What Titans coach Mike Vrabel said about his familiarity with the Patriots

Mike Vrabel is in his second season as coach of the Titans. James Kenney

By Andrew Mahoney

December 31, 2019

2 minutes to read

Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel spent eight seasons with the Patriots as a linebacker, and won three Super Bowls. But for all the success Vrabel had in New England, particularly in the postseason, he does not see that as a benefit when it comes to getting his team ready for a playoff game at Gillette Stadium.

“Our familiarity is not going to help us with being able to handle the road environment,’’ said Vrabel. “Our preparation and our execution is going to be what will determine how we handle that road environment at night.’’

Getting his team ready to play in the conditions is another story. As of Tuesday morning, the forecast for Saturday night is for a 70 percent chance of rain and temperatures dropping into the 30s.

“The weather – I don’t know how many cold-weather games we’ve played, if it’s going to rain, or it’s going to snow, or whatever it’s going to do, but we can try to talk to them about it and try to prepare them the best that we can just from our experiences up there.’’

In addition to playing linebacker, Vrabel also lined up on offense with the Patriots in short yardage situations near the goal line. He had eight receptions, all for touchdowns. He added two more touchdowns in the postseason.

This season for the Patriots, linebacker Elandon Roberts has jumped over to help with the offense, lining up at fullback. Vrabel talked about the play of Roberts, who scored a touchdown in the loss to the Dolphins Sunday, and about the Patriots’ use of trick plays in general.

“Elandon [Roberts] – again, I’ve got a lot of respect for that player. I’ve known him since he was at Houston. I think that he has done a great job at fullback. I would consider him a good fullback. I mean, he’s slamming it up there, he plays hard, he’s physical. So, that’s not much of a trick play to me.

“If [Julian] Edelman throws it, or [James] White throws it, those are things that we’re always going to have to be conscious of. That they have gadgets that they carry every week. Everybody does, whether you have the opportunity or not, we’ll always have to be alert for everything that could happen in every situation. Whether that be a surprise onside, a punt block, punt rush, a fake punt, the things that come up every week in the National Football League.

Vrabel is not reading anything into the fact that his first playoff game as a head coach comes against the Patriots.

“They’ve had a lot of success. That’s well-documented. We’re excited for the challenge, I know our guys are,’’ said Vrabel. “They understand the type of challenge that’s in front of us, and the preparation that’s going to have to go in, and the execution that’s going to be needed to go up there and win.’’

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