FOXBOROUGH – Speaking Wednesday morning before practice, Mike Vrabel was asked about something he used to do before each game as Titans head coach.

Vrabel would identify three or four key elements to winning that week and express it to his players. Seems simple, right? It is, but when you boil it down, football can be a simple game sometimes. With such a young roster and so many unknowns heading into Sunday’s opener against the Raiders, Vrabel acknowledged that those things have been identified. He wouldn’t share specifics for obvious reasons, but did explain the thought process to his approach this week.

Don’t overthink it.

“You don’t want to get too convoluted and just try to make sure that the players are seeing it the same way as we do after all the film and things that we think are going to be important this week,” he said. “Having been through it, it’s not like I want them to memorize and have to look down. I want them to understand how their play and their position, what they can do to help us execute those keys so it’s not just a blanketed, broad statement. It’s like, ‘How does my job as a left guard,’ or, ‘How does my job as a safety or a nickel help us execute these keys or what we’re trying to get done on special teams?”

Vrabel also expressed his hope that his team can win the game in the second half. We all remember the ‘take em to the hill!’ line from Jerod Mayo a year ago (that worked for a week). The mindset is similar, but worded differently under New England’s new head coach. He’s also taken a bit of a different approach in practice too.

“Well, I think conditioning, I think an emphasis, I think taking a break – and that’s a good question, I appreciate that. We actually put a break in there midway through practice where we have two team periods left,” he added. “I said, ‘You guys are going to think this is some gimmick, but it’s going to be me saying, ‘Hey, coaches, get together, tell them, ‘Listen, this is how practice started, whatever’s going on, let’s be conscious here to finish strong, win the second half, win the second half.’ And I think it’s just a good reminder, and working on our conditioning.”

In its simplest form, football is a mindset more than anything else. If the Patriots are able to maintain composure, win the conditioning battle and avoid dumb mistakes, Sunday should be a fun day in Foxborough.

There haven’t been many of those the last handful of years. Hopefully, Vrabel’s messaging will lead to cleaner, more entertaining football.