It cannot get much worse, so why not?

[varjao]

If Stork is 100% recovered from the injury he dealt in camp I'm all in starting him to learn by fire. I can't stand to see Wendell playing anymore.

Sunday he started the season the same way he ended the last one, if he starts again I'll just

 

[Marinlik]

Wendell is hurt.

And thank god for that. Whatever it takes to keep him from the field.

 

[Kontradiction]

And thank god for that. Whatever it takes to keep him from the field.

Yeah, I don't cheer injuries but if he misses Sunday's game it will be a blessing in disguise.

 

[varjao]

And this is Wendell's numbers from Miguel's page patscap.com

 

[JMC00]

Wendell is hurt.

And thank god for that. Whatever it takes to keep him from the field.

Yeah, I don't cheer injuries but if he misses Sunday's game it will be a blessing in disguise.

Wendell participated in conditioning and positional drills with the rest of team today.

 

[DarrylS]

Reiss is reporting:

At the start of practice, the offensive line still consisted of left tackle Nate Solder, left guardMarcus Cannon, center Dan Connolly, right guard Jordan Devey and right tackle Sebastian Vollmer. They all took walk-through repetitions with quarterback Tom Brady.

 

[ATippett56]

Reiss is reporting:

I am not encouraged.

 

[Kontradiction]

Reiss is reporting:

Devey possibly still the starting RG?

 

[JMC00]

What the hell do they see in Jordan Devey? He had 100% of the snaps in preseason and did not impress in any of them. Guys that are unemployed were owning him.

Not good when the most notable play in your career is making Brady trip.


There is just no way they think Devey offers more than Stork other than he had a year in Scarr's Offensive Line School and Stork isn't up to speed yet to make the move

 

[ATippett56]

Devey possibly still the starting RG?

2014 6th Round Draft Pick Jon Halapio was not the answer.

 

[varjao]

What about Josh Kline?

 

[Kontradiction]

2014 6th Round Draft Pick Jon Halapio was not the answer.

That it came down to these two at RG can pretty much be blamed on the coaching staff.

 

[ATippett56]

That it came down to these two at RG can pretty much be blamed on the coaching staff.

Devey, Kline, Halapio

Seriously?

 

[Mack Herron]

NFC Defensive Player of the Week predictions?

 

[mgteich]

MY REACTION
It is not unusual for posters to overreact and want start rookies after one loss.

IMHO, this kind of reaction shows no faith in the management, coaches or players. The team was 3 points down with 10 minutes to go, and we had the ball. To suggest that it couldn't any worse is silly at best. The OL was playing in 90 degree temperature and humidity. One of the 6 men schedule for significant reps was injured. And yes, the youngster that DID play had a terrible first outing.

So, the answer when a line doesn't do well with 3 changes and ONE youngster starting is to make 2 more changes and have 2 ROOKIES starting. I'm not buying.

The OL played terrible on Sunday and honestly, it probably could not get much worse. With that in mind I am all for them just starting an OL of:

LT- Nate Solder
LG- Marcus Cannon
OC- Bryan Stork
RG- Cameron Fleming
RT- Sebastian Vollmer

At the end of the day this lineup puts are most physically talented players on the field together and with the right coaching they should be able to make it work. Why waste time with the likes of Devey and Wendell, if they are going to play like ****, why not just let the rookies play and make the same mistakes but at least it helps their development.

If Stork or Fleming is having a terrible game for whatever reason, you pull them out and stick Connolly in to calm things down for that game.

This may sound dumb to some, or impulsive but ultimately we drafted Stork and Fleming to likely play those positions along the line so why not just do it now early in the season, why wait 3-4 more weeks only to realize Devey and Wendell are not going to be able to help us.

Thoughts, opinions, or statements of outrage are welcome.

 

[Jimke]

At some point(s) during the season, I could easily see us going with this configuration, depending on Fleming's rawness.

God help us if we're trotting out Wendell and Devey in the postseason.

If the Patriots are still trotting out Devey and Wendell at the end of the season, there will be no playoffs.

 

[mgteich]

Have we signed a new player named "Stork" ? Just 3-4 weeks ago, many here were suggesting that the only reason that he would make the 53 was that he was a 4th round draft choice. Some even suggested (hoped?) that he would be put on the IR-Return list. And now, Stork is a better center than Connolly or Wendell? Really?

I have no words for those who think that the way to improve the OL is to start Fleming.

Belichick apparently thought so much of Devey that he was willing to cut Mankins to make way for him as a starter. Apparently, Cannon was already considered a starter at one of the guard spots.

IMHO, we should focus our criticism better. There is ONE problem, and it is NOT our backup center. The problem is Devey. There are several options for the next couple of weeks.

1) CONNOLLY at center, and DEVEY at RG

2) WENDELL at center and CONNOLLY at RG

3) CONNOLLY at center, and KLINE at RG (or at LG, with Cannon at RG)

4) BARKER at center and CONNOLLY at RG

5) STORK at center and CONNOLLY at RG

IMHO, we need to have some continuity. With Connolly at center, continuity will remain at LT-LG-C. Connolly is our best center, by far. So, for me, the question is who plays RG. If Devey and Kline are SO bad, then I would go with Wendell at C and Connolly at RG. I would even consider a backup free agent RG. It is disturbing to me that Kline isn't even good enough to be active. Perhaps, it was a close decision between Kline and Devey, in which case, we could see Kline this week.

 

[Bruins29]

NFC Defensive Player of the Week predictions?

Jordan Devy lol

 

[mgteich]

Yeah, I don't cheer injuries but if he misses Sunday's game it will be a blessing in disguise.

Sure, we WANT to see Devey start again. Really? That is the #1 alternative after all.

 

[PatFanCraig]

Its better to start a Rookie who has some raw talent and functional power than a lineman no other team even wants on their practice squad. When they do cut Devey and Wendell they won't even he on another teams practice squad. And here 2 players who can't even make a practice squad starting for a superbowl contender. And everybody is surprised the Superbowl contender is 0-1. Start the rookies at least they have talent and play strength to belong in the NFL. And best of all they will get better with experience. Osemele of the ravens as a rookie handled Wilfork quite well. They started him and by playoff time he was dominant. Fleming has similar size and skill set as Osemele and is an intelligent player. You know the other guys can't block most NFL Lineman so why would anybody want them in the lineup knowing they can't play in the NFL. They wouldn't be on the team if any other team thought they could play. Because they are more lineman bill signed off the street. Only time they look OK is in practice against Dlineman signed off the street or coming off Achilles injury. With the rookies the OLine will get better as they gain experience. With Devey and Wendell and Kline and Connolly if he is at guard you know you have a below average OLine. Cannon, Connolly/Stork, and Fleming can fix the OLine and even get better than average. Especially if Stork actually outplays Connolly at center.