Mike Vrabel made headlines when the Patriots head coach ended up with a cut on his cheek after stepping into a pre-season fight.
The clash broke out during a joint practice with Washington. Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson collided with a Commanders defender who was blocking for quarterback Drake Maye, sparking a wider scuffle. Players from both teams piled in before Vrabel waded forward to break it up.
“Hey, you should have seen the other guy,” Vrabel joked to his players after the fracas, which happened during a practice scrimmage against the Washington Commanders.
Maye praises Patriots coach Mike Vrabel post-fight
Seeing his coach step in fired up quarterback Drake Maye.
“That’s what we’re trying to build, and it starts with the head coach intensity, bringing it every day, taking no crap when we’re out there on the field,” the newly married Maye later told reporters.
“The mentality, I like it. That’s what you want.”
He added, “I think pass pro gets physical. It’s a man’s game and things happen out there … there’s a time where obviously you don’t want to go out there and fight and get in trouble but you also don’t want to back down from nobody.
“I’m sure coach will preach that you can’t have that, but in the back of our minds that’s kind of how you want to play with intensity and when the whistle is going play hard.”
Speaking before the joint session, Vrabel suggested that most healthy players will see the field in the upcoming pre-season game against Washington.
“I would say most everybody that’s healthy should expect to play in the game,” head coach Mike Vrabel shared ahead of the joint practice.
“How long they’ll play, I don’t know, but we have to prepare to play in football games and prepare to win football games. So, that’s the mentality that we’re going to take.”
The Patriots coach’s willingness to throw himself into a heated exchange may not have been planned, but it underlined the edge he wants from his team as the season approaches.
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