Copyright MassLive
FOXBOROUGH - Robert Spillane made a remark after Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay that resonated with his Patriots teammates. It was also eye-opening to anyone on the outside looking in. To paraphrase, the Patriots linebacker, a team captain, said when the game is on the line, when a play needs to be made, there is no doubt in the defensive huddle about what’s going to happen. “Everyone is picturing themselves making the play to win the game,” Spillane said Sunday. “I sure see myself making the play to help our team win. “When you got 11 guys out there with that mindset, playing within the scheme of the defense, but going out there to win the game, good things are going to happen.” Fellow Patriots captain Milton Williams, a Super Bowl winner with Philadelphia last season, agreed. “I think that’s been our motto all year. Somebody’s going to make a play,” Williams said. “We don’t care who it is, what it is, when the opportunity presents itself, you know what you’re supposed to do. That’s what we live by.” Why are the Patriots 8-2, riding a 7-game win streak, and leading their division? Why are they a surprise team that’s tied for the top spot in the AFC heading into Thursday night’s game with the New York Jets? Having Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye, one of the best coach-quarterback duos in the league, certainly factors significantly into that equation. But there’s more to it. It’s about the players all buying into Vrabel’s culture, and their respective offensive and defensive systems. It’s also about relationships that have formed, bonds within the units, and an unconditional belief in each other. That feeling, that vibe has been built up over time. And the players know it’s special. While he’s experienced a similar chemistry with other teams he’s been on, Stefon Diggs wouldn’t downplay it, or dismiss it. “We’re really playing for each other. We’re excited for each other. You can see the energy on the sidelines,” Diggs said. “Even when guys aren’t out there, they’re excited for the guys out there. “You see the energy. It’s not fake. It’s real.” Diggs referred to Vrabel as being the overseer of that vibe, and the “the perfect parent,” building from OTAs until now. The Patriots star wideout said Spillane’s words didn’t just apply to the defense, it’s in the offensive huddle as well. “I think it just permeates through the team. Every guy out there you got confidence in,” Diggs said. “The proof is in the pudding. You can kind of see it. “It’s just something we’re building over a course of time, and it’s a special time to be right here.” Naturally, Vrabel, who gifted his players with blue-collar mechanic shirts earlier in the week, loves the vibe and everything that goes with it. “I think that there is confidence in each other, but also the excitement that they have when somebody else does make a play,” Vrabel said Tuesday. “I think that that’s really the sense of your character, is can you be excited for somebody else when they’re out there making a play?” Vrabel said he’s gotten messages from people he’s close with who have remarked about seeing the team’s closeness and desire for others to do well. It’s a testament to what he’s tried to build, and how it’s all come together and played out in short order. We’ve heard about the position groups making a point of dining together once a week. It’s been a ritual for the offensive line on Thursday nights. One of those weeks, Diggs arranged for his personal chef to cook for the offensive linemen. Maye also hired an hibachi chef and had them at his house to treat the linemen. With seven games remaining, Spillane says all of it matters whether it’s off the field, or on. “We’re going to continue to trust in each other, and good things are going to happen,” he said. How important is that? “It’s massive. You can either play not to lose, or you can play and go out there to win. That’s how we want to play. We want to go out there to win the game, to make a big play, to be a big contribution to the team,” Spillane said Tuesday. “Everyone wants to be that guy . . . when you get a (team) like that, it’s a good sign.” It’s hard to argue with the results.
