FOXBOROUGH - Before I take a closer look at the play of Will Campbell and Milton Williams from Sunday’s regular-season finale, Mike Vrabel returned to the podium Monday morning. He gave us a bit more about their Wild Card round opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers. For those who missed it, Greg gave you a sneak peek last night, and I’m sure we’ll have more for you as the week goes on.
“I would just tell you that they play great defense,” Vrabel told us. “They're very sound, they're good tacklers, they're physical. They get off the field on third down. They're good in the red zone. They run the football. It's a physical football team. They possess the football; they lead the NFL in time of possession. Very good quarterback play.
“They're well coached. They play with technique and fundamentals. They don't panic one way or the other. They kind of stick to their game plan and bore you down, and execute in critical situations. So a lot of respect for them, certainly what they've done in a short amount of time.”
The Chargers’ defense has made vast improvements over the latter half of the season. What has Vrabel seen?
“They don't give up a whole lot of first downs, stingy,” he said. “They're going to make you get everything that you earn. You're going to have to earn it, and just not going to give it to you. Very sound in that regard. So we'll have to have great execution, make great decisions, and be able to put some drives together to sustain. They're just not going to hand you two ‘X” plays down to the one-yard line.”
As for his own team, Vrabel said it’s too early to tell if any of the injured players would be back for this weekend, specifically mentioning Robert Spillane (foot), Harold Landry (knee), Khyiris Tonga (foot), and Jared Wilson (concussion). Cornerback Alex Austin continues to make his return to play as well and will practice this week.
As for yesterday, the Pats got a boost with the returns of Campbell and Williams. I rolled up the sleeves and dug into the tape while pounding hot tea with lemon (thanks to my wonderful son, who gifted me his cold before departing for college. Great time to feel like crap...)
I thought Campbell was