In my many years covering Mike Vrabel, I find he’s at his rawest, and therefore in his most honest state, after a game, win or lose. That’s why part of his answer following Sunday’s rout of the Raiders opened my eyes.
“Those receivers, they don't care who catches the ball,” Vrabel said. “They don't care who catches a touchdown. They're just as excited for the next guy if it was them, and I think that's truly what we wanna build around here, you know? And I gotta get it to be the entire team. I gotta get the entire team to look at it like that.”
So after a 45-17 win, with contributors at all levels and in all position groups, Vrabel felt it necessary to add that line. It fit his overall grumbly, “I’m happy,” but you can’t-tell vibe. So, a day later, that response came back up.
Q: Do you think there are some players or position groups where they're a little bit selfish?
“I mean, I think it's hard to get 70 guys to believe that and to understand that,” he said. “Do I think that we have a high majority? Yeah. And whatever's left on that, we'll continue to chip away. It'll never be perfect, but certainly that willingness to help each other, to be excited about each other's success, to work as a unit, push each other, challenge each other, but also care for each other.”
I haven’t heard or seen anything that suggests something is up, but I'll be doing this going forward.
Keep your Ear to the Grindstone https://t.co/DUBa4gUR9L via @YouTube
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) October 12, 2026
On to Musings…
Even the most ardent Josh McDaniels detractors - see Orlovsky, Dan, among others (you know who you are) - are backpedaling faster than Ty Law in his prime. Whether it was personnel deployments (the double sidecar pistol was a nice touch), motioning into 3x1 or 4x1 formations, or how the offensive coordinator dealt with/schemed around Maxx Crosby, it was A+-worthy. The fact that McDaniels's plays were basically what he’s been calling, for the most part, proves that no amount of Xs and Os can overcome poor play by the Jimmies and Joes.
If the Pats protect Drake Maye as they did on Sunday, very few defenses will stop him. That said, Maye played almost flawless football, with the minus plays (a risky throw to Efton Chism, the second go-ball to Romeo Doubs that bled too far toward the numbers) few and far between. Maye adapted to the Raiders, who mostly kept him corralled, by a) taking what the defense gave him - he played on time - and b) exploiting the 1-on-1 matchups on the outside. When all was said and done, he finished with an EPA of 0.76. That’s the third-best number a quarterback has posted this season. Who’s going to be the first to rev up the ‘Maye for MVP’ talk?
Maye’s time to throw was 3.3 seconds. That wasn’t because he was in full-time create mode. The offensive line “understood the assignment,” per Vrabel, and mostly kept the middle of the pocket clean. It wasn’t perfect, but after nearly ruining the game in Buffalo, this was the best that group has looked. Caleb Lomu, in particular, did a fine job filling in for the injured Will Campbell, who allowed a