Mike Vrabel discusses Patriots’ recent penalty trends
Penalties were a bit part of the story for the Patriots early in the season, but have come down in recent weeks, which Mike Vrabel discussed on Friday.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 12: Head coach Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots speaks with officials during a game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome on October 12, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Stacy Revere/Getty ImagesMike Vrabel was quick to let assembled media know he didn't have time on a Friday to talk about recent penalty trends. The Patriots head coach was asked about the team's improved discipline in that regard compared to previous seasons, but took the question elsewhere.
"I don't really have time on a Friday afternoon to get in and talk about discipline as it relates to penalties," Vrabel said, almost with a shrug. "I think that there's penalties that we have to be very conscious of and make great decisions and discipline of jumping off sides or the line of scrimmage."
The Patriots had been penalized 39 times through the first four weeks of the NFL season, including seven false starts. In the following nine games, the Pats have been penalized 43 times with 10 false starts.
"I also see guys that line up off sides and it's not called and then some other team lines up maybe off sides and it gets called and the inconsistency so it's like...the discipline or what they let a player get away with."
With Patriots penalties down since the first quarter of the season, Vrabel doesn't want to point to one specific reason for the improvement.
"We try to show them the rules. We try to tell them to play aggressive within the rules. Not going to compare this to that or the discipline because we had penalties early in the season that's kind of settled down. Maybe we're figuring it out a little bit."
As it comes to comparing to past years, Vrabel added he could only talk about the team as long as he's been here. During his tenure though, it is safe to say the team has made progress.
