FOXBOROUGH — Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne wore an ear-to-ear smile every time he faced the media this training camp. He also practiced with a noticeable bounce in his step and said several times that this is the most energized he has felt in his seven-year career.
It was a marked difference from last year’s camp, when Bourne clashed with coaches, neglected his injury rehab, and found himself buried on the depth chart.
One of the biggest reasons for the change in attitude? The arrival of offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, who replaced Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.
“I think scheme is a big part of players, how we feel, what we want to see and how it can make us be better players,” Bourne said Wednesday as the Patriots began preparations for the Sept. 10 season opener against the Eagles. “I think we’re doing really well, man. We’re really poised, knowing what we’re doing together, knowing each other, communicating well.”
The Patriots’ primary goal in 2023 is clear — get Mac Jones back on track after a shaky sophomore season, and fix an offense that has been flailing since Tom Brady left after the 2019 season. Accomplish that, and everything else should fall into place — getting back to the playoffs, and maybe even contending for the AFC East title again.
Enter O’Brien, who may be the Patriots’ most important addition of the post-Brady era. He was brought in to clean up the mess left last year by Patricia and Judge, first-time offensive coaches who clashed with Jones and did not seem to have much credibility with the players.
“Matty was unbelievable at X’s and O’s, but I think Matt may have had a hard time with relaying the message and getting guys to buy into it,” former Patriot Rob Ninkovich said.
Not only does O’Brien have 17 years of experience running an offense, he is uniquely qualified for his role in Foxborough. He knows the Patriots’ system and culture after previously coaching here for five years, and he knows Jones’s college offense after having spent the last two years at Alabama.
“It’s super unique. It’s the Patriots [offense], but it’s also for me, it’s Alabama, too,” Jones said recently on WEEI. “So he has a lot of knowledge of not only this system but Alabama’s system, so that’s cool for me, and a lot of guys on the team really respect that about him.”
The biggest difference that we will see with O’Brien is that he will play to Mac’s strengths, let Mac call plays at the line, and not put Mac on a leash. When something isn’t working for more than 2-3 weeks max it will get scrapped.
It will be a huge difference from how McDaniels coached. McDaniels put Mac Jones on a leash and wouldn’t stop doing zone runs that never worked. It always felt like he held Mac back a bit, could be because he was a rookie but it always felt sort of there.
Judge and Patricia should be thrown in prison for their contributions last year.
The offense is way better than Mac’s rookie year player wise. If you compare it to last year I think it’s fair to say it should be way better. Having an actual O-line coach will help too.
The Patriots strength will be their defense. This defense should be top 5 in the league this year and should be elite. It should be the best D we have had in many years. 24 points for the offense shouldn’t be massively difficult and SHOULD win them a lot of football games.
A lot of people are doom and gloom and I’m normally one of those people, but I’m pretty optimistic.
The skill position talent is generally better than it was for Mac’s rookie year. I’m pretty optimistic that we can get back to that level.
I think the Patriots are gonna surprise a lot of people this year. America’s worst nightmare is back.
Oh. Not Felger and Mazz and the crew on 98.5. They are hating on Billy O. They bitched that it was tweedle dee and dum and to get a real OF in and now that there is one he’s the devil for cutting Zappe and having the team sign Corral. They complained that he didn’t like the two RBs drafted last year. Or that in their eyes BB is letting Billy O run the offense and staying out of it. The very thing they have praised other coaches for doing…not meddling.
It’s been a bitch fest of epic proportions because the Patriots had the audacity to “fire” Bailey Zappe a fourth round 6’ QB who has a weak arm. Then they complain about Mac Jones who is 6’3” that he is too short and can’t throw the ball. When the dude threw for 4500 yds and his top two WRs had an average of 16 & 21 per catch.
Jones had a higher yards per attempt than Mahomes, Allen, Herbert, and Burrow.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as the season approaches.
