Nationally, the New England Patriots’ run to the Super Bowl has been consistently dismissed and discredited. Their success has been chalked up not to their own play, but rather to a weak schedule, or an easy path through the AFC playoff field, or a lucky break with Broncos quarterback Bo Nix’s ankle injury before the AFC Championship Game.
At least some Patriots are clearly aware of what’s being said about them, with defensive tackle Milton Williams in particular sounding off after Sunday’s win in Denver.
So, what does Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel think about all the noise and his players’ response to it? The Greg Hill Show’s Courtney Cox asked him about it when he made his weekly appearance on WEEI Tuesday morning.
“However they have to get ready to play the football game, that’s all I care about,” Vrabel said.
Courtney followed up by asking Vrabel if he feels like the Patriots have been disrespected.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “We’re in the Super Bowl, Courtney. Like, we can pump this thing up for 10 days. I mean, we’re all compensated very well for what we do, so I don’t think there’s any disrespect from this building, or my appreciation for our football team. It doesn’t bother me.”
If the Patriots do want to play the disrespect card these next two weeks, though, they should continue to have plenty of ammunition. The skepticism over their “path” and the quality of their wins isn’t going away, and they are currently 4.5-point underdogs to the Seattle Seahawks for Super Bowl 60.
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