The New England Patriots had a tough outing last weekend against the Pittsburgh Steelers, not only losing 21-14 but committing a huge five turnovers on the day.
Four of those were fumbles; two by starting running back, Rhamondre Stevenson, and apiece by backup, Antonio Gibson and franchise quarterback, Drake Maye.
And in the wake of that, it seems like head coach, Mike Vrabel, and the rest of the staff are taking a pro-active approach to ensure such a performance does not happen again.
According to a new report from MassLive, who dug deep inside what the team have been doing this week in order improve ball security, Vrabel had already put the team through such drills earlier this season and in the offseason.
“Under Mike Vrabel, the Patriots have practiced ball security drills.” Mark Daniels wrote on Thursday. “Assistant coaches have worn boxing gloves and physically tried to punch the ball away from running backs. Position coach Tony Dews even has a long pole with a helmet attached, and he uses that to try to dislodge the football from his player’s arms.”
However, now the Patriots HC has added more to the selection in light of last weekend’s fumble-party.
“On Wednesday, the team brought out a series of new drills to help their running backs following fumbles by Rhamondre Stevenson (two) and Antonio Gibson (one) against the Pittsburgh Steelers.” Daniels continued.
“In Wednesday’s practice, coaches wanted the running backs to simulate getting low to the ground while having a defensive player try to physically punch the ball away from their arms. When the two veterans lost the ball on Sunday, coaches noticed it happened when they were getting low toward the end of their runs.”
How Do The Players Feel About The New Anti-Fumbling Drills?
Gibson took responsibility for the mistakes, and look to use the new drills as a way to eliminate the problem altogether.
“When something like that happens, you get a whole bunch of new stuff. We’ve got a whole bunch of new drills yesterday,” Antonio Gibson said to MassLive on Thursday. “That’s what comes with it. It’s our error, so we’ve just got to take it on the chin and whatever they put in front of us, we go through it, accept it, and learn from it.”
At the same time, Stevenson also felt like the drills had a positive impact on the team, particularly since they actively worked with members on the defense who mimicked what they would face in real-game situations.
“We did a couple of different ball security drills yesterday,” Stevenson told MassLive. “I think they all were good and different. We worked with the linebackers, who actually punched the ball out and worked on that stuff. Getting that work with them was good for us.”
Stevenson has had his fumbling issues over the past year and a bit, losing the ball seven times in 2024. Hopefully, with greater practice and renewed focus, he can start to eliminate what has been one of the bigger holes in his game.
Daniel Arwas Daniel Arwas is a sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com. Daniel began his career in sports writing in 2022 and has covered the NFL and college football for Gridiron Heroics and The Hammer. More about Daniel Arwas
