desire to win. The third rookie demonstrated his worth by playing his ass off in a meaningless game that 22 of his teammates bailed on. And all these guys are being brought to New England along with the likes of Morgan Moses:
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… to give this once-proud franchise the attitude adjustment it so desperately needed. One that Mayo was - again to be fair - powerless to provide.
Rookie minicamp starts Friday. Full practices - where we can finally get a sense of how well this transfusion of talent and professionalism is working out - can't come soon enough. In the meantime, keep this top shelf Patriots Porn coming.