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Mike Vrabel joked about Drake Maye’s nickname, state of ESPN after Patriots’ win vs. Bengals
"I couldn't even figure out 6-7, and now it's Drake 'Drake Maye' Maye-Maye, I don't know."
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel stopped by WEEI on Monday morning for his weekly interview with “The Greg Hill Show,” discussing a range of topics following his team’s 26-20 win over the Bengals on Sunday.
The victory extended New England’s winning streak to nine in a row, with the team now 10-2, and leading the AFC East by multiple games over the 7-4 Bills.
Vrabel acknowledged that it had not been his team’s best day at the office, but that he admired their resolve.
“Go down 10-0, proud of the way they battled back,” he said of the Patriots. “And then there’s always going to be some adversity, which I thought we stood up to.
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“Had a big drive there in the fourth to have to kick a field goal. Andy [Borregales] made a big kick to make it a six-point game to where they needed a touchdown, and we got the drive stopped,” Vrabel added. “There were a lot of positives, a lot of things to improve on. In the end I felt like we were able to find a way, not being at our best, but also make the plays when we had to.”
Here are a few other topics Vrabel covered in the interview:
Drake “Drake Maye” Maye
New England’s newest star quarterback has already earned an unorthodox nickname. Derived from social media, fans have (as a joke) referenced him as “Drake ‘Drake Maye’ Maye.”
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Vrabel said he’d only just become aware of the phenomenon.
“Drake ‘Maye’ Maye?” Vrabel joked during a question about the young quarterback. He was quickly asked for his thoughts on the nickname.
“I’m not really sure,” the Patriots’ coach replied. “I just heard about it ten seconds ago. I couldn’t even figure out 6-7, and now it’s Drake ‘Drake Maye’ Maye-Maye, I don’t know.”
What about “Draco” as a nickname?
“I don’t like that either. Keep going,” said Vrabel. He acknowledged to have never read the Harry Potter books (which include a character named Draco).
“Never seen it,” Vrabel said of the Harry Potter films. “I thought about waiting in a line one time at Universal (theme park) for two hours, and then I went to a bar.”
“What do you call him?” Vrabel was queried.
“Drake.”
Injury updates
New England had a tough day on Sunday in terms of injuries, with multiple players either exiting the game or being forced to a the sideline for a time.
The most prominent was starting left tackle Will Campbell. The 2025 first-round pick was carted off the field with a towel over his head. Left guard (and fellow rookie) Jared Wilson also went down with an injury.
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“Don’t have one,” Vrabel said about an injury update.
“We won’t know much, but yesterday was not a great day for us with injuries,” he admitted. “So there will be some players that went out of that game yesterday that won’t be available on Monday night. Hopefully we will get some of those guys back. We get an extra day, but I won’t be able to tell you much.
“I wouldn’t imagine that Will’s going to be able to play in the game,” Vrabel said of Campbell’s potential to play in the upcoming Monday night clash with the Giants on Dec. 1. “I don’t think that that will be something that will happen. That injury’s going to probably be more than a week or two.”
On the more general topic of injuries, Vrabel acknowledged that Sunday was a challenge simply from a depth standpoint.
“We had probably 18 guys on the field goal protection unit yesterday,” he said of the makeshift rotation. “That’s a first for me.”
A response to ESPN
During one part of the interview, show host Greg Hill brought up a recent storyline regarding ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. The bombastic television personality notably called Maye a “liar” before walking the comment back a few days later.
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The comment was flippantly made in reply to Maye saying he wasn’t familiar with Cam Newton’s own comments about the current New England quarterback.
Is ESPN on any of the televisions in the Patriots’ weight room?
“I don’t even know if the TVs work in the weight room,” said Vrabel. “You know we’re getting a new building. So we’ll make sure the audio and everything works.”
When reminded that Smith had also claimed his ESPN program, “First Take,” remains the No. 1-rated show of its kind, Vrabel seemed dubious.
“Is it? I find that hard to believe,” he joked. “It’s not the SportsCenter that I grew up with.”
Goal-line offense
One area Vrabel singled out for analysis was in his team’s ongoing struggles in the red zone. The Patriots were unable to score in multiple circumstances in which they had the ball at or near the goal-line.
“We have to better,” he said. “We have to be able to convert those into touchdowns, so it’s everybody. It’s design, it’s execution. You’re not going to win too many games if you cant score inside the five-yard line.
“At the end of the day, you have to be able to move somebody into the end zone. You have to be able to score with your man,” he noted.
A Matt Light digression
An unexpected cameo during the interview emerged when former Patriots left tackle (and ex-teammate of Vrabel’s) Matt Light called into the show with characteristic gusto.
“I’m going to tell all the fans listening the secret behind the culture,” Light said of Vrabel’s reshaped team culture in New England. “It’s one thing. It’s that beautiful upper-lip plumage that Coach Vrabel is sporting for the world to see every day.”
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Responding to the reference about his mustache, Vrabel noted that it’s for a cause.
“Well, we’re trying to support men’s health, and ‘Movember,’ and prostate cancer, and Gillette’s helping us,” Vrabel replied. “We’re actually auctioning off some shoes after Monday night’s game.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever done ‘My Cause, My Cleats,'” he explained, “doing it for men’s health. Think they’re pretty cool, and I’m excited to do that.”
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