Everyone account of the 2022 Patriots offense sounds more damning than the last.
NFL Media's Mike Giardi shared yet another one from an anonymous NFL defensive coordinator who faced off against New England last year while doing his rounds at the NFL Combine Wednesday.
"He told me there 'wasn't a matchup we feared.' Asked him what that allowed his defense to do. 'Everything. There was nothing we had to take off the table,' Giardi tweeted. "There was a simplicity to the scheme. And while there are plenty of good players there (he really likes Meyers) we felt like we could solve any problems they presented quickly."
On one hand, that might not tell you a whole lot you didn't already know in the big picture. We all saw and heard multiple times how basic and unimaginative the offense was under Matt Patricia last season, and we also know the Patriots don't have any game-breakers on offense.
But it does highlight what New England has to find down there in Indianapolis this week: players who make defenses think twice when they're on the field.
As good as Meyers is, it's hard to have a special offense when he's your No. 1 receiver. He also happens to be on the verge of likely leaving Foxborough in free agency, meaning the receiving corps could use a boast.
Though the Patriots have DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton under contract for 2023, Thornton is the only one locked in for the year after that. Also, let's not lose sight of the fact that opponents aren't overly worried about them. Getting new blood in the room is absolutely a necessity.
Still, the same could be said on the defensive side, where a quarterback's coach Giardi spoke to reportedly called Patriots' cornerbacks "competitive but not outstanding": a perfectly valid critique.
(On the bright side, that same coach called fourth-year EDGE Josh Uche "a problem" and praised Devin McCourty's continued solid play.)
The gist: the Patriots have a "good" roster at a bunch of points but aren't "great" in many (if any) facets. On the offensive side in particular, adding Bill O'Brien, while a positive compared to Patricia, can't be the only move the Patriots make on that side of the ball this year.
It's time to find some players that could get them in that realm, especially if they want to retake the division at some point.