Light, Brady at practice today

Re: Light at practice today

tombonneau said:

Glad my hunch that BB was merely holding Light out to keep him fresh seems to be coming true ... now if they can just find a competent body to plug in to the RG spot until Neal returns ...

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Maybe BB could pop Ventrone into the RG spot. I mean if he can play FB then why not RG???

I always assumed Kaczur would be given a shot at RT but would probably end up being a guard ... I guess not.

Re: Light at practice today

Another point that has been missed is that the starting OL in 2007 was much greater than the sum of its parts. Mankins is a beast. Light and Koppen are solid but unspectacular. Neal is skilled but unrefined...basically an overachiever. Kaczur is a high effort guy but is limited. Taken individually (as I just did), they are probably above average in the NFL but not top 10. When operating in sync together, they play at a top 5, Pro Bowl level.

That being said, nobody knows how the line will perform when you substitute in another player...even one of equal or greater skill. I imagine it would take time for someone new to reach the same level of oneness the line reached last year. Losing Neal certainly didn't help the SB effort in February (though it seemed like they would have gagged anyway) and I'm not sure how his probable absence to start the year will affect the team. The Pats have kept Yates around for a reason so hopefully his struggles this preseason represent him finding his place with the starting unit...not made any easier by the other injuries.

As an aside, Scar can't be paid enough money for the coaching job that he does.

Re: Light at practice today

BradyManny2344 said:

I agree, I like all 3 of our young tackles, Kaczur, O'Cal and Britt. I agree Kaczur was great filling in for Light at LT in his rookie season and he's been a solid RT ever since, [though I did argue for selecting Clady going into the season, and potentially moving Kaczur to RG in Neal's absence]. Hopefully his ineffectiveness thus far is not indicative of how his regular season will go. He'll probably be just fine, as Jsn said above, its just "knocking the rust off" and Kaczur had a troubled offseason, so it might take him more time to accomplish that.

Yates has also looked good in the past, but has struggled so far in exhibition games.

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O'Callaghan had some games in his rookie season where he was just mauling guys in the run game. I remember him dominating the Jets Shaun Ellis.

I think playing Britt at LT this preseason was a test to see if he could backup Light. I like all 3 of our young tackles also, but only Kaczur has the quick feet to backup Light. I have questions about O'Cal and Britt holding up in the passing game, even at RT.

Re: Light at practice today

Pats726 said:

I doubt that was at all the case..I think Light has been injured..and he's better now..If you can find ANY shred of evidence that CoachB was holding him out for rest..please show it. So..instead of getting an O line in synch he kept Light out to rest him?? I doubt it....If it was for a day a practice here there..yes THAT I do believe and makes sense..and also, I am sure they are extra cautious as well in the preseason regarding injuries..but keeping a player out for 3 weeks?? I don't think so.

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Evidence is probably Randy Moss last yr., he was kept out all preseason and then came out blazing vs Jets for 9 catches, 183 yds and a TD. Wasn't the argument last yr that he and Brady wouldn't be in sync because they've had no time together?? It didn't seem to matter much then and it doesn't now. Anyway I think the O-line playing together in the preseason is overated since this group has been together for 3 yrs now with the exception of Neal's fill in and if it's Hochstein or Yates there is familiarity and continuity there as well since Hoch started 7 games at RG there last yr and Yates 1 while Neal was hurt. An O-line getting in sync happens over a period of yrs not a preseason so I would value time off for Light to get 100% and get his rest as well as not getting hurt rather than him being in there in the preseason. The evidence is clear throughout the league you can't go out and trade for a Pro-bowl LT at this time of the year so why risk injury?? Despite what some people on this board think, Matt Light is an elite player that rarely needs help from a TE and that's invaluable in this offense with all the passing and with Kaczur needing help on the other side. You can only give help to one OT so BB doesn't want to see Britt and Kaczur as the starting OT's during the season. There is plenty of evidence that BB is playing it safe with lots of veterans this preseason and he has done that throughout his career. You take care of your vets now and they will appreciate it and take care of you in Dec/Jan/Feb.

Re: Light at practice today

BradyManny2344 said:

True, good call. Particularly good call considering Koppen has not seemed quite his effective self so far and that's probably the reason why - Light's absence affects the whole line.

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No. Neal's absence affects the whole interior line...

Goes without saying that Brady is key, but glad that Light is back to cover his blind side.