Kid~Brady

I know this Pats team is considered to be the favorites for all types of records and wins but what about the O-line?

Mankins is back from surgery, I think he'll be fine but where's Waters? Hopefully this isn't a holdout for money. I personally don't see him as that type of guy but based on his comments, I can't tell.

Can S. Volmer stay healthy? Will Nate be as good as last year? maybe improve a litte? We lost Light so he has to step up and play to protect Brady.

By all means I'm not saying the O-line will be bad, but what do you guys think? I think if we have one weakness on offense currently, its the O-line and depth.

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jmt57

I'm just speculating, but my guess is that Waters hates training camp and has a private agreement with the Pats that he can skip part of if not all of training camp.

As far as depth goes in my opinion the quality of the depth on the Patriots offensive line is as good as that of any team in the NFL. Last year there was a point in time that they were starting their 4th-string center - and they won, without skipping a beat. Contrast that to the Jets, for example, when they lost Mangold for a couple of games; their entire offense was in disarray.

In my opinion if there is a concern it is in the quantity of questions on the offensive line, rather than any one of those specific questions.


By the way, Jeff Howe has a column on Waters worth reading: Brian Waters' absence: Big deal, or not?

patsinthesnow

The O-line could be worrisome at the beginning of the season without Mankins and Vollmer. Say even for some strange reason Waters retires, then we are left with:

Solder-Gallery-Koppen-Connolly-Cannon

I'd still trust Dante to make that a very good OL. When has the Pats OL been bad for extended periods of time under the Brady/BB era anyway? The Pats OL would still be good even if all three of those guys couldn't play week 1.

patfanken

I wouldn't be surprised if money isn't an issue as well. And why shouldn't it be. Whats the going rate for a first team ALL PRO OG, who played in over 95% of his team's snaps. I don't think its $1.4MM

I probably wouldn't hurt if the Pats sweeten the pot just a little (say an extra million) to get him into camp by the 3rd preseason game

BTW- its interesting that in checking the team out, aside from Mankins, the Pats don't have an offensive lineman who takes up more than $2.3MM on the cap, and who would have thought that the guy leading the list would be .....Dan Connolly. When you think about it, and compare the OL cost of other teams who have top 5 OL's, its pretty remarkable.....and one of the key reasons the Pats manage to have cap space AND an elite team.

patchick

That is pretty impressive -- even with their starting LT from last season retiring, you can scratch 3 expected starters and still field a totally reasonable OL.

Plug even one of the possible scratches back in and you have some decent flexibility and depth, since Gallery can play RT, Connolly any of the interior positions, and I like McDonald a lot as an interior backup. And if you plug all of the possible scratches back in, the offense has the potential to be dominant at virtually every position on the field.

So I guess that translates to "not particularly worried."

patfanken

And in another thought.....

.....as far as LT is concerned, one of the easiest predictions one can make about this team is the fact that Nate Solder will be AS good as Matt Light was last season, and over the next decade will SURPASS him.

The only REAL question on the OL is Sebastian Volmer's back. If his back is fine, the Pats OL as far a quality and depth will be an elite group. If its not, it will drop the Pats down to being "merely" very good.

jmt57

For what it's worth ...

https://twitter.com/shalisemyoung/st...36467293626368

Bill Belichick said he's not surprised that Brian Waters isn't here at camp, but didn't elaborate further on his situation

https://twitter.com/MikeReiss/status/228536736731516928

Bill Belichick said Brian Waters' absence is similar to minicamp, which he had described as an "excused personal absence." Not a surprise.

IllegalContact

Solder-Gallery-Koppen-Connolly-Cannon is still pretty good though I would probably put connolly at LG and gallery at RG

Waters stepped in at the start of the season without a training camp and did fine. a TC for him will jus tintroduce unwanted wear and tear.....he will be there when the time comes. he would put gallery back at LG and connolly on the bench.....connolly can play any of the 3 interior spots and makes for a good backup

Cannon is being underestimated. he is prototypical for a RT and would be fine there.

mankins and vollmer should not be rushed....I would rather have them at the end of the season rather than the beginning.

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“ I think good coaches will coach with the personnel they have, and if you only have one (good) linebacker, you’re not going to play a 3–4. ”
—Hank Bullough, who installed one of the first 3–4 defenses with the New England Patriots.

patsinthesnow

If Solder and Cannon both end up starting and playing well (Vollmer's back), then it certainly brings the 2011 draft to atleast a B grade.

jmt57

- Agree on Connolly at LG and Gallery at RG if Pats were without both Mankins and Waters.

- If one of Waters or Mankins is unavailable I would prefer Connolly on the field over Gallery.

- Agree on Cannon being underestimated by many; perhaps that is due to the round in which he was drafted. I know it was the NCAA and not the NFL, but he allowed zero sacks in his final two years of college.