All about the offensive line

[Gronkowski123]

give me tre jackson over cooper

the fanboys bring up cooper to try and justify the chandler jones trade.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

Possible that Cooper will take one of those guard spots but also possible he gets cut. Otherwise, you're spot on.

I think I read in another thread from Miguel that Cooper's contract is already guaranteed for the year, so he'd have to be pretty awful to be outright cut

 

[JMC00]

the fanboys bring up cooper to try and justify the chandler jones trade.

Joe Thuney and Malcolm Mitchell will justify the Jones trade. That's who they ended up getting with the pick they got for Jones.

 

[ashley]

The two tackle spots are set in stone with Vollmer and Solder. God help us if one of them gets hurt.
Looks like Thuney is a real find. With him Cooper and Mason, I think there is potential there.
I thought Stork would have the advantage at center but he is injured often so that should be a good battle with Andrews.
Overall, with Cannon and Kline out of the starting lineup, I think we are already better than we were the end of last year.

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

Lots to talk about here. Thought it deserved its own thread. If the OL blocks well and the Pats stay healthy overall then i don't see the Patriots losing the superbowl this year.

First and for most the bad news is the back up OT spot still is very shaky and it appears if no trade or signing happens that will be something to watch and keep your fingers crossed about for the year. The good news is pretty much everything else.

Thuney is as advertised and will likely be a solid day 1 starter. He has not had a single bad practice yet to my knowledge and has done well in 1v1s no matter who he is asked to block.

Karras is one of the bigger surprises of Camp and was mostly an after thought but has been playing very well and could battle for the other starting guard spot. He plays with a lot of attitude and is more of a push you on your back guy than beat you with technique. I expect him to make the roster as things stand. Lost 1v1 today vs Knighton though but that is a hard draw.

Mason will see more field time in the next few days i think. He flashed a bit as a rookie and had a few very impressive run blocks. One play in particular I remember him blocking 3 guys on the same play.

Cooper whose contract is fully guaranteed has yet to do much due to injury. He should be back soon and has the most talent in this group.

Kline has played a lot with the 1s and has been dependable like usual. Has more NFL snaps than any other guard on the team.

Jackson appears to be an afterthought right now.

With so many good guards and a few of them trying their hand at center it makes you wonder if we will carry both Andrews and Stork or just 1. It would be very hard to let any of these guards go and i doubt we get any of them back if we cut them.

A few quick thoughts there to start things off.

This is a great thread to read. This has been a serious issue for the last couple seasons, IMHO. I'm going to enjoy following this one. Good job..... This is an area where there have been so many injuries. NO injuries Please!!!! This offense seems so primed to have great results.

 

[Galeb]

give me tre jackson over cooper

the fanboys bring up cooper to try and justify the chandler jones trade.

Folks in favor of the trade bring up the POSSIBILITY that Cooper might contribute. For literally all of them, that is just one part of their argument. Your feeling the need to refer to those who disagree with you as fan boys says a lot more about you than it says about them.

 

[Sicilian]

Given that BB has already gone on record this camp saying that the WR competition is as good as it's ever been, he feels the TE's are the best group he's coached in New England, AND we all know the QB isn't an issue (after week 4), I'd say the OP is spot on. The OL is really the only thing that could stall this offense. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. I trust Scar to put the best five we have out there, hopefully we've got enough for him to choose from.

 

[jah]

Folks in favor of the trade bring up the POSSIBILITY that Cooper might contribute. For literally all of them, that is just one part of their argument. Your feeling the need to refer to those who disagree with you as fan boys says a lot more about you than it says about them.

Cooper probably stole his girl.

 

[archstanton543]

I just want them to work on a silent snap count. NO HEAD BOBBING!

 

[Kontradiction]

The biggest hope is that Vollmer and Solder return to where they were pre-injury and can play the entire season. The less Marcus Cannon sees the field, the better. I really don't see why they kept him. I suppose the hope is that his play will improve with Dante coaching him again, but Cannon was Cannon even when Dante was here.

After that, the competition at center followed by whether or not Mason can improve in pass protection. Center will be the interesting one to watch. We all know what Stork is capable of when he's healthy, but he's suffered a battery of concussions throughout his career. Andrews is currently challenging him for that spot and will need to considerably improve in pass protection as well before he beats Stork out permanently. As for Mason, I think that Dante can work wonders with him in pass protection. I loved him coming out of college as a prospect, but I didn't think he'd be starting last year. I thought they would ease him in while they groomed him. Considering the kind of offense he played in at college and his limitations, he didn't do as badly as I expected he would. If he can improve in pass pro, he has the potential to be a Pro Bowler.

 

[Ring 6]

The question that remains is what Bill is gonna do with Stork if the pre-season games confirm this tendency:

- Keep as a Center backup (and possibly guard if god forbid Mason, Kline, Jackson and Cooper get injured)
- Convert to Guard playing center in emergencies
- Trade
- Doesn't make the 53 so he's flat out cut

Andrews is not beating out stork

 

[Ring 6]

give me tre jackson over cooper

the fanboys bring up cooper to try and justify the chandler jones trade.

Oh I thought the fanboys brought up Jackson to justify the draft pick

 

[Mack Herron]

 

[jah]

Andrews is not beating out stork

He already did.

 

[2000army]

I have a feeling Stork is done in the NFL ... I feel really bad for him

 

[Ring 6]

He already did.

No he didn't or did I miss it and we played a game already?

 

[JMC00]

Andrews is not beating out stork

Will you double down on that after the latest news about Stork?

 

[jah]

No he didn't or did I miss it and we played a game already?

He beat out Stork week 15 last year. Was benched or injured shortly thereafter, forgot which. Wouldn't be an upset for Stork to win the job (concussion notwithstanding) but I think Andrews has to be considered the frontrunner at this point.

 

[The Gr8est]

Will you double down on that after the latest news about Stork?

I'm getting my mind conditioned to the idea of a Pats roster without Stork. These concussions are coming too early and often now.

With limited roster spots it is difficult to justify keeping him active when the chances are good that he will be unavailable for significant portions of the season.

These guys are living a dream that so many of them have had from childhood; playing in the NFL*, but he may be faced with the cruel reality of having to walk away if his body won't hold up.

 

[RayClay]

The amount of guards who are injured is incredible, but i think it shows the wisdom of BB's approach. Imagine if he spent two 1's on guards and they were injured. This way, he keeps using FA [Andrews] and low picks like panning for gold.

Thuney seems a great value for a third, even better if he's a true swing tackle in a pinch, as Reiss seemed to think.

If Thuney can cover that and they keep extra guards, they could drop Cannon and keep an affordable Waddle [?] with thuney ready to be an extra backup with ample guard to fill his slot.

Kind of like Mankins slipping into the left tackle slot when needed.