Bill O'Brien on Patriots offense: "It's not rocket science"

BOSTON -- Former Patriots coach Matt Patricia has often been labeled a rocket scientist, based on his educational background. Having earned his bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Patricia had technically earned that title, even if his career path brought him to the NFL instead of NASA.

That background obviously shows a high level of intellect ... but it didn't necessarily translate to coaching an NFL offense. After spending almost his entire coaching career on the defensive side of the ball, Patricia was handed the keys to Bill Belichick's offense last season. It was disastrous, and the experiment was put to rest after just one season.

Now, that offense is being run by Bill O'Brien, who's either been an offensive coach or a head coach dating back to 1998. O'Brien didn't go to RPI or MIT, but he did go to Brown, so he's quite a smart fellow in his own right.

That being said, when it comes to running an offense, O'Brien doesn't think it's the most complex process in the world.

Or, simply put ... it's not rocket science.

"You know, it's not rocket science," O'Brien said of the Patriots' offensive system. "You know, we're not splitting atoms."

O'Brien offered up that comment when explaining the onboarding process for Ezekiel Elliott, who joined the team this week and has to play catch-up to learn the New England playbook.

Now, given the circumstances, that comment will obviously get dissected and analyzed as a direct shot at his predecessor. But anyone who's spoken to O'Brien for longer than 10 seconds would know that subtle, passive-aggressive shots through the media are not in O'Brien's repertoire. He's a bit of a straight shooter.

And, really, the work that Patricia did last year in New England doesn't really have anything to do with O'Brien, who was busy running the offense for Bryce Young and the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa last fall. Patricia's inability to coach offense is irrelevant to O'Brien's task in Foxboro.

So, if we're being fair, we can deduce that O'Brien meant this comment in only the most straightforward way. Still, given alllllll that New England had to endure last year -- from minicamp through training camp through the preseason through the long and grinding season -- we couldn't help but find the humor in this particular characterization of coaching offense.