How about Stork's year?

JMC00 said:

Alright well it was technically 13 months. But National Championship and a SB and it wasn't a fluke thing where he happened to be on the roster and rarely contributed.

Click to expand...

When the Pats drafted Stork, I remember thinking: WOW! The Pats just grabbed the top-rated Center in College football. In the beginning of the season I felt that he gain a year of valuable experience early in his NFL career; should develop into a great player. However, by the end of the season, it was tough not to see some rookie who is making a huge contribution on every play at such a high level. And, he's another character guy. It would be great to see him become Pro-Balling fixture at the position.

Stork was amazing to me. He played amazingly well at a demanding position.

More amazing is the line seemed to play better every day he was in. He got push in the middle against nfl big boys and .......

He never hit the rookie wall. He was a rock all year.
I look for him to get better next season, if he can play at he level of the center in carolina, we will truly have a steal in our hands.

It's not necessarily a bad thing when guys don't know how to lose.

Stork being healthy for the Superbowl was a big boost for our OL in my opinion. However Michael Bennett was giving us trouble all day. Until the 4th quarter. Then our OL gave the Brady just enough time to make Magic happen.

Very happy about the possibility of having a high quality center for the future. Good pick thus far.

meatface said:

there seemed to be a lot of people on this board who wanted Amendola cut, even though it made no sense to do so

Click to expand...

So happy for Amendola, he showed in 2013 opener against Bills what tough caliber he is. Edelman clone vice versa.
And i hope that Dobson would shut the critics to.

As for Stork. He sent all distractions away before season. His girlfriend. That is some porn for BB.

Rhodey said:

When the Pats drafted Stork, I remember thinking: WOW! The Pats just grabbed the top-rated Center in College football.

Click to expand...

I was very happy, too, felt we needed to get a center ready for 2015... didn't expect a rookie to come in and perform this well in 2014, but glad he did! Solid, some mistakes, but no doubt he'll get better.

if the pats can find a G in the Draft like him they will be a lock to win back to back SB's

SammyBlueCat said:

Speaking of offensive lineman, remember when (some) people wanted Dave DeGuglielmo's head on a platter?

Click to expand...

Or better still how #12 was declining and the end was near..

What was the reason Stork dropped to the 4th if he was one of the top rated Cs in college on a National Championship??

I hope we draft Cameron Irving this year and start him at G. He can play all positions of the line.

Pre-KC game I remember Broncos fans asking about the state of the team. I said our line was a mess and there was no way of knowing what was wrong with the rest of the offense without fixing the line. I honestly was getting nervous about Gugs too.

2 weeks later, I was telling everyone that all is well with the line and the rest of the offense. It all had to do with Stork (the only new guy on the line) being inserted. Props to Wendell for his versatility despite being fairly undersized, and Connolly, for being the man and filling in for a future Patriots HOFer, Mankins.

National title and now a Super Bowl. He's off to a Bill Russell esque start. Should try to get a guard in the early rounds to develop. Looks like Flemming is a keeper, nice to see the line progressing. Hopefully Scar is willingly to help out with the draft again (I believe he did last year) as long as he isn't overstepping his bounds with Doug.

Froob said:

National title and now a Super Bowl. He's off to a Bill Russell esque start. Should try to get a guard in the early rounds to develop. Looks like Flemming is a keeper, nice to see the line progressing. Hopefully Scar is willingly to help out with the draft again (I believe he did last year) as long as he isn't overstepping his bounds with Doug.

Click to expand...

There is little doubt that the interior Offensive line has the least talent of any Patriots squad. It is full of Heady but athletically limited UDFA types.

We cannot force the run consistently. Our starters would make good reserves at both LG and RG, though. I want to improve there the most in off-season.

LG is a position that is most demanding in my opinion. LG must be mobile as he pulls more often. Yet the LG needs pass blocking abilities as the best Pass rushers are there. He also needs some drive blocking strength too.

RG needs lesser other ability but must excel at drive blocking and forcing the run. The Pats may have already drafted their future RG in Cam Fleming, who was dinged most of 2014. He showed well when healthy.

For a QB like Brady, both need good pass blocking abilities for a G.

Show416 said:

What was the reason Stork dropped to the 4th if he was one of the top rated Cs in college on a National Championship??

Click to expand...

Product of the team questions and injury concerns. According to most draftniks him being picked at the top of the 4th was a reach by the Pats.

But Belichick was only interested in 1 person's opinion when it came to Stork and that was Scar.

Froob said:

Hopefully Scar is willingly to help out with the draft again (I believe he did last year) as long as he isn't overstepping his bounds with Doug.

Click to expand...

Scar has probably already given his list of guys to Bill

JMC00 said:

Scar has probably already given his list of guys to Bill

Click to expand...

Sounds like when it came to offensive line he let Scar pretty much run the whole show. I wonder if he left the offensive line picks completely up to him.

SammyBlueCat said:

Speaking of offensive lineman, remember when (some) people wanted Dave DeGuglielmo's head on a platter?

Click to expand...

I was one of them. I will gladly eat that crow. I was wrong. They turned it around and really gelled through the middle of the season. A few injuries made things rocky for a bit, but they fought through it and ultimately played much better than the initial four weeks.

farn said:

Talking OL : can anyone give me the definitive Mankins trade outcome ? I know NE got the TE and a 4th. But does anyone know how much more free money they got and how it ended up being used ? I know it's an inexact science and "following money" is not always precise. But can anyone give me the "we got Wright, a fourth, and were able to sign A,B, and C" ?

Click to expand...

Blount and ayers(trade, but I believe his hit is higher than whoever got bounced to the practice squad in his place) come to mind.

woolster22 said:

Blount and ayers(trade, but I believe his hit is higher than whoever got bounced to the practice squad in his place) come to mind.

Click to expand...

The patriots saved $5.755M in 2014 cap room by trading Mankins. They also saved $7M in 2015 cap room. Basically, the team no longer had to pay the 2014 and 2015 salaries.

Miguel can correct.

Obviously, this all looks great now. That was because Stork was a great addition and played well as a starter in his rookie year. Wendell and Connolly played very well indeed as starting guards. And Kline played OK when he had to start. All this had to happen or we would have missed Mankins. As it was, this was GREAT deal for the patriots.

To find an immediate starter who is productive in the 4th round is a spectacular success. Remember Solder wasn't a full time starter until his 2nd year and he was the 17rh pick in the draft (although he did see a lot snaps his first year due to injuries and playing TE)

It also bodes well for that draft that CFlemming impressed enough to see snaps at critical parts of the game in certain packages. In fact, on first blush, I expected the Pats would look for the best potential OG with that last pick in the round. Now I wonder if Flemming might just be that guy to immediately fill that RG role this year. He has the power and size that's ideal, though my first impression of him at camp was a lack of nimbleness and agility. That was a first impression and a long time ago, so who knows now.

There were a number of rookie offensive linemen who started this year that were mid-round picks. The Ravens and GB are 2 teams that come to mind off the top of my head that had similar luck as the Pats. Between Flemming and the ability to find quality offensive linemen after the first round, I am much for comfortable using that first round pick on a DT, which I consider a bigger immediate need.