3 reasons the New England Patriots can win the AFC East in 2023

The Bill O'Brien and Adrian Klemm effect

The Matt Patricia experiment of the 2022 season will forever be remembered for how poorly the team was positioned to be successful. And, of course, how the season progressed, too.

Now that Patricia has moved on to the Eagles and Bill Belichick hired old pals Bill O'Brien and Adrian Klemm to replace his duties, the offense is clearly in better hands to thrive.

Bill O'Brien can elevate the offense

One of the biggest struggles of last season was the offense being led by an inexperienced offensive mind put into a position he allegedly didn't want in the first place.

Regardless of the truth to that, Patricia's coaching was detrimental to the offense's performance throughout the season. The player's overall vibe was completely different from just a season before, and their production on the field matched.

Although he may have been trying his best to juggle being the offensive play caller and the offensive line coach and tried to be successful when he was not put into a position to do so, Patricia's inexperience and lack of creativity was a significant factor of the offense's demise in several games.

Now that O'Brien has returned with even more experience than his last tenure in New England, Mac Jones, and the offense have been put on a better path to success. He is a coach familiar with the team and Belichick specifically and was a big part of some of the Patriots' successful teams in the late 2000s to early 2010s.

Plus, he is said to be already creating quite an impression from the offense this spring, with several players, including Mac Jones, raving about how much they enjoy working with him so far.

Adrian Klemm returns to where he won three Championships

Without piling on Patricia too much for last year, it was obvious he was given far too many responsibilities that he was not equipped to handle, like taking over Josh McDaniels' position and becoming the offensive line coach at the same time.

With the playcalling duties back in good hands, Belichick prioritized hiring a well-respected and accomplished offensive line coach. Klemm's expertise as a former tackle with championship experience in New England will be invaluable, paired with his lengthy coaching resume beginning in 2009 at SMU.

Although he will be returning to his former team under tough circumstances, as the offensive line was an especially struggling unit last year, Belichick made sure to bring in some veteran free agents to bolster the roster. On top of that, he emphasized the need to improve the line overall by drafting several versatile and athletic linemen in the draft earlier this year.

Since it appears Klemm has been put into more of a situation to succeed this year, all the traits he has that Patricia didn't will be the leading factor in significantly improving the o-line's performance, thus benefitting the offense entirely.