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February 1, 2004
VERSATILE: Range of skills is Vrabel's greatest strength
By Paul Woody | MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
One of the biggest plays in Super Bowl XXXVI came when a pass by quarterback Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams was intercepted and returned for a first-half touchdown.
Many might remember that Ty Law, a highly paid, highly visible cornerback, made the play that helped the New England Patriots pull off a Super Bowl upset.
Not so many will remember that a blitz by linebacker Mike Vrabel led Warner to make that ill-advised pass.
Vrabel had been a backup linebacker and special-teams player for the Steelers before joining New England in 2001. He was happy in Pittsburgh. He wasn't too far from his hometown of Stowe, Ohio, a suburb of Akron. He was near his alma mater, Ohio State.
"It was an opportunity to play more, to earn a starting job, which really wasn't going to be available in Pittsburgh," Vrabel said. "I knew what I had there, knew what I could possibly get in New England.
"I had to decide whether I wanted to stay close to home, stay in Pittsburgh, play special teams, play a series of defense each half or go and see if I could win a starting job."
Vrabel chose the challenge in New England. Since joining the Patriots, Vrabel has started 34 of the 45 games he has played in. The Patriots have won 34 of 48 regular-season games, four playoff games and one Super Bowl in that span.
Now, they are back in the Super Bowl, ready to face the Carolina Panthers tonight.
Vrabel, 28, is no small part of the Patriots success. He can play off the line in the base 3-4 defensive alignment. Or he can line up as a defensive end in a three-point stance. He can rush the passer or drop into pass coverage.
"I've had to be versatile in my career just to stick around," Vrabel said. "The more you can do gives you a better chance to stay on the field.
"The league has become so specialized that you have to match personnel. If you can cover, if you can rush, if you can play the run, it gives you a chance to play in three wide-receiver sets or two tight-end sets."
Despite missing three games because of injuries this season, Vrabel (6-4, 261) led the team in sacks with 91/2. He also intercepted a pass, forced four fumbles and had a fumble recovery.
The three sacks he had against the Cleveland Browns in October marked the first three-sack game for a Patriot since the 1998 season.
When Vrabel was growing up, the idea of sacking a Browns quarterback never occurred to him. He was a Browns fans, which gives him something in common with Coach Bill Belichick of the Patriots. Belichick was the Browns coach for five seasons.
Belichick wasn't happy to have had four losing seasons in those five years. The fans were not happy with the way Belichick conducted business, which included cutting quarterback Bernie Kosar, one of the most popular players in Browns history.
Even Vrabel remembers that day and wonders what happened.
"We haven't had that conversation," Vrabel said. "Maybe when I'm done I'll ask him a little bit about that.
"I just remember seeing him on TV, and seeing the press conferences and reading the stuff in the paper."
It's likely the impression that Vrabel had then of Belichick is not the same as the one he has now.
"That's definitely not the image I think of him now," Vrabel said. "He's probably grown a lot and changed. I didn't play for him then. I'm definitely happy I'm here now."
The Patriots share that sentiment.