PALM BEACH, Fla. – During his 34-minute session with the media Monday morning, Mike Vrabel put the past, and the present, into context.
He talked about where the Patriots were headed, and where they can no longer go.
And he was pretty direct.
In talking about the draft, and the importance of building up a young core of players, especially given past failures, Vrabel didn’t pull any punches.
“It catches up with you. If you don’t draft well, it catches up with you. You got to chase in free agency, and you got to be perfect,” Vrabel said, offering a not-so-subtle slap at the decision-makers of the past. “And so the draft is critical, right?”
It sure is, with past failures serving as a crushing reminder of what can’t happen in the draft ahead.
Vrabel inherited the NFL’s worst roster. So did Jerod Mayo before him. In many ways, the team’s current decision-makers are paying for all of the draft sins made, even before Tom Brady left. All of which falls into the lap of prior chief decision-maker Bill Belichick.
At the NFL’s annual meeting Monday, Vrabel said he was hoping to right the ship in all areas, not just the draft. But that’s certainly where it all starts.
“To be able to find players that fit a role,” he began, “and you develop them, and you decide to retain them and build through the draft because you know the person and the player can really excel in your program and what you believe in.
“So you got to draft well. If not, it catches up with you.”
The Patriots have little to show for their recent efforts. Even last year’s haul, outside of quarterback Drake Maye, hasn’t looked the best.
But it’s still early to pan that one, like many before it.
“You have to have the volume of that draft,” Vrabel said. “Or if you’re going to go up for players, you’ve got to be convicted on them because of the capital that it’s going to cost you to go up and get them.”
Case in point, missing out on Ladd McConkey in last year’s draft. The Patriots moved back, making a trade with the LA Chargers, who took the burgeoning star wideout. With the picks received from that deal, the Patriots took Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker instead. So they’ve been listening to all the “I told you so” rants over McConkey ever since.
“Well, we never want to do that, but I think that’s human nature. We want to try to eliminate those things from our program, the ‘I told you so’s’‘’ Vrabel said. ”You can put it on me. I’m a big boy, trust me. We’re going to have a lot of things that go well, which will be good to the players and the assistant coaches, and they’ll have some things that won’t go so well, and you can put those on me. I can handle it.“
It will fall on him. He’s calling the shots. The buck does stop with him, just like it stopped with Belichick.
What he says, stands as the overall message for the team.
And during his introductory press conference in January, Vrabel wasn’t shy about listing his goals for the team.
Win the division. Host playoff games. Compete for championships.
To accomplish that mission, he’s ushered out several veteran leaders (David Andrews, Ja’Whaun Bentley), while others (Jonathan Jones, Deatrich Wise) left in free agency.
He’s paid big money to sign the top defensive free agent (Milton Williams), and one of the top free agent receivers (Stefon Diggs), and went the extra mile with many other moves to help bolster the offense and defense.
Given all the moves made, did Vrabel feel he was any closer to reaching those goals.
“We won March. Which is something that’s comical, right?” Vrabel said, sarcastically poking fun at the Patriots spending the most money in free agency, a trend that has been far from the norm.
“We’re never just trying to win March. We want to just try to be ready when the season goes and it’s a long process.”
To that end, Vrabel is pleased with the progress that’s been made thus far with the influx of new players.
“Yes, I think that what we’ve done has been exciting. It’s been fun to come to work. There’s an energy in the building, which I am proud of,” Vrabel said. “When I hear that from people around the building that maybe have been there, that makes me happy, that everybody is excited, and there’s an energy about coming to work and ultimately trying to help the players.”
It’s tough to knock all the excitement and energy generated. Just don’t blow it in the draft.
- BETTING: Check out our MA sports betting guide, where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.
