Trouble Mounts for Mike Vrabel After Struggling Patriots Rookie Gets Obvious Message

The New England Patriots faced a tough situation on defense without their defensive coordinator, Terrell Williams, who missed the last game due to an unforeseen health issue. Williams’ absence marks the latest in a series of health challenges this year, including a serious medical scare in the spring and an incident where he collapsed during practice due to dehydration in the summer. While Williams is expected to still be involved with the team in some way, it’s unclear exactly how and when he will return to full duties. This has raised concerns for head coach Mike Vrabel, as he noticed some shortcomings in the Patriots’ defense against the Miami Dolphins.

In his absence, inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr took over the responsibility of calling defensive plays. “We had some good plays, and we had some plays we would like to have back,” Vrabel said of Kuhr’s first game at the defensive helm. “Again, as long as the operation is good, there’s no perfect play. There are good calls — there are no perfect calls. It’s about getting it in there. … We weren’t scrambling, I didn’t feel, at any point in time.” Kuhr, while praised by head coach Mike Vrabel as a “fantastic” coach, is very inexperienced for such a vital role. This is his first year leading a position group in the NFL.

Despite a strong run defense performance with five sacks in their recent win over the Dolphins, the Patriots’ pass defense has struggled. They face a challenge slowing down explosive passing attacks, and it doesn’t help that their best cornerback, All-Pro cornerback Christian Gonzalez, has not practiced since late July due to a hamstring injury. There is a small chance Gonzalez might return for the upcoming game, but he remains a key missing piece. Another area of concern is linebacker play, which has been weak early in the season.

Veteran Linebacker Robert Spillane has the most missed tackles in the NFL so far, and fellow linebacker Christian Elliss has the second-most. Even though the defensive line has outperformed expectations, the Patriots are struggling to win games with these defensive shortcomings. While it’s still early in the season and the Patriots are dealing with several obstacles, including their coordinator’s absence and key injuries, more consistent defensive play will be necessary for the team to reach even a .500 record this year. While Vrabel is still figuring out his defense, he is also focused on offense and, in particular, a rookie.

Vrabel’s clear message to the rookie

Patriots rookie running back Trevoyon Henderson has received a clear message of what is expected on Sunday in the game against the Steelers. “We had a similar play this week in practice, but it was with TreVeyon,” Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel explained on Monday, per WEEI. “We had two brutal plays to start the day… It was a good reminder of how we want to practice is how we want to play, and we can’t let things snowball on us.” Vrabel’s concerns about his performance reached a breaking point when they removed him from a play that was specifically designed around his skill set, highlighting the coaching staff’s diminished faith in his execution.

Henderson was in a bad state in his second career game. He had 40 total yards on five touches. Worst of all, he had three holding penalties. Those errors cost him the opportunity to remain on the field. He was later benched during the second half. RB Rhamondre Stevenson came in and took a lengthy catch-and-run from Drake Maye that established the go-ahead TD in the third quarter. While Vrabel didn’t explicitly state that Henderson’s three penalties caused his replacement by Stevenson, the timing and context made the coaching decision’s reasoning clear to observers. The message was delivered through action rather than public criticism.

In the meantime, Stevenson was the most productive player in the game as he made more yards than anybody. It goes without saying that the Patriots sent Henderson a powerful message: he must sharpen his blocking abilities, especially pass protection, to earn more playing time.

Fans and spectators understand from the context that Vrabel’s decision was influenced by those mistakes. It’s the kind of coach speak where you don’t say it outright, but everyone knows what’s really going on. The Patriots will provide their second-round rookie with additional opportunities, but he must prove that he can cope with the task.