FOXBORO — Drake Maye sat in the front row as Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel addressed the team during their first full squad meeting of the week. It was a Wednesday-like Thursday for Maye and company, three days before they depart for Santa Clara and 10 days before they face the Seahawks in Super Bowl 60.Vrabel reminded players about the “hopes” they shared some six months ago in a well-documented meeting during training camp. At the time, Vrabel asked players to share their 4 H’s — History, Heroes, Heartbreak and Hope.“Our hopes were to win the big game, win the Super Bowl,” Maye said at Gillette Stadium on Thursday.Vrabel relayed the reminder.“‘Look where we’re at now. Those hopes are coming to a reality,’” Maye said, citing Vrabel’s words.“So, that’s one of the coolest things I thought I heard this morning from him, him relaying it to us and knowing what we dreamed of — even as a little kid, when you wanted to watch the Super Bowl at a Super Bowl party. Now, we’re the party.”Vrabel’s inspirational message in that meeting is just one example in a season full of them. Players inside the locker room — including Milton Williams, Christian Elliss, TreVeyon Henderson, Jaylinn Hawkins and Maye — all praised Vrabel when NBC Sports Boston asked how they would describe their coach as a motivational speaker.“He’s a great motivational speaker,” said Elliss, a veteran linebacker. “He makes it relatable. He makes it witty, but he gets his point across.“Not every speech is a home run,” Elliss said with a smirk. “But yeah, a lot of his are good.”Elliss, like other teammates, understandably deflected when asked if he could peel back the curtain on specific examples. But one thing Elliss appreciates is that Vrabel doesn’t save his best for last. By the time game day rolls around, it’s less rah-rah from the veteran head coach. He pressed all the right buttons earlier in the week.“Honestly, I love how he handles game days because he’s just like, ‘Go be you. Go do what we’ve already talked about every single day this week.’”Vrabel’s experience as a player allows him to be more relatable and understand exactly what players are going through, they say. Maye noted how Vrabel spoke about earning a trip to the Super Bowl as a rookie with the Steelers, but never returning to the playoffs in Pittsburgh. It was Vrabel’s way of explaining that these runs aren’t commonplace in the league, and it’s not promised these youthful Patriots will return. Then again, Vrabel has plenty of experience winning Super Bowls, allowing him to share his knowledge of both sides.That’s been helpful during New England’s playoff run, in a season where nobody expected it.“With him being a player, I feel like he always — he’s still got it in the back of his mind what makes players click and what gets us going in the right direction, believing in each other,” Milton Williams said. “When we go out there, we’re going to lay it on the line for him.”Vrabel, as he’s done time and time again this season, deflected when asked about his role in motivationing players. It’s all about the players, after all.“I don’t know that players need to be motivated, I think they’re motivated,” Vrabel said. “I hope it’s to win a championship, a Super Bowl. If it’s money, that’s fine, it’s professional football. Date the cheerleader, whatever motivates them. I mean, as high school players — whatever motivates you. “We’re trying to inspire them, and give them confidence and trust in doing their job. So, I used to think I needed to motivate them; I try to inspire them to do their job with confidence.”It’s exactly that kind of leadership, though, which continues to motivate and inspire confidence inside the confines of Gillette Stadium.Vrabel believes his players have one more in them. And they can’t help but think the same about their coach.MORE PATRIOTS COVERAGENew England Patriots19 hours agoHow Patriots, Seahawks took different QB paths back to Super BowlSuper Bowl17 hours ago‘Seeing ghosts': Sam Darnold has come a long way since infamous moment vs. PatriotsPhil PerryJan 28Patriots Mailbag: Maye's shoulder, early Seahawks scouting report and moreThis story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
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