The New England Patriots' franchise and their fans have experienced a lot of ups and downs. Owners of six Super Bowl wins in the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era, they have been scrambling to return the team to its former fortunes.
Enter former New England linebacker Mike Vrabel, a player on three of those Lombardi Trophy-winning squads. After a stint with the Titans that saw him compile an impressive record of 64-47, he was let go by the team in 2023.
He returned to Foxboro, where he has demonstrated the same fire he showed as a player. His team has been a product of that attitude. Vrabel has preached to the team about finishing their blocks and to always. Mostly, he's emphasized a team-first mentality. It's a simple premise... But it's working. Now sitting at 9-2, the Patriots are positioned for their first postseason appearance since 2021.
"There is a great culture and attitude," Pats owner Robert Kraf t said, Mike and his staff have done a great job. We're excited. But we'll go week to week."
"Everybody is feeding off each other,"said linebacker Robert Spillane. "It's an exciting time to be a part of the New England Patriots; being a part of it is definitely special, it's fun," wide receiver Stefon Diggs said. "People kind of counted us out a little bit at the beginning of the year when things weren't going right. It's easy to do that."
"Team defense. Nobody is bigger than the team. That's the type of team Coach Vrabel wanted to build from Day 1 -- a bunch of guys who are selfless and want to pour into this team -- who want to help their teammates, who get joy from seeing their teammate succeed," said linebacker Robert Spillane, a captain who leads the team with 90 tackles. "When you get 33 guys -- 11 on offense, 11 on defense, 11 on special teams -- who all want to see the team succeed, good things are going to happen."
The Patriots will next host the Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) on Nov 23, New England is now three wins ahead of the favored Buffalo Bills and on top of the AFC East division.