Robert Spillane maps out how Patriots are buying into Mike Vrabel’s mentality

"We know the real season is ahead of us."

Mike Vrabel and the Patriots are 9-2 so far this season. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff

November 14, 2025

3 minutes to read

FOXBOROUGH — After finishing off their second game in five days with Thursday’s primetime win over the Jets, Mike Vrabel is looking forward to a bit of a breather.

As miserable as it might be for a team to trudge through a quick turnaround between games on Sunday and Thursday, New England now has a “mini bye” of sorts — with their next game set for Nov. 23 against the Bengals.

As such, Vrabel will have the Patriots officially off until Monday, giving the team ample time to rest and recover amid the grind of a 17-game season.

“Let them enjoy a win on a short week,” Vrabel said after Thursday’s 27-14 win over New York. “Like I told them, I’m excited we’re 9-2. I’m excited that I don’t have to see them until Monday.”

Vrabel might be taking a few days off away from the team facility. But a Patriots roster that has bought into their coach’s preachings of being a tight-knit, relentless grouping on and off the gridiron may not have the same memo.

“I’m expecting to see a bunch of guys in the facility throughout the weekend,” Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane said. “I’d be very surprised if we don’t have 30, 40, 50 guys here over the weekend looking to get recovered, [get] extra lifts in, because we know the real season is ahead of us. Everything that’s in the past is in the past, and going forward — this is our season.”

Spillane, a defensive captain who recorded nine tackles against the Jets, has been part of a leadership core that has routinely echoed Vrabel’s messaging about “non-negotiables” like effort, finish, and accountability.

Given that New England only had a few days of practice time and recovery between Sunday’s hard-fought road win against Tampa Bay and Thursday’s home game against the Jets, Vrabel and his staff explored ways to lighten the workload for a weary roster.

Earlier this week, Vrabel opted to cut 25 minutes off of the team’s full-roster meeting in order to give the team more time to rest and receive treatment. The players declined.

And with the temperatures dipping into the low 30s on Tuesday, Vrabel and Co. gave the players the option to practice indoors in the team’s indoor facility. Once again, the players didn’t take the easier option and took to the practice fields outdoors.

“Not taking shortcuts,” Drake Maye said Tuesday of choosing to practice in chilly conditions. “Not letting little things lack or slack. I think the biggest thing is to stay with what we’ve been doing, try to keep the same mentality.”

Spillane stressed that if the Patriots want to keep building success this winter and carry their season through January, they’re going to have to get used to tough conditions — and a lot more adversity.

“We play outside, we play in inclement weather,” Spillane said. “We are in New England, so we’re going to have to play in lots of inclement weather games. We want to use that as a winning edge for us. Something that we can hang our hats on. We are not going to slow down when the weather’s cold. Hopefully, the other team does.”

The Patriots still have plenty of things to shore up, be it their lax defensive play on opening drives, the sting of the injury bug, and other occasional lapses in execution that can hinder teams in the postseason.

But so far, Spillane and the Patriots are fully on board with what Vrabel has mapped out as the team’s identity.

And through 11 weeks, it’s hard to knock the results.

“Nobody is bigger than the team, and that’s the type of team coach Vrabel wanted to build from day one — a bunch of guys who are selfless, who want to pour into this team, want to help their teammates, who get joy from seeing their teammates succeed,” Spillane said. “And when you’ve got 33 guys — 11 on the offense, 11 on defense, 11 on special teams — who all want to see the team succeed, good things are gonna happen.