Sunday's Patriots-Titans game is a huge one when it comes to seeding in the AFC, as Tennessee is at the top of the standings at 8-3, while New England is right behind them at 7-4.
Bill Belichick and Co. will be going up against Mike Vrabel, who obviously was a big contributor to the Patriots in the early 2000s, and is a coach Belichick has never beaten. He's 0-2 in his career facing his former player.
Appearing on The Greg Hill Show Monday morning, the coach discussed facing Vrabel and how he usually is rooting for him, but not this week, of course.
“Mike has done a great job at Tennessee," he said. "I’ve always had a lot of respect for Mike, and certainly have a ton of respect for him when he was a position coach and as a head coach, for sure. It will be a big challenge and Tennessee is obviously is a good football team, one of the best teams in the league. We’ll do our best to get ready and be ready to go on Sunday. Mike does a great job and other than when we play him I’m rooting for him, but not this week.”
Ryan Tannehill is the Titans quarterback and is someone who Belichick is very familiar with given his time with Miami. The coach noted he was happy to see him leave the division a few years back.
“Ryan has always played well against us," he said. "He’s a very smart player. He handles things at the line of scrimmage, audibles, checking plays, getting the team into good plays — or out of bad ones, however you want to look at it. He’s very athletic. He’s fast. He can make yardage with his legs out of the pocket, but also get out and scramble and find more time to throw.
"Again, he’s very mobile and smart in making good decisions for his team. I’ve always had a lot of respect — I was happy to see him leave Miami, but not so happy to play against him at Tennessee. He’s done a good job.”
Thanks to MacFarlane Energy, your Mitsubishi Diamond Elite contractor, where they can very affordably heat your three-season room with a Mitsubishi ductless hyper heat unit. Please visit MacFarlaneEnergy.com.