Prior to the first of two joint practice with the Vikings in Minnesota on Wednesday, Mike Vrabel met with the media.

One question in particular from NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry drew an interesting response regarding Drake Maye’s leadership and leadership as a whole. We’ve all seen the Forged in Foxborough clips where Vrabel’s encouraging Maye to go celebrate with teammates or talk to them during a brief break. Vrabel wasn’t afraid to mince words following the preseason win over Washington last Friday when asked about Maye’s strip sack fumble.

It’s clearly been a point of emphasis from the day Vrabel was hired.

Maye is only 22, but if he’s going to be the next face of the franchise for more than just his rookie contract, taking command of the entire operation is imperative. On and off the field, guys need to know he’s not just along for the ride, but pulling them from the front.

When Perry specifically asked if Vrabel feels Maye is ‘lacking’ in the leadership department, Vrabel made it clear that isn’t the case, but rather it’s something Vrabel cares deeply about as a head coach.

“Well, it’s not that it’s lacking. I just – I always want more. I think I have to as a coach,” he said.

“I think that we always want to try to take a player and we want to meet them where they’re at and then be able to improve on that. So, there’s no finished products no matter what. We always can continue to work on things, focus on our reaction, our response to things and how – as a quarterback or any player, you want it to be perfect. It’s never going to be perfect, and you can sit there and paralyze yourself sometimes by mistakes. We need to focus on our responses to those mistakes that are so critical.

“There are so many snaps in the football game that – there’s certain things that can go up and down, and performance is one of them, and our attitude and our effort is something that can’t.

The effort and intensity Vrabel played with has been on display from the entire team since the first day of OTAs. There’s no denying the Patriots have already adopted the identity of their head coach.

But, to truly become a contender, they’re going to need QB1 wearing No. 10 to become obsessed with greatness and demand it from his teammates. Sort of like the guy who just got a statue outside Gillette Stadium.