ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky is hitting the panic button on Patriots offense

Dan Orlovsky’s concerns aren’t really that justified — at least for now.

The New England Patriots are going full-bore into casting mystery around their offense for the 2022 season. When Josh McDaniels left with three offensive assistants, the Patriots elected to replace those four coaches with just two: Joe Judge and Matt Patricia. The Patriots won’t clarify job titles. There does not appear to be an offensive coordinator or a play-caller (yet).

This isn’t to say it won’t work. It might. But it takes a creative mind to see how the pieces will fit together. And perhaps because of the immense uncertainty, fans and media members are growing concerned about how the Patriots offense will look this year — particularly when it comes to the development of quarterback Mac Jones, who is entering Year 2.

Count in ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky as one of the Patriots’ skeptics.

“Two months ago, I said this was the most concerning thing to me in the NFL, and it still is,” Orlovsky said on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “The Patriots took a strength and an advantage, and now sit at a massive disadvantage. I have no clue what their offense is going to be, what their scheme is going to be, and then I was thinking about it last night: Look at their schedule. And look at the teams that they have to play. And find one game where you can be honest about and say, ‘The Patriots have an advantage when it comes to their offensive system or their offensive play-caller.’

“Go through the list. I can find maybe Pittsburgh. Maybe, because Matt Canada’s a little bit of a still unknown. But even in their division — Buffalo has Ken Dorsey, who learned under Brian Daboll, who has this brilliant offensive mind. The Dolphins signed Mike McDaniel, who comes from the Kyle Shanahan, Mike Shanahan tree (and) who’s a renowned, brilliant offensive mind, specifically in the run game. The Jets have Mike LaFleur, Matt LaFleur’s little brother who comes from that same tree that for 50 years in the NFL that offense has worked well.”

It seems like a stretch at this point in the offseason.

Is there reason for concern? Absolutely.

But their scheme will be similar to what it was last year — it’s just that a different coach will run it. And maybe the Patriots don’t have many clear offensive advantages during the course of the season, but that game has three phases. It’s a vast oversimplification to boil down the complexion of a team to its offensive parts.

[listicle id=122373]