On Sunday morning, the New England Patriots head out to Santa Clara for their Super LX matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. The final week of preparation will take place out in the Bay Area, and while head coach Mike Vrabel said the team will do its best to mirror a normal week, that’s easier said than done during a Super Bowl week.
With the added attention on this game, there will be media responsibilities for the team throughout the week. Players and coaches will regularly be in front of microphones, around their practices. For those looking to follow along, here’s the public day-by-day itinerary for the Patriots…
Sunday, Feb. 1
9:30-11:30am, Send-off rally: Before the Patriots officially leave, they’ll have a send-off rally at Gillette Stadium. That will include players and coaches addressing the crowd.
6:30pm, Patriots land in San Jose: The Patriots’ plane is scheduled to land in San Jose on Sunday evening.
Monday, Feb. 2
5:00-6:00pm, Opening Night: The first time we’ll officially hear from players and coaches in the Bay Area will be on Monday night, for the NFL’s annual Opening Night event. That’s when players are each assigned podiums and field questions from a large media contingent. The Patriots will be the first team to go, with the Seahawks’ availability following an hour later, as is the case for most of the week.
Tuesday, Feb. 3
2:00-2:50pm, media availability: This will be a more general media availability at the team hotel, around the team’s practice schedule (practices are not open to any media outside of one pool reporter, who releases that report later in the day). The NFL schedule has “a coach and nine players” scheduled to speak.
Wednesday, Feb. 4
11:00am-12:15pm, media availability: The second of three regular scheduled media availability sessions. This time the schedule notes “head coach, assistant coaches, and players” being available to speak.
Thursday, Feb. 5
11:00am-12:15pm, media availability: The same as the day before.
9:00pm, NFL Honors: The NFL’s annual award show will be held Thursday night in San Francisco. The Patriots have five finalists, including Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel. Any winners will give a speech after being announced.
Friday-Saturday
There is no scheduled media availability. In terms of what to expect from the team, the final injury report and game statuses will be released on Friday afternoon, with potential updates and practice squad elevations announced on Saturday afternoon.
Sunday, Feb. 8
Postgame: There will be a full media availability after the Super Bowl on Sunday night. We’ll have complete coverage on the Patriots Radio Network postgame show and right here on 98.5 The Sports Hub.com
Monday, Feb. 9
11:30am, head coach and MVP press conference: If the Patriots win the game, Mike Vrabel and the game’s MVP would hold a press conference Monday morning before departing.