2016 OL situation clearing ...

What I know is that the Patriots used mid-round picks on three interior O-linemen in 2014 and 2015 (Stork, Mason, Jackson). They then traded for Cooper (who will be expensive to cut) and used another mid-round pick on Thuney in 2016. That's not to mention two UDFAs with playing experience, Andrews and Kline.

The situation is clearing? Not for me.

reamer said:

...but in this case I think you undervalue Kline. He could start on most teams, I think...

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Surely you can't be serious.

Andrews should have been starting over Stork all of last year at Center imo. Biggest thing Stork has going for him is position flexibility so he might end up the swing interior lineman under Scars but Im not sure he is starting caliber.

He also comes off as a total DB when he opens his mouth.

ashley1992 said:

I'm not familiar with PFF, but if they have Kline as the best of anything, I instantly question their creditiblity!!!!

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Have you seen our other guards?

robertweathers said:

I'm calling Solder-Mason-Stork-Cooper-Vollmer

Didn't know about the $1.7m guarantee for Cooper. I guess it's just as likely he is cut on the 4th day of camp.

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Yeah, but I don't see it happening. I don't think NE would risk him being picked up by someone else for $1.7m, no matter how frugal they can be at times. He is a former first-rounder after all. They'll want to see what he can do to protect the Franchise.

Scar's done more with less, I suppose.

State said:

I wonder how Tre Jackson will fare under Dante. The previous guy who was fired was all about size and power. He must have influenced drafting such guys.

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Scar was involved in drafting nearly all of them.

captain stone said:

Surely you can't be serious.

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I watch a lot of bad football teams. It's voyeuristic, I guess.

Some of their lines are just unbelievably bad. We're used to a standard of excellence, but not all teams have as solid of play from their Oline. I think Kline is a very average, mid-level player. That's fine for a backup.

PICK 5
Stork, Andrews, Cooper, Mason, Jackson, Thuney, Kline

Thuney and Mason are safe. Stork is safe if he is healthy.
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Out OT situation is clear.. We have Solder and Vollmer as starters. We will keep one or two of Cannon and Waddle. We could certainly keep all four. The decision needn't be made until late in preseason, in case of injury.

Don't forget Fleming & Karras!

mgteich said:

PICK 5
Stork, Andrews, Cooper, Mason, Jackson, Thuney, Kline

Thuney and Mason are safe. Stork is safe if he is healthy.
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Out OT situation is clear.. We have Solder and Vollmer as starters. We will keep one or two of Cannon and Waddle. We could certainly keep all four. The decision needn't be made until late in preseason, in case of injury.

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That's a really tough call right now.

I suppose some sort of a combination of an injury, one player stepping up (and one player not showing much) in camp and preseason will sort this all out for us three months from now - but as of this moment I have no idea. It is difficult to even speculate who is in and who is out with this group.

Amazing how the line situation can clear without OTA's ... training camp ... pre season ...

BB has been investing in the O_line, first at Tackle and then the interior, the past few drafts. Drafting Solder, Stork, Mason, Jackson, and Fleming and obtaining Waddle and Cooper from other teams, as well as signing UDFAs like Andrews and Kline indicates the rebuilding going on. Now all that is needed is some NFL experience playing together.

Thuney, Kline, Mason, Stork, Cooper would be my guess as the 5 who make it.

I know Dante liked Jackson coming out but I don't know about him. Andrews is undersized and is a Center only. Stork is better when healthy. Thuney replaces Andrews because of his ability to play Guard and even Tackle.

Ideally, I'd like the starters to be:

Solder, Mason, Stork, Cooper, Vollmer.

That's assuming those guys win their jobs. Then you have Kline and jack of all trades in case somebody goes down in Thuney. My guess is that Thuney is going to end up being really good for us for a long time. They clearly liked him alot.

Christian said:

Thuney, Kline, Mason, Stork, Cooper would be my guess as the 5 who make it.

I know Dante liked Jackson coming out but I don't know about him. Andrews is undersized and is a Center only. Stork is better when healthy. Thuney replaces Andrews because of his ability to play Guard and even Tackle.

Ideally, I'd like the starters to be:

Solder, Mason, Stork, Cooper, Vollmer.

That's assuming those guys win their jobs. Then you have Kline and jack of all trades in case somebody goes down in Thuney. My guess is that Thuney is going to end up being really good for us for a long time. They clearly liked him alot.

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TROLL TROLL TROLL!

Wait are we not doing this any more?

EDIT: For the record, I agree with everything you said. Here's hoping on Thuney.

Mike the Brit said:

What I know is that the Patriots used mid-round picks on three interior O-linemen in 2014 and 2015 (Stork, Mason, Jackson). They then traded for Cooper (who will be expensive to cut) and used another mid-round pick on Thuney in 2016. That's not to mention two UDFAs with playing experience, Andrews and Kline.

The situation is clearing? Not for me.

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For what its worth, late third round picks carry with a staggering 75% (League Averages) and higher chance of being a bust.

The OL is going to be very competitive. It will be interesting to see if they carry 8 or 9 guys this year.

Having to carry 3 QB's on the 53 is going to have a ripple effect on another position. If I were handicapping the line today i think we are looking at Vollmer and Solder at T, Mason at one G and Stork (assuming health) at C.

The other G spot is up for grabs between Thuney, Cooper, Jackson and Kline. I think they are going to give Cooper every opportunity to win that spot.

The 3/4 other spots will go to the guys that give them the most flexibility. They'll try to get Karras to the PS . My guess is the 3/4 other guys will be Thuney, Kline and or Jackson and Waddle. Andrews and Flemming could be out. If they go with 8 Jackson could be a surprise cut here.

We do know that Scar has favorites, right? We also know that Solder, Cannon and Kline are his pet faves...

We also know that Jackson's knees are a concern. Has he been able to work out this off season?
Scar wants his OL pulling and trapping, even his C's. Andrews does that. Stork does not.

Can't wait for camp, there seems to be some trading opp's here that could net some draft choices for next year.

Danger Zone said:

For what its worth, late third round picks carry with a staggering 75% (League Averages) and higher chance of being a bust.

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What is your definition of "bust"

mgteich said:

What is your definition of "bust"

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In one of the studies, they measured it two different ways.

1. A player with less than a 5 value score from pro-football-reference.com

2. A player who starts less than a year or who accumulated less than 40 games in their career.

The chance of a bust in the NFL draft

I'm confident that Scar will do the best he can with what he has to work with and will shuffle the roster as well as lineup accordingly

Health is usually the biggest factor that impacts the OL during the season so to me, having the Plan B - Z is most important. As such I'd expect Scar would be keeping one eye on developing a shadow roster, bringing different guys in for looks in case he needs them later in the season - specifically guys who are on various roster bubbles as they and some veterans are usually the ones available after Week 1 too

Having a good OL is critical to this team - and that goes beyond just protecting Brady

When the OL doesn't need a TE to stay in and help block it puts the offense on another level, so I'm sure Belichick and Brady both are going to be using the "do your job" theme with the OL this season