Scar on Cannon

[Mack Herron]

“Love his physicality. Love his passion for the game. He’s a smart kid, a great kid to coach, he’s driven to be very good. I think he’s a really good tackle. [What we’re doing in OTAs with him at guard] is trying to get this guy to make himself as valuable a player as we can, and valuable for us. We have five starters and if we lose a guy we have to have a guy that is capable of getting in there and doing a great job. So we want to train him at guard, and we’re going to give him more tackle work as we go forward in this minicamp. I like what he’s doing. I like how he’s doing it. Every day is a growth day for him. He’s a special kid. He’s a starting quality player. I love the kid. I think he’s a good player.”

Soundbites from Scarnecchia - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

This does not sound like the usual fluff to me. Nice to get a candid assessment from the coaches.

 

[Marqui]

I still think he'll be the starting RG.

 

[shmessy]

Your thread title had me very concerned at first.

 

[shmessy]

BTW, this should be made into a bumper sticker or on the wall of every lackadaisical worker's cubicle.

"If you don’t, if you’re not willing to prove yourself every day and [you’re] complacent, it will be a [butt]-kicking of astronomical proportions. None of us want that.”

 

[Mack Herron]

Your thread title had me very concerned at first.

Ooops. I'll speak with my copy editor. Great to see a guy stepping up, regardless of position (versatility will only earn him more playing time); especially a guy diagnosed with cancer right before the draft.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

The quote above settles one thing: Scar—and by extension the Patriots—sees Cannon first and foremost as a tackle.

Of course, that raises the question of why almost everyone else seems convinced he's best suited for guard. . . .

 

[DarrylS]

Aside from Belichick and Brady, Scar is one guy I would really like to have a cup of coffee with and just chat about his view of how all of this works...

 

[Ivan]

The quote above settles one thing: Scar—and by extension the Patriots—sees Cannon first and foremost as a tackle.

Of course, that raises the question of why almost everyone else seems convinced he's best suited for guard. . . .

1) They don't have any openings at Tackle right now, and people want to see Cannon start.

2) People don't believe Cannon has the foot speed to play outside and see his 350 frame as perfect as a roadgrading guard.

Count me among those who want him starting at RG instead of 2nd string tackle. Had they moved on from Vollmer i would be hoping that he couid take over as the starting RT but with Vollmer here for the foreseeable future I hope they decide to make the move to RG for Cannon.

 

[ay-yo]

Cannon-Vollmer-Gronk would make any RB very happy.

 

[mgteich]

Scar would also likely say that Connolly is a starting quality player, with flexibility to play guard and center (ditto for Wendell). So, we have six starting quality players. I'm the odd person out on the board. I don't expect Cannon to start. However, I'm certainly rooting for him to be good enough to beat out Connolly.

 

[Christian]

I'm really curious to see where Cannon ends up long term. Seems to me they want him to be a back up, plug in OL. But is he too good for that? Too talented? Or is it too soon? Either way, I think they like his potential versatility...but he may be a guy that is too good to move in between 2 very different positions. He may be a guy who just needs to stay in one spot. But Scar certainly knows best.

 

[Gumby]

As tight an info ship as BB runs; I am really happy to hear a few things from Scar. That is one guy that we all respect the hell out of; and I think he has been around BB long enough that he would never spill 'state secrets' to the press.

The biggest fear I have with any of the competent assistants getting face-media access time is that they say things that impress the hell out of other teams. Scar is one loyal dude to the Pats-Boston area. So no worries about him switching teams til he can't do it anymore or goes to play for S.P's team.

 

[shmessy]

Scar would also likely say that Connolly is a starting quality player, with flexibility to play guard and center (ditto for Wendell). So, we have six starting quality players. I'm the odd person out on the board. I don't expect Cannon to start. However, I'm certainly rooting for him to be good enough to beat out Connolly.

Depends if they look at Connolly as a C in the future. Is he better than Wendell? The coaches obviously like Wendell's scrappiness. I do know that they had to shift Connolly over to RG last year because of the #54 situation and they didn't think Canon had enough training at RG yet. This year may be different. Lots of moving parts. Connolly is certainly BIGGER than Wendell. And Canon is certainly BIGGER than Connolly.

