Breaking: Solder Gone For Season. Will Have Surgery

[BradyFTW!]

Solid player. That's too bad.

Good news is that Cannon is relatively very experienced for a backup.

That Denver matchup is going to be very interesting though.

Yeah, that definitely will present a matchup problem for our line--would have even before Solder got hurt--but luckily I think 20 points from the offense wins that game.

 

[FCB02062]

Cannon's been rotating at LT this season but I'm not confident he'll be any good.

 

[VrabelJr]

No way he actually believes that. Solder might be a top 10 LT, maybe, but he's definitely not top 5.

Joe Thomas, Trent Williams, Tyron Smith, Jason Peters, Andrew Whitworth, and Joe Staley are all without a doubt better than Solder. There's a few other guys I would take over Solder too, but then again I'm not particularly high on him.

Maybe Jason Peters like 4 years ago... I don't know what to make of Trent Williams. Redskins fans talk about him the same way we talk about Solder.

 

[FCB02062]

Not for nothing but Solder's been left tackle for one of the most prolific passing attacks in NFL history...not sure how people don't think this is a HUGE loss....

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Yea.

At a minimum my view is that his ribs aren't broken but bruised like hell.

For those of us who have had bruised ribs good luck to him getting a good nights sleep.

Tramadol is a wonderful thing.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Maybe Jason Peters like 4 years ago... I don't know what to make of Trent Williams. Redskins fans talk about him the same way we talk about Solder.

Name one criticism of Jason Peters that doesn't apply more to Solder. Every criticism that's been applied to him at any point over the past few years applies more to Solder than it does to him. He has a bit of trouble staying healthy, he suffers from occasional mental lapses, and he commits too many penalties. That's all true, but Solder's worse in every regard. And Peters makes up for that by being physically dominant in a way that Solder never has been and never will be.

 

[Urgent]

Owwwwww. Knowing what to look for, that's nasty.

 

[PatsFan2]

Thought Nate Solder sucked! bad on Sunday will only miss him for dept but he's nothing special against Great talent.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Tramadol is a wonderful thing.

Never had it. I need to get hurt so I can try it.

 

[PatsFan2]

On the bright side, if you told me this morning that between Hightower and Solder, one would be IRed and one would be back at practice, I'd have emphatically chosen this outcome.

Didn't want to say it glad you did but I totally agree!

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Is there anyone else who can fill Solder's spot? I feel like Cannon looks like a guard and seems to struggle at Tackle.

What?

 

[patfanken]

There is no way you can turn this into something that is good. I have been dreading this injury bug like the plague, and I could think of a lot of positions for it to hit.

Your LT is someone you count on for 60-70 plays a game. It is usually more than twice the impact of a WR, RB or most TE's. On Defense most of your players are involved in rotations that limit their playing time and impact. Usually 2 or 3 play most of the defensive snaps, like McCourty, Collins. and Butler.

What I'm saying is that if you HAD to have an injury you don't want it to happen to Brady, Gronk, Volmer, and Solder on offense, and McCourty, Collins, Butler, and Jones on Defense. But unfortunately it did. Now discussion of how good Solder was, or how good Cannon is perceived by the likes of you and me is irrelevant. All that matters is what the team does and how long it takes to adjust.

The most interesting question is does Volmer go to LT, or Cannon. Good reasons for going either way. Off the top of my head, I'd take my best player and move him to LT and move Cannon to RT. That is just my terribly unprofessional opinion. I'm just curious to see what they do.

BOTTOM LINE - There is no way to parse this, the OL is worse today than it was yesterday. How well we bounce back will take a lot of work and others to "be the next man up". The more things change, the more they will remain the same.

Have a speedy recovery Nate and see you back next year. You will be missed.

 

[PatsFan2]

Cannon is a capable RT and Vollmer has been an All-Pro on the right side. Given the production, I think it would be less of a risk to move Vollmer to LT and let Cannon hold down RT, where he showed that he was steady in 2013.

Knowing that Vollmer excells at RT it would be unlike BB to move him. I think Vollmer played all snaps at RT Sunday. Cannon looked ok I would leave him at LT and give him help often if he struggles

 

[The Gr8est]

Knowing that Vollmer excells at RT it would be unlike BB to move him. I think Vollmer played all snaps at RT Sunday. Cannon looked ok I would leave him at LT and give him help often if he struggles

Brady can see the pass rusher coming if Vollmer whiffs at RT.......

