Patriots Culture Changes Starting to Show

Throughout training camp and the team’s first two preseason games, it became clear that Vrabel’s message had resonated with his players. New England’s on-field execution became sharper, while the vibe surrounding the team took on a greater sense of camaraderie. Far too often last season, the Pats played fundamentally-unsound and listless football — providing a clear indication that the team had serious on-field issues with motivation and execution. To only compound the situation, the Pats did not have experienced coaching to pull them through their struggles.  Unsurprisingly, the team limped to its second-straight 4-13 season. 

Conversely, Vrabel has already begun  to impart his objective. The 50-year-old has vowed to remove the “entitlement” from the team and thus create an aura of self-responsibility. While New England’s front office has worked diligently to stack its roster with high-quality, high-character players, they are now devoid of any direct link to the “dynasty” days of former coach Bill Belichick and legendary quarterback Tom Brady. As such, Vrabel’s message must not only be heard, but unconditionally embraced by his team to succeed.

“I think that we started to have an identity,” Vrabel added. “Again, you have to put it on tape each and every day. Your team has to look a certain way, whether it’s the first string guys or the guys that are trying to build some depth and be multiple position backups … special teams players, role players, all that has to carry through. I like where we were starting to go defensively and showing some glimpses of the team defense. I thought our special teams units had done some nice things.

“We didn’t have as many opportunities tonight. But, it will come. There’ll be some young players that I’m excited about that maybe we haven’t heard a whole lot from that are continuing to improve.”