FOXBOROUGH - Once you get past Mike Vrabel's borderline scandalous take that Thanksgiving isn't a top-3 holiday - the horror - there was a lot to be gleaned from the Patriots head coach during his Wednesday press conference.
The first, and most important, is that rookie left tackle Will Campbell has been placed on injured reserve this afternoon. Per a source close to the player, the injury is indeed an MCL sprain (severity still undisclosed). That means the earliest Campbell can get back to protecting Drake Maye's blindside is the week 18 regular-season finale. Again, that is by no means a guarantee. As Vrabel told us on Monday, "it's nothing that's going to, hopefully, put him out for the entire season."
Campbell isn't the only absence. Jared Wilson is reportedly dealing with a high ankle sprain - though I haven't been able to confirm that - and "won't be out there this week," per Vrabel. I do wonder if the injury is less than what the NFL Network put out there, because a) there is no such thing as a moderate high-ankle sprain, and b) Wilson would be a candidate for IR (you can bring back up to 8 players off IR, so it's not a numbers issue). That's usually a 4-to-6-week injury at best, and it could certainly affect someone like Wilson, whose best strength is his overall athleticism.
As for the replacements on that left side, Vrabel said the plan is to go with Vederian Lowe at tackle and Ben Brown at guard, with rookie Marcus Bryant remaining in his role as the swing tackle. They will be tested on Monday night by a Giants defensive front that can bring the heat. Edge rusher Brian Burns is second in the league in sacks (13), while rookie first-rounder Abdul Carter has just half a sack but only one less pressure (39 to 38) than Burns. Throw in Kayvon Thibodeaux's 32 pressures and behemoth Dexter Lawrence's 25, and well, you get it. This shouldn't be a walk in the park.
“I think 57 of their 66 quarterback hits come from those guys up front,” Vrabel said, adding. “Those guys are certainly impactful players that have to be accounted for every play. And they rotate them through there quite a bit, so there’s a lot of juice there and a lot of disruption.”
"Communication is probably a little more important," Garrett Bradbury told me when I asked about the stress that DL will put on this new starting five. "Guys haven't heard the same cadence. Haven't heard all the calls that I've been making. And so as long as all five of us can be on the same page, we trust who's in there, and Vrabel always talks about taking advantage of opportunities, and some of these guys have some good ones."
No one stands to gain more from this chance than Lowe. He scuffled as the starting left tackle a season ago, and in essence became the symbol for all that went with that group. It wasn't always as bad as we remember it being - there were pockets of solid play - but it also wouldn't have been a surprise had the Pats found a better option behind Campbell. But to Lowe's credit, he fought back from offseason shoulder surgery - he played with a torn labrum down the stretch - and now has a chance to show this coaching staff that there's better football in him.
"It means everything," Lowe told us of this chance, adding that this staff has taught him that "it's really just a mental preparation. They (coaches) have their nuances when it comes to the physical aspect, but being with Josh (McDaniels) and just how he prepares us mentally - all the little details. I think that everybody in this league is good, but what separates you is the details. And I think that that's the number one thing that I've learned from this staff."
Lowe had some "plays he'd like back' from the second half of Sunday's game in Cincinnati, but if he were to play that way in the coming weeks, the Pats, with help from Josh McDaniels' ability to scheme and protect his tackles, could survive. The long-time play caller and play designer also has another item on his already full plate because the Giants fired friend-of-Vrabel, Shane Bowen, as their defensive coordinator earlier this week. In the interim, the GMen will turn to Charlie Bullen. He was the team's outside linebackers coach and had never called a defense before. Bullen does come from the Vance Joseph tree. If you've watched his Denver defenses over the last few seasons, they love to blitz. And interim head coach Mike Kafka appeared to have green-lit that approach during what little time he had with Bowen.
"I mean, if they can change the defense in a week, I don't know, they're better than we are," Vrabel said. "But, you know, maybe he pressures more. Maybe he plays more cover two. Maybe they - I would have no idea. But I think the structure has got to be somewhat the same. I mean, (they) may want to pressure more. I think the calls they have can always change. I just - it would be really hard to completely change from an under front to an over in base. But they were pretty multiple before...I think we'll just always have to be prepared for things that they could do."
Even if the Giants get creative and show unscouted looks, McDaniels and this staff have demonstrated the ability to adjust on the fly, and we know this quarterback has that ability as well. That's not a bad place to be, especially with an extra day to study.
FOR THOSE WONDERING...
Vrabel was asked what were his top-3 holidays:
"Christmas. Christmas is number one. Fourth of July is a close second. Big firework guy. And then it's a toss-up. St. Patrick's Day, Halloween. After Christmas and Fourth of July, there's a big drop-off."
I'm 1) Christmas, 2) Thanksgiving, and, even though my dog is a menace, 3) Halloween. That's it. That's the list.
