Copyright MassLive
FOXBOROUGH - Standing pat at the trade deadline has taken some air out of the Patriots balloon in the minds of onlookers. What about the minds of the players? At 7-2, sitting first in the division, primed to make a run in an AFC that’s wide open, how did they feel about the team’s inactivity? Failing to provide reinforcements can be taken one of two ways by the players. It could mean Mike Vrabel & Co. have faith in what they have, what they’re building and believe this group can make something happen as is, which could be construed as a vote of confidence. Or, it could be taken as a slap in the face, that the braintrust thinks while the team has exceeded expectations, they’re going nowhere, so why surrender assets? Naturally, it was a hot button topic in the Patriots locker room. Perhaps it should come as no surprise many of the players have an ‘In Vrabel We Trust’ mentality and mindset. They’ve bought into his program and his vision for getting them to the promised land. They also believe in what they have in the locker room and are set for what lies ahead. “I didn’t really think too much about it,” Stefon Diggs said when asked about the team making no trades. “I just felt like, obviously, that’s above my pay grade. “But I think, if they were to grab some guys, whatever the case may be, it would be in the best interest of the team. But I didn’t think too much of it.” So whether they added on, or did nothing, Diggs trusts that the team is doing what’s best. The Patriots top receiver also believes in what’s around him. “At this point, I feel like we know who we are, we know where we want to go,” Diggs said. “And what it’s going to take to get there.” With Diggs as the ringleader, the team has adopted a popular rallying cry: “We all we got. We all we need.” The players have adopted it as their mantra. “We have confidence in the guys in the locker room. We built a great chemistry and atmosphere with one another,” veteran offensive tackle Morgan Moses said. “We come in here and try to get one percent better every day ... I think we’re in a great place right now.” Milton Williams agreed. The $104 million dollar defensive tackle viewed the Patriots lack of moves more as a vote of confidence, than throwing up the white flag. “We’re 7-2 with the guys we got in this room,” Williams said. “I think most of it is for the future. They’re trying to make sure they’re making all the right moves for the future. “I’m just saying that from my point of view. I don’t know. But with my group, our group, I feel like we’ve been playing good all year. We just gotta keep it going.” As for Vrabel, he danced around trade deadline questions. Asked if the team was close to making any moves, he offered an analogy that quickly made headlines. “Deals are like being pregnant. You either are, or you aren’t,” Vrabel said. “It’s either a deal or it’s not. So I don’t know how close you can be.” The Patriots coach also wasn’t moved to be more aggressive adding players given how the AFC has unfolded. Vrabel said he wasn’t in the business of predicting the future. Even though the Patriots immediate future appears bright, given the emergence of Drake Maye, you never know how things are going to shake out. So, unlike other top teams in the AFC, be it the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars, they Patriots did not land any players who might help them get over the hump this year. They weren’t compelled to alter their long-term plan. As Williams alluded, the Patriots stuck to the blueprint they’ve laid out. They want to build through the draft. It’s just odd that they’d leave themselves thinner at certain positions by trading defensive end Keion White, and safety Kyle Dugger, without landing replacements. Vrabel, however, didn’t concede a thing. “We’re trying to build a program ... I think part of building a program is finding ways to win, building a team and figuring out where the pieces are that we can continue to add that are going to make sense,” Vrabel said Wednesday. “I don’t think this is a negative. This is just where we’re at. We worked extremely hard to make calls and have conversation. In the end, we didn’t do anything.” And, to no surprise, the players weren’t about to openly challenge that decision. They just pointed to their mantra: “We all we got. We all we need.”
