Mike Gesicki made a small comment that reflected big changes in New England.
The former Dolphins tight end lacks the perspective of those who languished through the Patriots’ 2022 season, which landed them 26th in offensive touchdowns per game and dead-last in red zone touchdown rate (42.2 percent). But Gesicki’s comment, from day 3 of open practices at training camp, was telling for those who witnessed the Patriots’ mighty struggles under Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.
“Definitely been disciplined,” Gesicki said. “Hasn’t been a lot of guys jumping offsides, hasn’t been a lot of guys lined up in the wrong spots or making mental errors.”
Lining up right? No mental errors? It’s refreshing to know that the 2023 New England Patriots are back to being a real NFL offense again.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien head to the practice fields for 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
“Real” is a nebulous term, so for the purpose of this story, let’s define “real” as competent. Worthy of fielding in the National Football League. The Patriots under Patricia and Judge seldom met the most basic requirements of a real NFL offense.
Under new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, back for his second stint in New England, the basics are back. There’s hope that the days of beating themselves are over. It was an extremely important step to take for a unit that was so bad, so ugly, that many have openly wondered whether any of the players belong in the league or whether Bill Belichick should be worried about his job security.
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The 2022 offense was also so bad that you really just have to throw the whole year out, for both the players and the coaches. The group feels reinvigorated. And finally, the conversation can center around not whether they have basic NFL competency, but how good they are.
In 2021, with quarterback Mac Jones starting all 18 games as a rookie, the Patriots committed 2.38 offensive penalties per game, 19th in the NFL. In 2022, the penalties jumped to 2.7 per game, ninth-most in the league (via NFLPenalties.com).
Mike Gesicki of the New England Patriots runs during a drill with quarterback Mac Jones during 2023 minicamp in Foxboro. (Matt Dolloff/98.5 The Sports Hub)
O’Brien is, and always has been, a coordinator who prides himself on getting the fundamentals and details down. So, you can expect the penalties and mental errors to take a sharp drop in 2023.
“The basics of football. I think it’s important,” Mac Jones said after practice last Thursday. “I think there’s still things we need to work on, but I do think that the rules and standards have been set. So, we just have to meet that as players. I think the coaches have done a great job.
“OB [Bill O’Brien] lays out the operation times, what we’re trying to get out of a play, all that stuff, the ‘why’ behind a play. So, he definitely lays it all out there; we’ve just got to go out there and try, each day, to clean it up each day and then also get a little bit faster, too, right? You want to play fast; you want to be precise and all that as well.”
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) directs the offense before running a drill at 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
The buy-in is being felt up and down the roster so far in camp, but clearly, it was most important for O’Brien to get buy-in from Jones, and he’s gotten it. As a result, Jones himself is playing faster, an effect that should trickle down.
“I do think that this system allows a quarterback – puts a lot on their plate – but it also allows us to know what to do to play really fast,” Jones said. “So, I think it’s a great system.”
The real test for Jones will come once he faces an actual opposing pass-rush. Going against his own teammates could never fully replicate an opponent in a real game. But what’s stood out about Jones so far is his decisiveness with the football, and for a stretch of several days, he was able to couple those good, quick decisions with ball security and playmaking in the red zone.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (10) throws a pass during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Again, we’ll see how it looks against another team, with the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles presenting a stiff first challenge of the regular season on Sept. 10. But we’ve seen enough in camp to know that the Pats offense has everyone pulling in the same direction, and that O’Brien is far more capable of putting them in position to succeed than Patricia or Judge ever would be.
“This has been a really good group to work with offensively,” O’Brien said last Friday. “These guys, they come to work every single day, very hard-working group, intelligent group. They pay attention. They work hard on the field.
“We’ve got a long way to go here before we start the season. But, you know, I do see improvement. I see a team that enjoys practice and enjoys going out there and trying to get better every day, which, that’s always a fun, fun team to be around.”
New England Patriots wide receivers Demario Douglas (60) and Kendrick Bourne (84) get ready for a drill during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
That word, “fun.” That’s been another stark difference between the nightmare of 2022 and the first 10 days of open practices at 2023 training camp.
Jones and his receivers – veterans JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, and Kendrick Bourne are the clear top-3 right now – aren’t just making plays. They’re excited to make them. Here’s Jones doing the “Griddy” from the 12-yard line. Here’s a chest bump in the end zone. Here’s Parker jawing at cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino after snagging a catch.
