Mike Vrabel Reveals What Will Decide Patriots’ Preseason Plans originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Mike Vrabel is not ready to reveal how much the New England Patriots’ starters will play in their next preseason game. That decision could depend on what happens before Saturday.
The Patriots are scheduled to hold two joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of their preseason matchup, giving Vrabel and his coaching staff an opportunity to evaluate the first-team offense and defense in a more controlled setting.
Vrabel indicated Monday that the quality and quantity of those joint-practice repetitions will help determine which players take the field against Philadelphia.
“I think you have to use the work that we get and how good the work goes,” Vrabel told reporters, according to a team-provided transcript. “As long as we get what we set out to accomplish. I mean, two days of joint practices with a lot of reps, I think upwards of probably 28 reps, 30 reps for the first group on each day is a good number. Make sure that the intensity is there, and then we’ll evaluate.”
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Patriots Can Accomplish Plenty Before SaturdayVrabel explained that joint practices can expose players to more complicated schemes than they typically see during preseason games. Teams understandably do not want to reveal too much on game film before the regular season begins. New England saw that firsthand during its work with the Indianapolis Colts. Vrabel noted that the Colts used more variety during the joint practice before showing a relatively basic defensive package in the game.
That makes the upcoming work against Philadelphia especially valuable.
The Patriots can test their starters against unfamiliar looks while controlling the number of repetitions. They also can create specific situations, including an increased emphasis on red-zone work during the second practice.
If the first-team units receive close to 30 competitive reps on consecutive days, Vrabel may determine that some established players do not need extensive action Saturday.
There is also the matter of performance.
Vrabel said the Patriots must become more consistent and do a better job of recognizing when an opponent repeatedly attacks the same problem. Joint practices should test New England’s ability to make corrections quickly, an area that will become significantly more important once the regular season begins. The preseason game remains part of the evaluation, especially for players competing for roster spots. But for New England’s starters, the most important work of the week could happen well before kickoff.
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