O’Brien is serving the role as our biggest offseason acquisition. And there weren’t wholesale changes to the roster. After last year’s debacle, Belichick is clearly banking on improved coaching being enough to make us competitive. And despite the horrid performance in some games last year, the team was only a few mistakes away from being in the playoffs.
Most importantly, the players’ moods seem to be much more positive this year. There have been some pitfalls, and the offensive line is a concern, but the players do seem to have bought in.
After Patricia I imagine anyone with a minute of experience would get buy in
He didn’t win a Super Bowl in New England He didn’t win a Super Bowl or even go to a conference championship game in Houston. He couldn’t even win a title at Alabama.
He has a track record – LOSER!
Yeah I buy into O’Brien… just not buying into anything else about the offense
Better than *checks notes*… Fat engineer with a pencil fetish.
I hear so many people dismissing us and calling Mac a pedestrian QB. I can’t wait to see BB and BoB put on a masterclass season and we see Bama Mac.
I mean seriously some mock drafts have us picking in the top 5
Alternative title: Bill O’Brien is not Matt Patricia. The Patriots seem to be buying in.
Patriots about to revolutionize the NFL! Soon every team will be hiring offensive coordinators to to be their OCs too…
The patriots won 8 games last year. Honestly we should have beaten both the packers and the raiders last year making it 10.
This team was like 2 series away from 10-7 and a playoff berth.
With this offense and this defense I think 10 games is a very reasonable expectation.
With a case made for 11 if we’ve actually improved as much as I think we have.
The only real question is whether or not the O line can hang in there
Pats fan (ex season ticket holder) now in Houston for years.
There should be no optimism regarding O’Brien (aka The Teapot). He ran the Texans into the ground and the University of Alabama was thrilled to see him go. I did not see any genius moves flowing out of him, and the players started getting quite vocal about their lack of respect – and it did not come about due to one or two years worth of lack of recognizing talent. Players left because of him.
15 comments
From [Globe.com](https://Globe.com):
By Ben Volin
FOXBOROUGH — Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne wore an ear-to-ear smile every time he faced the media this training camp. He also practiced with a noticeable bounce in his step and said several times that this is the most energized he has felt in his seven-year career.
It was a marked difference from last year’s camp, when Bourne clashed with coaches, neglected his injury rehab, and found himself buried on the depth chart.
One of the biggest reasons for the change in attitude? The arrival of offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, who replaced Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.
“I think scheme is a big part of players, how we feel, what we want to see and how it can make us be better players,” Bourne said Wednesday as the Patriots began preparations for the Sept. 10 season opener against the Eagles. “I think we’re doing really well, man. We’re really poised, knowing what we’re doing together, knowing each other, communicating well.”
The Patriots’ primary goal in 2023 is clear — get Mac Jones back on track after a shaky sophomore season, and fix an offense that has been flailing since Tom Brady left after the 2019 season. Accomplish that, and everything else should fall into place — getting back to the playoffs, and maybe even contending for the AFC East title again.
Enter O’Brien, who may be the Patriots’ most important addition of the post-Brady era. He was brought in to clean up the mess left last year by Patricia and Judge, first-time offensive coaches who clashed with Jones and did not seem to have much credibility with the players.
“Matty was unbelievable at X’s and O’s, but I think Matt may have had a hard time with relaying the message and getting guys to buy into it,” former Patriot Rob Ninkovich said.
Not only does O’Brien have 17 years of experience running an offense, he is uniquely qualified for his role in Foxborough. He knows the Patriots’ system and culture after previously coaching here for five years, and he knows Jones’s college offense after having spent the last two years at Alabama.
“It’s super unique. It’s the Patriots [offense], but it’s also for me, it’s Alabama, too,” Jones said recently on WEEI. “So he has a lot of knowledge of not only this system but Alabama’s system, so that’s cool for me, and a lot of guys on the team really respect that about him.”