Would be fun if they had different OL's for different situations:

Run: Solder-Mankins-Connolly-Canon-Vollmer
Pass: Solder-Mankins-Wendell-Connolly-Vollmer

Obviously, this would really hinge on Connolly's versatility more than anyone else - - can he do that?

 

[Snake Eyes]

Depends if they look at Connolly as a C in the future. Is he better than Wendell? The coaches obviously like Wendell's scrappiness. I do know that they had to shift Connolly over to RG last year because of the #54 situation and they didn't think Canon had enough training at RG yet. This year may be different. Lots of moving parts. Connolly is certainly BIGGER than Wendell. And Canon is certainly BIGGER than Connolly.

Would be fun if they had different OL's for different situations:

Run: Solder-Mankins-Connolly-Canon-Vollmer
Pass: Solder-Mankins-Wendell-Connolly-Vollmer

Obviously, this would really hinge on Connolly's versatility more than anyone else - - can he do that?

Aside from an empty formation I don't know why you'd do that, you'd eliminate guesswork for the defense.

 

[shmessy]

Aside from an empty formation I don't know why you'd do that, you'd eliminate guesswork for the defense.

If opposing D's believe what you just wrote, Brady and the Pats O will break their own records this year.

Wouldn't have to be a 100% thing - - if a D was adjusting its own personnel based on that, Brady COULD have a lot of fun with checkoffs at the line of scrimmage. It's not as if Connolly CAN'T be a pass blocking C or that Wendell CAN'T be a run blocking C. It would be a very nice wrinkle to throw at opposing D's.

Don't forget - - with Connolly and Canon we're talking about players who are multi-dimensional. If opposing D's try to react by overloading run specialists or pass specialists, Brady would destroy them.

Combine the no-huddle offense which hamstrung many D's last year with the possibility of switching up the OL during a series - - opposing D coordinators could be jumping out of tall building this year.

Think of it this way - - It is just another avenue for the Pats O to dictate and force opposing D's to think and react this year.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Depends if they look at Connolly as a C in the future. Is he better than Wendell? The coaches obviously like Wendell's scrappiness. I do know that they had to shift Connolly over to RG last year because of the #54 situation and they didn't think Canon had enough training at RG yet. This year may be different. Lots of moving parts. Connolly is certainly BIGGER than Wendell. And Canon is certainly BIGGER than Connolly.

Would be fun if they had different OL's for different situations:

Run: Solder-Mankins-Connolly-Canon-Vollmer
Pass: Solder-Mankins-Wendell-Connolly-Vollmer

Obviously, this would really hinge on Connolly's versatility more than anyone else - - can he do that?

In a vacuum, I think I'd rather see Connolly/Cannon out there than Wendell/Connolly, in part because Connolly has good size at center and is a little undersized at RG. If the Pats go with Wendell/Connolly, then I think it'll be at least in part keeping Cannon on the bench allows them to replace Vollmer in the event that his back acts up. If Cannon's on the bench, then you're simply swapping RTs. If Wendell is on the bench, then that one switch necessitates position changes at C, RG, and RT.

 

[mgteich]

I suspect that, as of now, our Game Day backups are Cannon and McDonald, although Svitek and Cannon is certainly a possibility. Using the second set means that there would be 2 moves with an injury at LG or C.

The open questions are
1) Is Svitek our Game Day backup at RT and LT?
2) Where does Cannon fit in.

The reality is that we are in fine shape bringing back all our starters from one of last year's very best OL's. But we are greedy. And it seems that we are justified. With health, we should be better this year.

 

[Mac&Barmore FTW]

Depends if they look at Connolly as a C in the future. Is he better than Wendell? The coaches obviously like Wendell's scrappiness. I do know that they had to shift Connolly over to RG last year because of the #54 situation and they didn't think Canon had enough training at RG yet. This year may be different. Lots of moving parts. Connolly is certainly BIGGER than Wendell. And Canon is certainly BIGGER than Connolly.

Would be fun if they had different OL's for different situations:

Run: Solder-Mankins-Connolly-Canon-Vollmer
Pass: Solder-Mankins-Wendell-Connolly-Vollmer

Obviously, this would really hinge on Connolly's versatility more than anyone else - - can he do that?

I thought Wendell was a better run blocker than pass protector. I could be wrong though.

 

[Brady2Moss]

was hoping he could beat connolly out at guard, he seems like he could be a beast road grader on the right side.