It’s a new year in New England with a new Patriots’ season on the hot and hopeful July horizon.
As Bill Belichick and his team prepare to report to Gillette Stadium later this month the group will put two things in the rearview mirror. As Belichick packs up to return from time in Nantucket and on the somewhat misleadingly-named “VIII Rings,” summer fun is about the end as work is about to begin at training camp Foxborough. It’s also time to officially put the many, many, many disappointments of 2022 to bed.
Now is the time of hopeful optimism. Now is the time to believe that the best is yet to come. Now is the time for one and all wearing a Flying Elvis logo to believe that 2023 could very well be a time to either break out or bounce back. And for the Patriots, those in the latter category could in many ways be the key to everything that happens on the football field this coming fall in New England.
With that in mind during this slow period on the NFL calendar, and the sport world calendar as a whole, here’s a look at the five men of Foxborough most ready – and most needing – to bounce back in 2023.
5 – Christian Barmore: Whether it was the knee injury that sidelined him, a sophomore slump or just failure to live up to his hype, the second-year second-round pick was a significant disappointment last fall.
Barmore has all the tools and potential to be the best Patriots’ defensive lineman and a force to ruin things for opponents from the interior of the front. He just hasn’t done that nearly often enough in his first two years.
Sure, he’s facing double teams that probably make life easier for those around him. But if he’s going to take his game to the next level and pursue the crazy dollars being thrown around to defensive linemen these days Barmore needs to be much, much better in 2023. The potential is there.
4 – Kendrick Bourne: After career highs across the board in Josh McDaniels’ offense in his first season in New England in 2021, Bourne took a major step back a year ago. He seemingly got in the dog house with Matt Patricia and never found his way out. Bourne has all the tools to be among the best New England pass catchers this fall. When right, he brings versatile playmaking and unique energy to the offense. He made it pretty clear during the spring that he’s very happy to put 2022 behind him and with all the changes that have come with the new season on offense. From afar it appears that Bourne is back in a comfortable role as a guy with significant potential to make plays for Bill O’Brien as a key cog on the offense. That’s a good thing for all involved.
3 – Trent Brown: The Patriots have major questions at the tackle position and the one-time Pro Bowler Brown is at the center of it all.
He was part of the problem not part of the solution on the line last season.
This spring he missed the first day of minicamp and then did little on the second. He’s brought questionable work ethic and output to the 49ers, Raiders and now Patriots over his career. When at his best, Brown is capable of locking down the left tackle spot. Over the last few days he’s shown himself working out on social media, seemingly at least cramming to get in shape for camp and the season. Getting Brown right is a big step toward getting the offensive line and the entire offense right. That’s how important he is.
2 – Mac Jones: Most probably expected to see New England’s third-year QB in the top slot on this list. Certainly an argument can be made for that and Jones is the most important player on the field for the bounce back-minded Patriots this fall. Last fall was a mess for Jones in all areas. He missed time to his ankle injury. He wasn’t playing well when he got hurt. His frustrations with the “experiment” of the offense were obvious and boiled over into the public eye late in the season. Jones would probably like to and obviously needs to put it all in the past. He proved as a rookie to have the talent to play in the NFL, something his head coach noted while supposedly showing support for his quarterback last winter. As Jones goes, so go the Patriots.
That’s true for every game this season. That’s also true for the more long term status of Robert Kraft’s franchise.
1 – Bill Belichick: The widely-accepted GOAT coach had a 2022 that he and everyone in Patriot Nation would like to forget. From his decision to make Patricia the play caller to his handling of the Jones injury and Bailey Zapper fever to the poorly coached nature of his team in all three phases, 2022 was the worst season of Belichick’s half-century NFL coaching career. Now, the 71-year-old coach must prove that was an aberration and not a sign of the times. The offseason has brought Belichick support in his job, most notably the arrival of Bill O’Brien to run the offense. Belichick should be in a better place to pick his spots to contribute and coach this season. But make no mistake, much of the problems in New England last season can be traced back to Belichick. Just like much of the success the team had for two decades could be traced back to Belichick. (Oh, and to Tom Brady!) Is Belichick fading into the end of his legendary career or ready to jumpstart one last run of success as he chases Don Shula’s NFL wins record? We will have a better answer to that in just a few months.