The question was why New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t play his starters in the second preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. His answer, “I don’t think we have a very deep team,” caught everyone off guard and started media speculation. Was the 2x NFL Coach of the Year not confident in his roster? Was this perhaps a subtle shot at the front office for not doing enough?

Vrabel actually had a simple reason – the same reason every head coach is reluctant to play their starters in preseason – and when the questions arose on The Greg Hill Show, he shut them all down.

“I mean, we are the front office. We’re all making the decisions. I’m just saying, we’re all included in this,” Vrabel said. “No, it was about the young guys that we have to develop, and you could see that the players that we kept out of the game, that those are the guys (the starters). And then we have to be able to find some guys behind them to be backups, to be the first guy in and be the third outside linebacker, be the third inside linebacker, be the sixth offensive lineman.

“These things that are so critical: be the third safety. And so those are the things that we’re trying to develop. And I guess that’s what I was referencing. If I can walk that back… these aren’t issues that… I’m not [making] subtle comments. That wasn’t that. It was just they asked why we didn’t play the guys, and we got to have everybody that we have available and then continue to develop and see some guys that went out and played like they did on Saturday night to continue to build that depth.”

Now, while Vrabel’s postgame comments may have sparked questions about the Pats, it could very well just be a revelation that rose because of what happened with Bryce Baringer, the punter/holder for New England.

Baringer only punted twice in the first half against Philly before leaving the game with an undisclosed injury. New England needed an emergency punter, and rookie quarterback Behren Morton stepped up in his place, which, in turn, gave Vrabel an unexpected playmaker. Morton punted the ball three times (48, 43, and 42 yards). When the time was ripe, Morton even threw a 37-yard dime to give the Pats a 24-21 lead with just 0:57 left on the clock. On the Greg Hill Show, before the question about depth and his postgame comments were raised, Vrabel even outlined players like Morton as part of his strategy.

“We have got to have emergency snapper, emergency punter, different things like that throughout the season, and you know, felt like that was necessary at the time,” Vrabel said. “… Plus, it opens up so many fake possibilities. We could drop back and throw it from 15 yards when he’s back there.”

Going back to Vrabel’s earlier explanation though, that wasn’t enough to convince the hosts. So when Vrabel was asked why he doesn’t have good depth, he turned the lens towards player development instead.

“When you look at how you want to be constructed, we have to continue to draft very well,” Vrabel said. “We have to continue to develop those late-round picks, the guys that we can find that can be interior offensive linemen, that can be special teams linebackers, which is what we’re hoping. When you look at Nam (Namdi Obiazor) and Khalil [Jacobs], drafting some edge guys that you can develop and that maybe haven’t played necessarily this 3-4 defense in the past, but that you’re developing.

“And you know that that’s just the kind of where we were constructed, and I think we can always work to improve that. And you just know that through the course of the season you’re going to need so many of those guys just because things are going to happen, and we have to be ready to play games without those frontline guys, and that’s on us to be able to get these guys ready to go.”

Injuries are second nature on the gridiron when bodies collide like a freeway pile-up. Thinking your starters won’t get injured is simply wishful thinking. So Mike Vrabel is trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Case in point, the Pats have signed punter Matt Haack, a veteran with nine NFL seasons and 110 games under his belt.

As for the rest of the depth chart, the left inside linebacker spot only has Christian Elliss and Namdi Obiazor on the list. Vrabel has only one designated fullback (Reggie Gilliam), and only two right guards (Mike Onwenu and Greg Van Roten). The running back room looks a little thin, with both TreVeyon Henderson and La’el Collins listed as ‘Questionable’ on their injury report. None of these need immediate fixing, but as the wear and tear of a 17-week grind begins, Vrabel will need bodies in case the starters get sidelined.

Now, Coach Vrabel already knows where the gaps are. He has until August 30th to trim his active roster down to the final 53. With so many cuts looming across the league on that day, Vrabel will have one day (August 31st) to get all the new pieces he needs through waiver claims. For all the questions about what Vrabel said after defeating the Eagles, the coach himself doesn’t seem the least bit worried. All this does is give the backups an extra jolt to prove themselves in the coming days to secure a roster spot.