Patriots coach Mke Vrabel watches from the sidelines Friday night during the team's preseason opener at Gillette Stadium. (AP photo)

Now that he’s had time to look at the film and evaluate, just exactly how does New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel think his team did in its preseason opener on Friday night?

“I thought we played – to continue to build the identity of playing with great effort and trying to take care of the guy with the ball,” Vrabel said prior to Sunday’s practice behind Gillette Stadium, the last one this summer open to the public for training camp. “We have to tackle better, and that happens sometimes in the first live action. A lot of good stuff to teach off of there.

Including taking care of the football.

“Continue to talk about the ball security, whether it came out or not, the opportunities where we feel like the ball is in jeopardy,” Vrabel said. “I thought we ran it well. I thought we took – I thought we played a clean game. I thought we took advantage of the field position, won that battle and saw the kickoff returns and how explosive that play can be. We’re going to have to cover those same kicks this year.

“So, did a lot of really good things, and then we just have to continue to improve the things that we talked about with the missed tackles or getting into a rhythm with the passing game and kind of just continue to progress.”

NO MAJOR CUTS FOR A WHILE

Vrabel was asked on Sunday if he was ready to make some moves so players could find spots on other teams.

Not yet.

“Oh, I think we’re so far away from that,” he said. “Me personally, I’m focused on just having another great day and continuing everything that we did on Friday. And as you can see, everybody that was healthy played in the game and gave those guys opportunities.

“Whether it was John Jiles or [Jeremiah Webb] Webby, the offensive linemen, some of those guys that we talked about that didn’t get to play or practice against Washington, really did themselves well when they were given the opportunity. And so, I want to continue to reward those players that treat the team well and treat them the same way they treat the team. So, as long as they’re here working and getting better, we’re going to practice them and eventually get them action in the game.”

GONZALEZ WILL MAKE THE TRIP BUT NOT PRACTICE OR PLAY

Vrabel said that injured cornerback Christian Gonzalez would make the trip this week to Minnesota where the Patriots will have joint practices Wednesday and Thursday and play the Vikings Saturday afternoon. But, he won’t take part in any of the practices or game.

“You’ll see him in Minnesota, but he probably won’t be practicing this week,” Vrabel said.

As for cornerback Carlton Davis, he was more vague. “You’ll see him in Minnesota,” he said.

BRYANT IMPRESSES AT RIGHT TACKLE

As the Patriots formulate their offensive line, keep an eye on Marcus Bryant, who got the start at right tackle on Friday night.

“I think he earned it,” Vrabel said. “I think that when they switched over and he had some snaps on the left at the beginning of the training camp, I think moving him over to the right, I thought he did well, especially in the joint practices, earned that opportunity and continues to improve.

“He’ll have to play both sides for us, and I think he’s just a young player that is taking the coaching and was one of the players I remember when we first put pads on had really high pad level. We talked about it, we coached it, we showed him, and I think that has improved.

“I mean, he’s 6’6″, so first day, I guess we’ll cut him some slack, and it’s improved. That’s all we ask of the players, is that each day they continue to improve and focus on improving. So, I kind of liked Marcus. He’s kind of a happy, lucky-go kid, and I think there’s a lot of good football in front of him.”

PATRIOT MAKE SOME MOVES

The Patriots Sunday placed rookie running back Lan Larson, who played the other night, on injured reserve, effectively ending his season. They also released rookie saety Josh Minkins and signed two other players: running back Deneric Prince and rookie DE Jereme Robinson.

Robinson, who played at Kansas, was with the Bears in the spring. Prince spent all last year on the Dolphins practice squad and played with the UFL’s Memphis Showboats this past spring.