Initially of the New England Patriots’ six-Tremendous-Bowl-winning run within the early 2000s, the workforce was outlined by a bunch of bruising defensive stalwarts. Gamers like Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi and Willie McGinest gave the Patriots a hard-edge.
However early-aughts Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham recalled one teammate particularly stood out for his “hyper-competitiveness”: Mike Vrabel.
Vrabel performed eight seasons as a linebacker with the Patriots and received three Tremendous Bowls with the workforce. He was inducted into the workforce’s Corridor of Fame in 2023.
“Mike [was] slightly bit totally different,” stated Chatham. “It is likely to be taking part in pool or one thing as a lot as taking part in soccer. You discover an exercise, Mike’s going to be deep into it.”
Chatham stated Vrabel was “a bit like [Tom] Brady in that regard.”
As Vrabel returns to Foxborough because the Patriots’ new head coach, Brady’s shadow nonetheless looms over the workforce. Within the half-decade because the star quarterback left New England, the Patriots have shuffled by way of disappointing seasons. 13 losses final season led workforce proprietor Robert Kraft to fireplace coach Jerod Mayo after just one 12 months on the job.
One motive for these latest struggles is that the expertise on the Patriots’ roster has been subpar, some gamers instructed MassLive. However different experiences level to a management vacuum within the absence of Brady, who, like Vrabel, pushed his teammates to the restrict.
What does Chatham hope to see from the workforce underneath Vrabel?
“Getting again to the entire robust, sensible workforce that does the correct factor and says the correct factor,” he stated, alluding not solely to the workforce’s play but in addition its many media missteps throughout the 2024 season.
“It was only a scattershot form of 12 months,” Chatham stated. “Quite a lot of errors. Quite a lot of stuff that, frankly, we used to make enjoyable of different groups for.”
This phase aired on January 13, 2025.
