Patriots, Titans practice like trash-talking family reunion
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Patriots’ rookies surprised Titans coach Mike Vrabel at the start of their joint practice by serenading him with for his 44th birthday.
Vrabel knows who likely instigated the singing.
“That was something that was unexpected but very appreciated,” Vrabel said Wednesday. “It was a good idea by whoever came up with it. Probably Tom or Bill.”
That would be either former teammate Tom Brady or Bill Belichick, the coach Vrabel won three Super Bowl rings with as a linebacker during his 14-year career. Now Vrabel is in his second season as head coach with the Tennessee Titans hosting Belichick and the Patriots for two days of practices before Saturday night’s preseason game.
This session featured lots of trash talking and felt much more like a family reunion than an NFL training camp with all the ties between these franchises.
Vrabel started the talk as soon as Brady came onto the field, yelling at the threetime NFL MVP for walking and not jogging onto the field. Brady told Vrabel to pay attention to his own work in just the start of the barking between teams with lots of ties and former players now on the other roster.
The Titans coach stayed close to his defense working against Brady, all the better for the two to chirp at each other.
“It brought back a lot of memories just to be able to sit out there and they make a play and he turns around and says, ‘Mikey you better cover that, you guys need to do this.’ I’m sure I had plenty to say too,” Vrabel said. “It was a lot of fun. We have a lot of respect for those guys. We can learn a lot from the way they practice and how they operate.”
Cornerbacks Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler and running back Dion Lewis all won Super Bowl rings with the Patriots before signing with Tennessee as free agents. Patriots cornerback Jason McCourty never played in the postseason through eight years with the Titans before finally joining his twin brother, Devin, in the New England secondary last season.
Ryan jumped up trying to knock down a Brady pass from his old teammate only to get knocked down by Patriots right tackle Marcus Cannon.