AzPatsFan

SeaBass-tion Volmer was drafted in the second round, after the Patriots decided on him, instead of William Beatty,a highly rated LOT candidate.

Dante Scarnecchia went down to Houston and supposedly ran the Pro day, as he worked out Vollmer. Dante obviously came back highly enthused with what he saw. So I have to expect that Vollmer will start some time in the next 20 games. I suspect it will be about the 10th or 11 game.

If he does win the starting RT position from Nick Kaczur. Does Nick become the swing tackle reserve? Or if Kaczur is shifted to the interior line, where does he press to start? Left Guard making Mankins expendable in FAs in 2010? Or Right Guard making Stephen Neal expendable as a FA in 2010 and going on 34 years old?

First of all does Kaczur fit inside?

If he does what is his most natural position RG or LG, irrespective of openings in either position?

Can he handle either position, as a starter?

If he he serves as an interior reserve, would he immediately go to the head of the class for interior reserves?

Would that make, say a Hochstein, a FA in 2010 and going on 32 expendable?

Could he handle the reserve center position?

Discussion please.

mgteich

VOLLMER

1) Dante liked Vollmer enough to draft him as the 58th pick in the draft. I have no reason to believe that this means that he is expected to be a starter by his 20th game, let alone his 11th. That Vollmer was chosen over Beatty means that the patriots valued him more, nothing more. Make no mistake, I like the pick and think Vollmer is one of tackles that will compete for starting positions in the future.

2) Beatty was a highly rated LOT on this board, rating him as a possible #23 and certainly a strong possibility at #34 if he was there. Many on this board thought that LT was a high priority need. There is nothing to support the assertions that the patriots agree. There is nothing to support the assertion that Beatty was highly rated by the patriots or anyone else. Highly rated LOT propsects are long gone by #58. LOT projects are certainly available.
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KACZUR
3) Many on this board don't like Kaczur's performance as a tackle. I don't think Dante agrees. He has started since he got here at both LT and RT, from his FIRST game.
4) I see no reason to convert Kaczur to a guard. Personally, I like him as a LT, RT and as a swing tackle.
5) I would not put Kaczur at the head of the interior line reserves. To do that, he needs to be able to be quality backup center. There is absolutely no reason to believe that he is able to perform, let alone perform well at this position. I certainly would put him in the position of calling OL signals, and centering the ball to the franchise.
6) Kaczur will either be an RFA or RFA next year. Vollmer was needed at #58 in case Kaczur doesn't stay and to push him for a starting position if he does.

HOCHSTEIN
6) Yes, Hochstein is expendable. And no, this has nothing to do with Vollmer or Kaczur. They are not competing for interior line roster spots. The likely interior backups seem to be Ohrenberger and Johnson. These are the folks Hochstein should be worried about, and also Connelly.

farn

I agree with the last poster... people on this board and BB have different views of certain players. There is no need or reason for Nick to move to guard. Unless something unforseen happens, I think he's the starting RT. If Vollmer can beat him out (in a one on one battle, no injuries) - I'd be thrilled, because he'd be progressing much faster than anticipated.

Just because fans don't like certain players, it doesn't mean the Pats feel the same way.

RayClay

I think BB gambled on the potential of Vollmer because he sees him as a left tackle in training. He's got the size and quick feet. Why not get a solid right tackle with that pick, lots of guys can play right tackle. He could still work at both, but that's why the gamble IMO.

Lord knows I'm not familiar with the other LT mentioned for that spot in the draft, but upside is upside and the premier position is LT not RT.

Looks pretty nimble in this speed rush scrimmage to my untrained eye.

http://ballhype.com/video/sebastian_...s_draft_video/

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mayoclinic

I agree with some of this, but not all.

(1) I agree that BB obviously valued Vollmer over Beatty, as both where available at #58. All that means is that the Pats see value in Vollmer. I don't think there is any timeframe for Vollmer taking over the RT position, but I'm sure he will be given every opportunity to compete.

(2) Beatty is more of a "pure" LT than Vollmer. If the Pats had considered LT a priority, then Beatty would have made more sense. I think the Pats picking Vollmer over Beatty suggests that the Pats didn't consider LT as much of a priority as I, or some others, think it is. As to highly rated LT prospects being gone by #58, this is generally true, though top LTs do sometimes fall to the 2nd round (Michael Roos at #41 in 2005, Marcus McNeil at #50 in 2006).

(3) Kaczur, Mankins, and Neal all have contracts expiring after 2009. Who gets resigned and who ends up where is totally in flux at this point, and depends on too many factors to predict - how the incumbents play and how the rookies develop, whether Mankins and Kaczur are RFAs or UFAs, how Neal looks this year in terms of aging and injury concerns, etc. I think that the most likely destination for Vollmer is as our long-term starting RT, but that is far from certain. If that happens, Kaczur could leave after 2010, could stay as a swing tackle, or could move inside to guard. There's just too many variables to predict. I think that the Pats are comfortable with this degree of uncertainty at this point.

Kaczur, Neal and Mankins are a

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

mgteich

I agree with your comments.

I would note that, even with the benefit of hindsight, you have no highly rated LT prospects at #58 or later, but it really deosn't matter. Also, perhaps the team likes the trio of Light, Kaczur and LeVoir and expects to keep at least two of them through 2010.

HEY BRO! WHAT UP?

Kaczur's play has been highly exaggerated by people on this board. Unless someone has the stats to prove me wrong, I rarely saw Kaczur get beat. I think most of the pressure came from up the middle or the left side. I hope Vollmer competes and gets some playing time on either side of the O-line this season and could be the future at either tackle spot. But to answer the question, their needs to be a replacement ready on the RG position on the O-line due to the age and health of Neal. I think they will re-sign Mankins.

patchick

Interesting...it sounds like you require your top OG reserve to be an OG/C, not an OG/T? But let's say for the sake of argument that you enter a game with a starting line of Light-Mankins-Koppen-Neal-Vollmer, with Kaczur & Ohrnberger in reserve. Then Neal goes down. Your top reserve would be whichever player is better and readier at RG, no?

mayoclinic

I think it's something of a moot point as to who you call the "top" OG reserve. Clearly someone needs to have backup center capability, but I'm not sure it's meaningful as to whether that person is the "top" interior reserve.

I think that starting OG is a more interesting area than the reserves. Mankins' contract is up after this year, and it is unclear whether he will be an RFA or a UFA and whether we can keep him. Neal is effective when healthy - our line improved noticeably after he came back last year - but is aging and injury prone, and also has a $3+M contract which expires after 2009. I think replacing at least one of the starting OGs by 2010 is quite likely. I could see Kaczur moving inside to RG with Vollmer taking over at RT as one possible option, unless one of the young guys develops.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

mayoclinic

I think the team clearly likes Light, Kaczur and LeVoir and probably hopes to keep at least 2, of not all of them, through 2010. LeVoir was a really nice surprise last year, and seems like a considerable improvement over Britt as a backup tackle. And BB has always appeared to value Kaczur. While I see Vollmer as an eventual replacement at starting RT, I don't see that affecting whether we keep Kaczur - I think that will be a function of the salary cap and fiscal issues rather than whether he has value.

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To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi