The Patriots began their offseason program on Monday with players reporting to Gillette Stadium to begin two weeks of strength and conditioning and meetings before getting on the field as a team. There are many new faces after a disappointing 8-9 2022 season, but one stands alone with the most pressure on him: new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.
Of everyone that was brought in this offseason, O’Brien has the potential to make the biggest impact and help get New England back to the playoffs. Reports are that O’Brien is “reworking” the Patriots offense to get it back closer to what it was before last season’s changes. As pointed out previously in New England Football Journal, that will be a good thing. The 2022 Patriots were near the bottom of the league in nearly every offensive category.
The last time O’Brien was the Patriots offensive coordinator in 2011, the Patriots ranked second in yards per game (428), third in points per game (32.1) and fifth in third down conversion percentage. Obviously, that 2011 offense was blessed with Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker. The 2023 offense will not be that good. However, the goal should be to at least get into the top third of the league. In 2021 under Josh McDaniels, New England ranked seventh in points per game with a rookie quarterback in Mac Jones.
The pieces currently on the Patriots offense are similar to what McDaniels had to work with in 2021. Jones is still the quarterback, Rhamondre Stevenson is better than Damien Harris was in 2021, Hunter Henry is still there, as is Kendrick Bourne. JuJu Smith-Schuster will give them similar production to Jakobi Meyers. Throw in DaVante Parker and O’Brien has the tools to build a much better offense than Matt Patricia and Joe Judge could.
O’Brien can bring a mix of what the Patriots did under McDaniels in 2021, what he did in Houston as the head coach of the Texans, and the system that Jones ran at Alabama, where O’Brien was offensive coordinator the past two seasons. The challenge will be blending all of those things together while getting the bad taste of last season out of everyone’s mouth.
Things will not be easy for the Patriots in 2023. The Bills are a top tier AFC Contender. The Dolphins made the playoffs in 2022 with a backup quarterback and the Jets are reportedly working on a trade to add Aaron Rodgers. To get over the playoff hump, New England’s special teams and offense will have to be significantly better in 2023. This is the time of year where that improvement begins. And it begins with Bill O’Brien.