It was promising enough to see signs of progress. But signs of enjoyment? Been a rare sight in recent years.
New England Patriots wide receiver DeVante Parker makes a catch during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
“It’s a good thing,” Parker said last Thursday. “That’s what makes practice easier, just having fun out there. You don’t want to come in here and not have fun. Practice would probably be long. It’s always good to have fun out here.”
“They’ve had me do a lot so far, and I’m enjoying it, just having fun,” said Bourne. “I’m in a place of having fun, and it’s the best feeling.”
Once it became apparent that Bourne remained part of the plans in 2023, it was of utmost importance to get him specifically back on board after a turbulent year in the program.
New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne runs after making a catch at 2023 minicamp in Foxboro, MA. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Bourne caught 55 passes for 800 yards and five touchdowns in 2021. Most would take even a return to those baseline numbers. He should be in position to eclipse those marks in 2023.
He’s even taking the criticism head-on, subverting the Patriots’ usual mantra of Ignore The Noise™. Asked a question about Tyquan Thornton by the Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi, Bourne responded by paraphrasing how Giardi described the Pats’ receivers in a recent appearance on NBC Sports Boston: “Stink, stunk, and stank.”
Kendrick Bourne and DeVante Parker of the New England Patriots celebrate after Parker scored a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Oct. 2, 2022 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
It’s an odd feeling for the Patriots to be considered underdogs or underrated in the NFL landscape, especially offensively, but that’s where they’ve trended in the post-Tom Brady era. There’s confidence in the building, however, that O’Brien, who coordinated the Brady-led offense in 2011, can get the most out of his personnel.
New England Patriots wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster makes a catch during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
And while we’re at it, let’s compare personnel. To 2021, not the wasted year that was 2022. Here are the projected depth charts at wide receiver and tight end, as compared to two years ago…
2021
Wide Receiver: Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, Nelson Agholor, N’Keal Harry, Kristian Wilkerson
Tight End: Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith
2023
Wide Receiver: JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Demario Douglas, Tyquan Thornton
Tight End: Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki
New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry makes a catch while running a drill at 2023 minicamp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Smith-Schuster may not be a superstar, but he’s a better receiver than anyone on the 2021 depth chart. Parker essentially matched Agholor’s 2021 production, in two fewer games. Gesicki, while still relatively low on the target totem pole, is a more natural pass-catcher at tight end than Jonnu Smith and wouldn’t need to produce much to surpass Smith’s disappointing tenure here.
It remains to be seen if the Patriots have enough in the offensive operation to keep games competitive against the elite offenses and quarterbacks of the NFL. Their offensive line issues, in particular, could torpedo what’s been an encouraging summer. Jones, even at his best, needs to be impeccable with his accuracy, decision-making, and ball security, and in the biggest of moments, to be a great starting quarterback.
So, while the new Patriots offense has bred some optimism in New England over the past couple of weeks, they’re still far from proving they can hang with the best, which has been a big problem post-Brady.
DeVante Parker and Mac Jones of the New England Patriots celebrate after completing a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Jan. 8, 2023. (Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
But if O’Brien, Jones, and the offense get enough things to bounce their way, the Patriots should certainly restore their offense to a level of competency we haven’t seen in more than a calendar year. They will line up right, run the right way, perhaps even get open and make plays.
Even just a competent, serviceable Patriots offense should make many games winnable across a tough schedule – tough right now, on paper, anyway. If Jones is being protected, spreading the ball around, and cashing in on red zone chances more often, there’s no reason to believe the Patriots couldn’t beat the Dolphins, Jets, Cowboys, Saints, Raiders, Commanders, Colts, Giants, Chargers, Steelers, and Broncos.
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones throws a pass during 2023 training camp in Foxboro. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Yes, the absolute ceiling of this year’s Patriots team may be 10-11 wins and a wild card spot, maybe at home. If they get in that spot, maybe they win a playoff game for the first time in five seasons. Maybe. It’s fair to note that feels like peak 2023, and anything beyond that would shock the football world.
But isn’t that refreshing? We no longer have to worry that the Patriots offense isn’t representative of a real professional system. We can worry about how good they can be and how far Jones, O’Brien, and these weapons can take them.
But we won’t wonder if they’re competent. They’re back to normal. And it’s the single biggest story of camp so far.
