3 massive questions that are haunting the Patriots in the 2023 season
The New England Patriots seem to have a better coaching and roster setup than they did last year, but there are still huge questions looming over the team for the 2023 season. If this team were in the NFC, I'd feel good about their chances at making the postseason. But not only are they not in the NFC, they may just be in the toughest division in all of football.
All of the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, and Miami Dolphins look and feel like double-digit winning, playoff teams. It's a very real possibility that the Patriots just don't have enough firepower on their roster to hang with their division rivals. Even if they are competitive in the AFC East, they still have to deal with having one of the toughest schedules in all of football.
Besides external factors, as I just mentioned, the team internally still has a few burning questions that are currently haunting them for the coming season. Should we give the team the benefit of the doubt here? Or have we not learned from the past three seasons? Let's dive into three questions that are still haunting the team for the 2023 season.
3 massive questions that are haunting the Patriots in the 2023 season
1. Will the Bill O'Brien/Mac Jones partnership work?
Honestly, I don't think the Patriots could have done much better at offensive coordinator thanBill O'Brien this season. I think even turning the play-calling over to some high school football coach would have yielded better results for the offense than what Matt Patricia displayed in the 2022 season.
O'Brien does come with a solid track record of offensive success at the NFL and collegiate level. He typically fields fierce running attacks and has a history of developing young quarterbacks. He may be the perfect coach for Mac Jones, but just because of that, it doesn't mean that the partnership will work out.
And in the modern-day NFL, the team goes as the quarterback goes. Some in the fanbase may have hope that Mac Jones bounces back, which I totally get, but Jones has proven nothing yet and we won't know for sure until the offense hits the field.