The biggest difference that we will see with O’Brien is that he will play to Mac’s strengths, let Mac call plays at the line, and not put Mac on a leash. When something isn’t working for more than 2-3 weeks max it will get scrapped.
It will be a huge difference from how McDaniels coached. McDaniels put Mac Jones on a leash and wouldn’t stop doing zone runs that never worked. It always felt like he held Mac back a bit, could be because he was a rookie but it always felt sort of there.
Judge and Patricia should be thrown in prison for their contributions last year.
The offense is way better than Mac’s rookie year player wise. If you compare it to last year I think it’s fair to say it should be way better. Having an actual O-line coach will help too.
The Patriots strength will be their defense. This defense should be top 5 in the league this year and should be elite. It should be the best D we have had in many years. 24 points for the offense shouldn’t be massively difficult and SHOULD win them a lot of football games.
A lot of people are doom and gloom and I’m normally one of those people, but I’m pretty optimistic.
The skill position talent is generally better than it was for Mac’s rookie year. I’m pretty optimistic that we can get back to that level.
I think the Patriots are gonna surprise a lot of people this year. America’s worst nightmare is back.
Oh. Not Felger and Mazz and the crew on 98.5. They are hating on Billy O. They bitched that it was tweedle dee and dum and to get a real OF in and now that there is one he’s the devil for cutting Zappe and having the team sign Corral. They complained that he didn’t like the two RBs drafted last year. Or that in their eyes BB is letting Billy O run the offense and staying out of it. The very thing they have praised other coaches for doing…not meddling.
It’s been a bitch fest of epic proportions because the Patriots had the audacity to “fire” Bailey Zappe a fourth round 6’ QB who has a weak arm. Then they complain about Mac Jones who is 6’3” that he is too short and can’t throw the ball. When the dude threw for 4500 yds and his top two WRs had an average of 16 & 21 per catch.
Jones had a higher yards per attempt than Mahomes, Allen, Herbert, and Burrow.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as the season approaches.
O’Brien is serving the role as our biggest offseason acquisition. And there weren’t wholesale changes to the roster. After last year’s debacle, Belichick is clearly banking on improved coaching being enough to make us competitive. And despite the horrid performance in some games last year, the team was only a few mistakes away from being in the playoffs.
Most importantly, the players’ moods seem to be much more positive this year. There have been some pitfalls, and the offensive line is a concern, but the players do seem to have bought in.
After Patricia I imagine anyone with a minute of experience would get buy in
He didn’t win a Super Bowl in New England
He didn’t win a Super Bowl or even go to a conference championship game in Houston.
He couldn’t even win a title at Alabama.
He has a track record – LOSER!
Yeah I buy into O’Brien… just not buying into anything else about the offense
Better than *checks notes*… Fat engineer with a pencil fetish.
I hear so many people dismissing us and calling Mac a pedestrian QB. I can’t wait to see BB and BoB put on a masterclass season and we see Bama Mac.
I mean seriously some mock drafts have us picking in the top 5
Alternative title: Bill O’Brien is not Matt Patricia. The Patriots seem to be buying in.
Patriots about to revolutionize the NFL! Soon every team will be hiring offensive coordinators to to be their OCs too…
The patriots won 8 games last year. Honestly we should have beaten both the packers and the raiders last year making it 10.
This team was like 2 series away from 10-7 and a playoff berth.
With this offense and this defense I think 10 games is a very reasonable expectation.
With a case made for 11 if we’ve actually improved as much as I think we have.
The only real question is whether or not the O line can hang in there
Pats fan (ex season ticket holder) now in Houston for years.
There should be no optimism regarding O’Brien (aka The Teapot). He ran the Texans into the ground and the University of Alabama was thrilled to see him go. I did not see any genius moves flowing out of him, and the players started getting quite vocal about their lack of respect – and it did not come about due to one or two years worth of lack of recognizing talent. Players left because of him.
get ready….