 

[zydecochris]

I see some comments about Soldier here.
"He is not great"
"He is top 10"
Gugs has made it clear that there is only one LT in the league he would take over Soldier. Even if we dilute that a bit Soldier is a top 5 guy easily and a great LT. Lets not change history here because he is now injured. Thankfully we have a capable replacement.

You mentioned that Gugs said there is only one LT in the league he would take over Soldier. Those are just words, but I would argue that one can get a true feel for how much the Patriots value him by how much they are paying him.

Guess who has the highest average salary on the team? Soldier at $10M per year. Clearly Soldier is one of the most highly valued guys on the team. It is good that we have a capable replacement (that is why we are paying Cannon an average salary of $4.5M per year), but Soldier is obviously a huge loss.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/

 

[Oswlek]

No way he actually believes that. Solder might be a top 10 LT, maybe, but he's definitely not top 5.

He actually does.

 

[BradyFTW!]

There is no way you can turn this into something that is good. I have been dreading this injury bug like the plague, and I could think of a lot of positions for it to hit.

Your LT is someone you count on for 60-70 plays a game. It is usually more than twice the impact of a WR, RB or most TE's. On Defense most of your players are involved in rotations that limit their playing time and impact. Usually 2 or 3 play most of the defensive snaps, like McCourty, Collins. and Butler.

What I'm saying is that if you HAD to have an injury you don't want it to happen to Brady, Gronk, Volmer, and Solder on offense, and McCourty, Collins, Butler, and Jones on Defense. But unfortunately it did. Now discussion of how good Solder was, or how good Cannon is perceived by the likes of you and me is irrelevant. All that matters is what the team does and how long it takes to adjust.

The most interesting question is does Volmer go to LT, or Cannon. Good reasons for going either way. Off the top of my head, I'd take my best player and move him to LT and move Cannon to RT. That is just my terribly unprofessional opinion. I'm just curious to see what they do.

BOTTOM LINE - There is no way to parse this, the OL is worse today than it was yesterday. How well we bounce back will take a lot of work and others to "be the next man up". The more things change, the more they will remain the same.

Have a speedy recovery Nate and see you back next year. You will be missed.

Sure, traditional wisdom dictates that your tackles don't play in a rotation. But the Pats have this year. The snap counts reflect it. Losing your LT is never a good thing, we're pretty much just debating exactly how badly it sucks here. Nobody's ever prepared to lose their LT, but the Pats are about as well prepared as you can hope. The only way you could be more prepared is in a year like 2011, when you have a vet holding down the fort and highly regarded prospect behind him.

 

[AzorianPats]

I think we now will really see Mike Williams worth to this team

 

[zydecochris]

There is no way you can turn this into something that is good. I have been dreading this injury bug like the plague, and I could think of a lot of positions for it to hit.

Your LT is someone you count on for 60-70 plays a game. It is usually more than twice the impact of a WR, RB or most TE's. On Defense most of your players are involved in rotations that limit their playing time and impact. Usually 2 or 3 play most of the defensive snaps, like McCourty, Collins. and Butler.

What I'm saying is that if you HAD to have an injury you don't want it to happen to Brady, Gronk, Volmer, and Solder on offense, and McCourty, Collins, Butler, and Jones on Defense. But unfortunately it did. Now discussion of how good Solder was, or how good Cannon is perceived by the likes of you and me is irrelevant. All that matters is what the team does and how long it takes to adjust.

The most interesting question is does Volmer go to LT, or Cannon. Good reasons for going either way. Off the top of my head, I'd take my best player and move him to LT and move Cannon to RT. That is just my terribly unprofessional opinion. I'm just curious to see what they do.

BOTTOM LINE - There is no way to parse this, the OL is worse today than it was yesterday. How well we bounce back will take a lot of work and others to "be the next man up". The more things change, the more they will remain the same.

Have a speedy recovery Nate and see you back next year. You will be missed.

Agreed, this year has seemed like a special one if the Pats could avoid major injuries, and this is definitely a big loss.

I wonder who will be the backup tackle? Fleming? Can any of the Interior OL players fill in if necessary? Surely after how effective Williams has been as a blocking TE we wouldn't try to re-convert him back to an OT would we? Are there any other candidates?

 

[BobDigital]

Well the Pats were going to lose a few starters before this season was all over just like everyone else.

Solder is one of the guys i was hoping would stay healthy though as i don't trust his backup but we will see.

Losing a LT hurts but it is something you can scheme around. I would guess Williams will be seeing a lot of time on the left side and a lot of RB chipping will come on that side.