FOXBORO Mike Vrabel wants his guys to follow his instructions rather than imitate him when it comes to training camp clashes.
Vrabel was asked to remember his first day in full pads as a Steelers rookie in 1997, when he got into a fight with a Pittsburgh tight end, before to the Patriots taking the field for their first padded practice of the new season.
Vrabel claimed that while the scrap itself wasn’t very noteworthy, the response to it was. All-Pro linebacker Greg Lloyd, who had up until then totally disregarded the third-round draft pick, respected him for his intensity.
“It’s a good story about a veteran player who says, don’t use the fight,” Vrabel said. Greg Lloyd was a formidable player with a lot of dominance. He didn’t speak to me during OTAs after I was picked in April. Remember, I’m on the defense. Throughout the whole offseason, he remained silent. We attend a training camp. A brawl is going on between a tight end and me. I’m sitting in the locker room, fatigued from practice, when I notice this shadow passing over me.
“Yeah, the next time you want to come up underneath the face mask,” he says in a deep voice. And I thought, Are you going to speak to me now? “Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t like a punk before I talked to you,” he says. It’s a good example of a veteran simply ensuring that newcomers earn their stripes, I suppose, somewhat.
Related Articles
-
Why Mike Vrabel compared Patriots Hunter Henry to former Titans All-Pro
-
Intensity ramps up in Patriots first padded practice of training camp
-
Christian Gonzalez leaves Patriots training camp with injury
-
Patriots depth chart reset: How roster looks in first week of training camp
-
Early takeaways from Patriots training camp
However, Vrabel was clear that he did not want any of his players to follow his example.
The Patriots’ head coach stated, “We want to be able to practice in the same way that we have to play, which is physical and within the rules.” Have a fantastic play style, finish before the whistle blows, and so forth. The team will lose if you throw a punch because you will be removed from the game. I thus don’t expect any of that. I would like us to rejoice together as a team and as a defensive unit. Get fired up, offensive unit, and join in the celebration. Not to mention the teasing and the stuff we are not allowed to have while playing the game.
On Monday, New England’s players largely followed those guidelines. After one 11-on-11 rep, rookie cornerback Kobee Minor and rookie wide Jeremiah Webb got into a little post-whistle altercation, but no actual fighting took place, and no players were dismissed from practice.
The Washington Commanders’ return to Gillette Stadium next week will be a more difficult test of the no fighting policy because training camp brawls most often occur during joint practices.
