Vrabel is staying tuned in

FOXBOROUGH - Three games into the season, outside linebacker Mike Vrabel has emerged as the Patriots' primary defensive player to have the coach-to-player communication device in his helmet.

This marks the first year NFL defenders have been allowed to have the device, and while calling it an "ongoing battle," Vrabel feels it's been a positive change.

"It's pretty good. I think it helps," he said. "I don't think it hurts."

When teams voted to approve the device for defenders in the offseason, one of the issues that Patriots coach Bill Belichick pointed out was that some teams don't have a player who is on the field for every play, a result of substitution packages. That makes it challenging to decide who gets the device.

Vrabel is as close to an ironman as the Patriots have, seldom coming off the field. He plays on early downs in the base defense, and usually stays on the field on third down. It also helps that he's been in the team's defense for eight seasons and is one of the club's smartest players.

Vrabel reports that there have not been major problems with the device.

"Sometimes there are some blips then and now, but for the most part I think it's been pretty good," he said. "It's [defensive coordinator] Dean [Pees] holding the button, getting used to holding the button, which he's doing and everything. It's just not something that we're used to doing, whereas the offense has been doing it for quite a few years."

Defensive signals remain a part of the weekly preparation because there is always the possibility that the communication device won't work.

"When yours doesn't work or there is an issue, you really can't wait," Vrabel said. "We're pretty much dependent on what the offense is doing, and we kind of have to respond quickly to what they're doing."

Perhaps the most pressing issue for Vrabel is keeping his two helmets straight. When he comes to the sideline after a change of downs, he makes sure he's close to his other helmet - which doesn't have the communication device - just in case he's needed as a third tight end on offense.

"Offensively, I can't have the device on because the quarterback has it," he said, referencing the rule that only allows one player to have the device. "What I do is hold the other helmet in case I have to go out there. If I don't, or if something else changes fast, sometimes I forget."

Trying to pin it down

One of the areas Belichick said the Patriots would be working on during the bye week was plus-50 punting, which comes when they are looking to pin the opposition deep in its territory.

Through three games, punter Chris Hanson and the coverage unit have had five chances to execute in those situations, and the results have not been as desired, with four touchbacks.

While Hanson has shown an explosive leg when working with a longer field - as his 70-yard punt against Kansas City and 59-yard punt against the Jets showed - he and the coverage team have not been as effective in the plus-50 game.

On the five attempts to pin the opposition in deep, three punts sailed well into the end zone, one bounced between the goal line and the 1-yard line before carrying into the end zone, and the other was fair-caught at the 15.

One of Hanson's best plus-50 attempts, a 63-yarder against the Dolphins that landed at the 2, was nullified by an illegal touching penalty on rookie Matthew Slater.

Those plus-50 attempts can be game-changing plays if executed; they reflect some of the "hidden yardage" gained by the opposition.

From a personnel standpoint, the Patriots had punters Reggie Hodges and Tom Malone briefly on the practice squad, but at this point, Hanson is the only one with the club. The Patriots had Jets punter Ben Graham in for a tryout Sept. 19.

Under wraps

Rookie inside linebacker Jerod Mayo was wearing a black cast on his left wrist and forearm Monday. A league source said yesterday that Mayo, who was at practice Monday, was wearing the cast because his wrist was "hurt a little" last week. The source claimed Mayo was fine and that the wrist would not be an issue. Mayo did not answer questions about the cast Monday, politely declining comment.

Invisible man

Former Patriots linebacker Tully Banta-Cain (2003-06), now in his second season with the 49ers, has been a healthy scratch for the first four games of the season. He's been considered a disappointment since signing a three-year, $8.9 million contract as a free agent . . . While Patriots rookie outside linebacker Shawn Crable has not been active for the first three games, Belichick indicated he's continuing to improve. "We have a lot of confidence in Shawn and I'm sure that he would be able to contribute for us if he was at the game," he said . . . Belichick on quarterback Matt Cassel and the confidence he has in him to lead the offense: "Matt had a good week last week and a good practice [Monday]. I think offensively, collectively, we have to do everything a little bit better. I have confidence in all the players we put out there." . . . Players were off yesterday and return to work today.

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com. Christopher L. Gasper of the Globe staff contributed to this report.