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.
3 massive questions that are haunting the Patriots in the 2023 season
2. Is Bill Belichick truly on the hotseat?
Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick don't seem to be getting along too well, and these last three years of a lack of playoff success figures to be a driving force of their strained relationship. Does Kraft have the kahones to pull the plug on Belichick if the team endures another season of not making the postseason? Is that something we can truly see happen?
I personally think that if the Patriots do miss the playoffs this year, regardless of their record, Bill Belichick is gone. I think the clock is ticking here and the Pats might have one last chance with their current setup to make something happen. It would be a huge shock to no longer see Belichick on the sidelines, but I think it's a real possibility.
3. Did this team do enough in the offseason to contend in 2023?
There really is only one more move that can potentially have significant change for the better, and that would be signing DeAndre Hopkins. Nothing indicates that the Patriots are currently the favorites to do that, but they appear to be firmly in the running for his services.
The team brought in two players to help boost the offense in JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Gesicki, who I'd classify as above-average players at their respective positions. Neither one is an elite target in the passing game, which worries me, as Mac Jones till may not have that "go-to" type of guy in the offense like most other QBs in the NFL have.
The offensive line is a huge question, too. Besides drafting three interior offensive linemen in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Patriots project to start Trent Brown and Riley Reiff at their two tackle spots. Will both be able to play well enough to keep Jones upright? Will BOB's offensive scheme help boost the OL play?
Between the coaching and roster additions, I think the New England Patriots did create a better team for themselves, but will it be enough?