You are the end product of all the decisions you have made up to this point in time. Not to say that the New England Patriots have made more good decisions than bad of late, but landing their former star linebacker and Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is chief among them. Shockingly, another bad team in the New York Giants decided to see what one more year of Brian Daboll can do for them.
Fate would have it, these two northeastern NFL rivals will be meeting in primetime this season. With the NFL schedule release coming out in earnest on Wednesday night, more and more games have been leaked in the lead-up to it. In the wee hours leading up to the big event, it seems as though the Patriots will host the Giants in Week 13 on Monday Night Football. I would not want to be the loser...
I look at the Giants and Patriots as two teams in the same point in their respective competitive life cycles. They have promise after being such a great disappointment for so long. Both teams have young star quarterbacks in Drake Maye and Jaxson Dart. Although they are unproven at the NFL level, either of them showing much of anything this season would be a huge positive for either team.
The more and more I think about it, the more and more likely this will be Daboll's final year in charge.
Mike Vrabel can make New York Giants pay dearly for passing on him
Outside of ownership, the one area where NFL teams can sustain their greatest levels of success is at head coach. Good players come and go, quarterbacks and what have you. While one could argue that sound front office executives help build these teams, you need the right leader of men guiding them. Vrabel is the alpha among alpha males. Daboll's career arc seems to be at its tipping point downward.
No, I do not expect for either team to contend for the playoffs this year, but the winner of this one in Foxborough could help set up an honest run at it in 2026. Both teams drafed well, but the Patriots seem to be one step ahead of the Giants because they have the right head coach to lead them. New York is doing the same thing it did with Daniel Jones. By waiting too long, they have hurt themselves.
The good news for the Giants, besides the allure of Dart, is that New York might actually emerge as a defensive-first football team. Anytime the Giants have been great in my lifetime, this has been their bread and butter. It starts with great play in the trenches. It is why I am so high on my favorite player in the draft going to the Giants in linebacker Abdul Carter. Of course, he is not being coached by Vrabel.
It may be a home game for the Patriots, but I think Vrabel shall be the deciding factor in it the most.