Patriots leaders wouldn’t forfeit meeting time for more rest on short week.

FOXBORO The Patriots have something special brewing in their locker room Head coach Mike Vrabel relayed a story Tuesday highlighting the commitment of his organization s leaders Since the Patriots are on a short week he needed to find a pocket in the weekly schedule to give his players more rest In a meeting with club leaders Vrabel offered to shorten a full-team meeting on Thursday by minutes Related Articles Patriots bring back veteran running back release Brenden Rice Patriots get bad news on Monday s projected injury document Patriots film review Rookies involved in critical plays leading to win Rob Gronkowski to sign one-day contract to retire as Patriot for life How Mike Vrabel responded to Patriots-Titans deal deadline analysis The leaders were like That s an vital meeting We do the mental performance We like the questions and all that I announced OK then we ll figure out a way to make the schedule I just use that as an example that it wasn t a set up question it was me just trying to find chosen extra time to give them in the meetings but also come in a little later Vrabel stated I appreciated that that they thought that was an crucial part of their day as well So why did players feel it was still fundamental to use that time People want to get the information linebacker and defensive captain Robert Spillane disclosed They want to get expletive right They want to be able to have all the information they need to go out there and make plays So meeting time is crucial for us to go out there and be accomplished on Sunday and we re going to continue with what we ve been doing What the Patriots have been doing is working The Patriots are - on the season and riding a seven-game winning streak The schedule lightens up in the next three weeks facing the - Jets - Bengals and - Giants before their bye week but they still need to avoid a let-down challenge Just think the accountability in front of the whole group tight end and offensive captain Hunter Henry disclosed about why the time was crucial We just have very specific squads where we re really on guys to keep the guys accountable and know what they got that week or the previous weeks whatever it is Just felt like we needed that not only for I mean honestly ourselves keep ourselves accountable but also the young guys It speaks to Vrabel s leadership that he was willing to offer that time to his band and listened when the captains felt it was too key to take off Vrabel has been very complimentary of his group s buy-in all season and it s evident on the field and in the locker room with players selflessness Veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs described Vrabel as kind of like that perfect parent Tough on you Tough love that positive reinforcement wants you to work hard wants the best for you going to demand it from you each and every day But also he was a athlete so he kind of understands too Diggs disclosed Sometimes in football we get lost a little bit in the business side of it but this organization s still got that family-oriented feel We re really playing for each other He s hard on you don t ever get it confused but he s not going to be irrational or ever try to make you feel less than Vrabel felt like his players were locked in and prepared this week despite a quick turnaround from Sunday s win over the Buccaneers to playing the Jets at home on Thursday night Because of his gang s buy-in and focus Vrabel revealed he hasn t had to fabricate selected conflict or run around here slamming everything yelling to get players back on task I think it s the leadership Vrabel explained I think that the guys that we have here I think it starts with the coaches being able to give them a clear message I think what the expectations are and I think the consistency they ve appreciated that The Patriots were expected to be improved this season but no one anticipated them being first in the AFC East and third in their conference entering mid-November The Patriots roster is better this season and a second-year leap from Drake Maye has been enormous for the club s sucesss But they re also playing as a unit and have clear leadership from Vrabel to his assistant coaches to the company captains and other veteran leaders Ten weeks into the season it s paying off