Crowe: The 2023 NFL Season Kicks Off

Crowe: The 2023 NFL Season Kicks Off

For 20 years, it was consistency that kept the New England Patriots at the top of the football world. With arguably the greatest football player ever leading them, quarterback Tom Brady, the Pats were able to contend for a Super Bowl title nearly every season. Now, for the past three seasons without him, that standard hasn’t been kept. Well, on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, Brady is back.

“He did it on a day-to-day basis,” head coach Bill Belichick said Monday morning on his weekly WEEI radio appearance. “I'd say that's really the biggest thing about Tom that's so impressive is what you got from him every day was that same level of commitment, work ethic, performance, attention to detail and inquisitiveness and coachability. Tom's always looking to get better, improve and find ways to be a little bit better than he was no matter how good he was.”

No, he’s not going to be playing. Mac Jones still gets the nod there, but Brady will be honored now that he’s retired. Joining Brady in coming back to Foxboro will be offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, who led Brady to success before leaving to be a head coach in Houston. That already has been a welcome sight for Jones and the rest of the returning offense built around running back Rhamondre Stephenson, tight end Hunter Henry, and wide receivers Devante Parker and Kendrick Bourne. The upgrades include additions at wide receiver in JuJu Smith-Shuster, running back Ezekiel Elliott, and tight end Mike Gesicki. It’s a much more professional offense after a disaster of a season led by coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. Jones, who threw for only 14 touchdowns along with 11 interceptions last season, could certainly use it.

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Defensively, Devon McCourty is gone after 13 years as the leader of the secondary. Yet, still, New England could be a top 10 defense led by Matthew Judon and Josh Uche. If first-round cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who fell to the Pats at number 17, can be as good a man-to-man defender as expected, that will help as well.

On special teams, the Patriots are gambling on rookie kicker Chad Nyland out of Maryland and punter Bryce Baringer from Michigan State. Nyland has a stronger leg than kicker Nick Folk, who got traded to Tennessee, but is he as accurate? Baringer has a boomer too to help field position, something the Pats sorely lacked last season.

The question is do the Pats have the overall depth and talent to compete in the AFC. On paper, they are the fourth best team in their own division, the AFC East, now that the Jets have Aaron Rodgers leading the way at quarterback in New York.

All through training camp, health has been an issue, especially on the offensive line. According to the team’s website, the starters are expected to be left tackle Trent Brown, left guard Colt Strange, center David Andrews, right guard Mike Onwenu, and right tackle Riley Reiff although they’ve yet to take one snap together in the preseason. Jones could be running for his life right from the get-go. Rookie wide receivers Demario Douglas (Liberty) and Kayshon Boutte (LSU) should help with their speed but for the second straight season, Tyquan Thornton is battling an injury. This time, he’s on injured reserve and will miss the first four games of the season with a shoulder injury.

The schedule is a killer. New England starts with home games against the defending NFC Champion Eagles, then a Sunday night football affair with Miami before road games at the Jets and Cowboys. The Pats offensive line will be tested right off the bat with Philly, who led the league with 70 regular season sacks and added first-round studs Jalen Carter (Alabama) and Nolan Smith (Georgia) in the draft.

Critics continue to ask the question if the game has passed Belichick by. Is owner Robert Kraft only keeping the greatest coach in modern football history around just to break Don Shula’s record for most wins ever. He needs 19 more to tie him at 347 victories. During the Pats past three seasons, they’ve won only 25 combined and haven’t won a playoff game since 2018, the season BEFORE Brady left Foxboro.

Will Kraft and the fans be patient with the 2023 season? We’re about to find out. In the end, I have them going 7-10 and missing the postseason for the second consecutive season. Watch out though. I do give them an outside chance of starting slow and getting better throughout the regular season, giving them an opportunity to get into the playoffs.

Now, on to the predictions for the rest of the NFL 2023 playoffs.

AFC East: Buffalo Bills
AFC North: Baltimore Ravens
AFC South: Jacksonville Jaguars
AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs
AFC Wild Cards: Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers

NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles
NFC North: Detroit Lions
NFC South: Atlanta Falcons
NFC West: San Francisco 49ers
NFC Wild Cards: Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Washington Commanders

Super Bowl LVIII: Eagles over Bills (with an outside chance of Eagles over Jaguars)