Offseason Optimism: Patriots Upgrading All 3 Phases?
So far, so ... good?
In the wake of an 8-9 season that flatlined with a loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 18, New England Patriots fans demanded change. Only a week removed from Super Bowl LVII, the team is responding.
Maybe not with splashy, headline-grabbing moves that will drastically change the course of the franchise. But with tweaks - in all three phases - that have already made the Pats a better team that walked off the field in Western New York Jan. 8.
It started immediately, with a meeting of the minds between owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick. The results ...
*Keep the Super-Bowl level defense intact? The Pats retained top assistant Jerod Mayo, giving him a raise and more power to persuade him from interviewing with other teams.
*Repair the abysmal offense that scored less and dragged down quarterback Mac Jones' development with it? The Pats ushered out play-caller Matt Patricia, hired Bill O'Brien as offensive coordinator and have attempted to restore confidence in Jones.
*Bolster a special teams that surrendered two long kickoff returns for touchdowns in the season-ending loss? The Pats announced this week that long-time captain Matthew Slater - one of the best special teams player in NFL history - is coming back for the 2023 season.
*Upgrade talent up and down the roster? New England has already been linked to star offensive receivers such as Arizona's DeAndre Hopkins and San Francisco's Deebo Samuel. And the Pats' coaching staff got an up-close-and-personal look at NFL Draft prospects when they coached the recent East-West Shrine Game.
Is the makeover finished? Nope. Barely getting started.
On the horizon is the NFL Scouting Combine, free agency, the draft. Down the road next season are home games against both Super Bowl teams - the Eagles and Chiefs - and a trip to Germany.
The Patriots made countless gaffes during 2022. The bungling of the Jones-Bailey Zappe quarterback controversy. Inexplicable late-game mistakes, both mental (Jakobi Meyers' lateral in Las Vegas) and physical (Rhamondre Stevenson's fumble against the Bengals).
But early on at least, New England hasn't fumbled its offseason.
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