Week 4 in the NFL is headlined by the “Sunday Night Football” matchup, as Tom Brady returns to Foxboro with his Tampa Bay Buccaneers to take on Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. One of the best quarterbacks in NFL history vs. one of the best coaches in NFL history. Everyone will be watching — well, almost everyone.
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel has his own game to prepare for this Sunday against the New York Jets, but he spent time with Brady and Belichick during his eight seasons with the Patriots. During his Friday press conference, Vrabel was asked if he could imagine how things will be for Brady going back to his former city and playing against his former team on a primetime stage. The Titans head coach responded by saying, “That doesn’t affect me one bit.” The reporter then asked what Vrabel thought the atmosphere would be like. Vrabel responded again by saying, “Doesn’t affect me one bit.” Vrabel was then asked another question, to which he walked off while saying again that the Buccaneers-Patriots game does not affect him.
Normally, this would be a perfectly fine question to ask a former Patriots player who knows Brady and Belichick personally, but Friday’s press conference didn’t exactly have a party-like atmosphere. Vrabel had to rule out his star pass-rusher Bud Dupree, punter Brett Kern and top two receivers in Julio Jones and A.J. Brown for Sunday. Vrabel wasn’t too interested in answering follow-up questions on injuries, either.
Vrabel is clearly laser-focused on the Jets this week, as he will need several backups to step up if Tennessee wants to extend its winning streak to three games.
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