New England Patriots: Be careful about what's said during the offseason

In my opinion, it's rather rare to see overly negative things coming out from a team during this point in the offseason, so let's pump the brakes on what we've heard so far. Last offseason, Mac Jones seemed to hit it off with then-new receiver addition DeVante Parker. Well, Parker was "eh" in 2022 and didn't exactly live up to the chemistry he had with Jones in the offseason.

I think at this stage during the NFL offseason, lots of teams want to gas themselves up, so you hear very positive things, and honestly, what else should the teams be saying besides being neutral or positive?

Will an NFL team, whether it be a coach, player or otherwise, actually come out during media availabilities and mention how this player or this unit is struggling? I don't think so.

In my opinion, we should be careful about what we read during this stage of the offseason. I think everything that they do in terms of practice is very light and slowed down quite a bit. The beginning stages of the offensive and defensive schemes are being put in place, so I think there's a lot of easy reps going around.

How many times have we seen instances of teams "winning" the offseason before disappointing in the coming season. What about a team like the Los Angeles Rams, who won the Super Bowl in 2021, had a stellar 2022 offseason, likely had loads of positivity coming out during the offseason only to let down in 2022.

I just think we need to take certain things we're hearing with a grain of salt. I'm not saying you can't be excited of what the team has done this offseason, because I do think positive additions have been made. However, there are some very obvious things facing the Patriots right in the face that may end up being detrimental to their success in 2023.

They don't have anything special at quarterback and may not have much at wide receiver at all. Their defense does feel complete with the addition of Christian Gonzalez, so I think one side of the ball is set. Let's hope that the team can work around not having much at QB and appearing to not have a ton of talent at pass catcher.