Patriots' Mike Vrabel responds to criticisms of his handling of preseason games after loss to Seahawks

Multiple individuals associated with the New England Patriots have received criticism for the fact that the club suffered a 13-10 season-opening loss at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 9 after Seattle starting quarterback Sam Darnold went down on the game's opening possession with a hip injury that kept him sidelined through the end of the contest. 

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel deciding not to play quarterback Drake Maye and other starters during the preseason has routinely been mentioned by fans and local media members who have said that New England looked "flat" during portions of the Week 1 game. During a Monday appearance on Boston sports radio station WEEI, Vrabel responded to those who have suggested that Maye and other starters should have taken some snaps in New England's second game of the preseason, a matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, on Aug. 22.

Preseason action wouldn't have prepared Eagles to play at Seahawks?

"Going out there against the Eagles’ backups — at home, for eight plays or 10 plays — wasn’t going to prepare us for the environment that we had on opening night," Vrabel explained, per Hayden Bird of Boston.com.

Debates about whether or not starters should play in preseason games get featured on sports-talk programs just about every summer. This past August, former New England quarterback and current NFL analyst Tom Brady sent this message to members of the football community regarding the preseason via a post he shared on Instagram: "When you’re a football player, and it’s football season, your job is to play football."

Mike Vrabel, Patriots "believe" in their "well-informed" choices

Meanwhile, the Patriots and Eagles participated in joint practices before their preseason game. 

"The work that we did prior to that game did much better to prepare us that day than playing," Vrabel said about the joint practices. "...We have to make decisions. We have to be convicted in them, and we have to feel like we’re well-informed with the decisions that we’re making, and then go and believe in them, and make them work."

Of course, there's no way of knowing if playing in the preseason would have resulted in Maye not throwing three interceptions in the fourth quarter of the Week 1 loss to Seattle. He and his teammates will now look to bounce back when the Patriots host the 1-0 Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 20.