Patriots’ culture is “different here” under Mike Truebel

The Patriots 2025 still have a long way to go in its plans to restore the franchise as a legitimate competitor in the NFL.

But even with only a few weeks of off -season training – and two OTA practices – now in books, the receiver of the Patriots Demario Douglas thinks that New England is buying in the message and the expectations filed by the new head coach Mike Trinel.

“Culture is different here,” Douglas said after Tuesday OTA training at the Gillette Stadium. “I love it. Vrabel is coach of the players, and he is on the field with us. We have a head coach who is on the field with us, guy. It is different. You can say that he is very in the phase of what we do and we want us to be better.”

“We love when the head coach is on the ground and he knows both sides,” he added. “He knows what’s going on in attack and what’s going on in defense, and what must be done. This is how I know that he is in line with us. He makes sure that we are all on a single agreement and we all do what we have to do.”

While part of the optimism anchored in the next New England season revolves around the add-in to the touch on the sidelines and in the locker rooms like Truebel, Stefon Diggs, Milton Williams and Will Campbell, Douglas thinks that the nucleus of the Patriots is also ready to start stacking victories.

“The guys were here – it’s a different mentality,” said Douglas. “I have the impression that everyone is working very hard, and I have the impression that they are tired of losing too. And you can see – we train, guy, we are in competition. We compete in training. In packaging exercises, we are in competition. It’s rare to see. “

Despite the promise presented by Drake Maye during his recruited season, the New England receptors left a lot to be desired in 2024.

Douglas finished with the most yards among wide receivers last year with 621, while Kayshon Boutte’s 117 reception yards in the team’s season’s season final was the first time that a large Patriots Wideout recorded more than 100 yards in the NFL season.

But with the continuous development of Maye, the return of Josh McDaniels as the team’s attacking coordinator and the addition of veterinarians established like Diggs and recruits like Kyle Williams, Douglas thinks that the offensive of the patriots as a whole is ready to take a step forward.

“I think it’s going to be charming,” said Douglas about the New England offensive under McDaniels this season. “We are just with our first two installations, so once we open this book – it will be crazy. So defense has something about us right now. But once we open this book, it will become good.”

Even if Douglas stressed that he and the regulars returned to the New England receptor room had a chip on their shoulder in 2025, this feeling will not bear any weight if they do not prove it on the ground.

“If you try to prove something – I feel like you’re going to get caught up with trying to prove something,” said Douglas. “So I have the impression, guy, just in competition. As we compete, we are going to do better.

“I want – you open. You open, the ball will arise.

Conor Ryan is a screenwriter covering Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has occupied since 2023.