pats1

BostonHerald.com - Blogs: Rap Sheet Blog Archive Patriots OL Dan Connolly receives a contract extension through 2011

He follows Kaczur (2012), LeVoir (2011), Banta-Cain (2011), Ninkovich (2011), Aiken (2011), and Alexander (2010) to receive an extension since the summer.

Connolly was set to be an RFA under no new CBA, or a UFA under a new CBA.

KontradictioN

For the love of God, why?

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pats1

Why not? He's Russ Hochstein 2.0. He can play both G and C and backup both at an adequate level, and make spot starts. In fact, I thought he played very well against the Dolphins and Panthers. Breer, who also breaks down tape, agrees. I think ProFootballFocus.com also rated him highly for those games. Haven't seen the Bills game rating yet.

Deus Irae

It looks like it's a Christmas bonus for this year, and it will still be an easy financial cut if they get rid of him next year.

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KontradictioN

I know he's versatile, but I'm not sure what ProFootballFocus.com is watching. I won't disagree with Breer since he watched the coaches tape and might see something different, but I saw him get blown off the ball more than a few times against the Dolphins, Panthers, and the Bills. Same as Koppen as well. I guess the signing is good for depth, though.

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pats1

As far as I know, Breer doesn't watch the coaches tape.

Connolly had a solid game against the Dolphins. If you want to talk about getting blown off the ball, Koppen and Kaczur were doing plenty of that.

mayoclinic

Wrapping up a versatile OL at a cheap price for the long term is a good thing. If we end up with better options, if will be a small price to pay for long term security. He'll end up being our #5 OG/C.

Koppen/Ohrnberger/Connolly are locked up. Resign one of Mankins/Neal (preferably Mankins because of age and injury issues with Neal) and draft a replacement, and the position should be set. Koppen should be more effective if we can get a quality RG playing next to him.

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KontradictioN

The whole right side of the offensive line was. Koppen especially, though. He had Starks one on one in the second half and managed to make Starks look like an all-pro NT. Both Koppen and Kaczur stand to see their play elevated when Stephen "Beast" Neal comes back healthy.

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pats1

I'm not doubting that, although I'm not sure Neal has much of a future with this team, given his age and injury history (it should also be noted that Kaczur is 30). Connolly, as a versatile and dependable backup, does.

It's a cheap money deal, low-risk. Nothing to fret about.

KontradictioN

Agreed on re-signing Mankins instead of Neal. Neal is a beast but injury issues have directly led to more hits on Brady. On top of that, the injuries have been an issue for the past two years.

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