My Blueprint for the Offense

[ATippett56]

My blueprint for the New England Patriots offense in the 2015 NFL Season:

Draft offensive guard, running back, offensive guard, tight end.

Dan Connolly and Marcus Cannon will be unrestricted free agents next year. Marcus Cannon is not an offensive guard but an effective right offensive tackle.

Left Tackle - Solder (for now anyway)
Left Guard - ????
Center - Stork
Right Guard - ????
Right Tackle - Vollmer

Backup Center - Wendell (under contract for the 2015 NFL Season)
Backup Offensive Tackle - Fleming

Devey and Kline need to be upgraded NOW!

2015 New England Patriots offense (notable players under contract):

Quarterback - Brady, Garoppolo
Offensive Center - Stork, Wendell
Offensive Tackle - Fleming, Solder, Vollmer
Running Backs - White
Tight Ends - Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui, Wright
Wide Receivers - Amendola, Dobson, Edelman, LaFell

ERFA - Develin
RFA - Bolden
UFA - Cannon, Connolly, Ridley, Slater, Vereen

 

[captain stone]

Instead of 3 OGs, I would draft LOG & LOT while hoping that Stork - Fleming - Vollmer is the answer
for the right side…and draft the best non-smurf WR available.

 

[mayoclinic]

Instead of 3 OGs, I would draft LOG & LOT while hoping that Stork - Fleming - Vollmer is the answer
for the right side…and draft the best non-smurf WR available.

It's too soon to make the call on an OT. Solder played reasonably well against Cincinnati, and the Pats have too much invested to pull the plug right now.

NFL DraftScout currently has 12 offensive linemen ranked in the top 64:

3. Cedric Ogbuehi, Texas A&M
5. Andrus Peat, Stanford
6. Brandon Scherff, Iowa
18. Spencer Drango, Baylor
31. La'el Collins, LSU
40. AJ Cann, South Carolina
41. Ereck Flowers, Miami
42. Ty Sambrailo, Colorado St.
54. Cameron Erving, Florida St.
56. Josue Matias, Florida St.
61. Reese Dismukes, Auburn
63. Arie Kouandjio, Alabama

Only Peat and Ogbuehi are pure tackles. Scherff, Drango, Collins, Flowers, Sambrailo and Erving are all tackles who could easily project to guard. I'm hoping that Stork makes center a non-need, but other than Dismukes the other 11 guys could all be potential fits.

 

[Marinlik]

I've watched a bit of Brandon Scherff now. What a fun player to watch. He gets a real good beginning hit when he run blocks, which gets the defender unbalanced and then he just runs away with him. Great speed when he gets moving with the block. He seems to have a good understanding of what is needed from the blocks and can angle his defender so he gets between the runner and defender. So he can both run over his defender, but also use solid technique to take them out of the play. Which is good, because it's harder to get that push he usually gets in college against players in the NFL. He has good handplacement in his blocks. He's nasty when he finishes blocks, which I love.

He is not as good when he pass blocks. He's a bit slow in the feet sometimes and I saw some plays where he struggled with defenders who started outside and then went inside of him. But that should be fixeable as he looks better at it this year than he did last year. Not a bad pass blocker by any stretch. But it's not on the same level as his run blocks.

 

[Patriot Missile]

As Mayo mentioned. He projects well to guard which I hope drops him down in the draft.

 

[mayoclinic]

As Mayo mentioned. He projects well to guard which I hope drops him down in the draft.

From Matt Miller's scouting notebook:

An area scout assigned to Iowa told me this week that he and his NFL team see Brandon Scherff as a guard due to his shorter arms. That said, they view Scherff as an elite-level guard prospect thanks to his strength, run-blocking skill set and quickness off the ball.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2225817-2015-nfl-draft-matt-millers-scouting-notebook-for-week-6

I'm hoping that Scherff will slip a bit in the pre-draft period because he may not have elite measurables, and may be considered a bit stiff for LT with slightly short arms. I think that his toughness and intangibles combined with his powerful game would make him another Mankins at LG.

 

[captain stone]

I just read that PitsDirt waived OLman Wesley Johnson in order to make room for Bubba Jr Ventrone
from their PS. I'm sure that Johnson will be signed to their PS if he passes unclaimed through waivers,
but if I were Bill, I'd make a claim.

 

[mayoclinic]

I just read that PitsDirt waived OLman Wesley Johnson in order to make room for Bubba Jr Ventrone from their PS. I'm sure that Johnson will be signed to their PS if he passes unclaimed through waivers, but if I were Bill, I'd make a claim.

The Pats showed quite a bit of interest in Johnson, IIRC. He was touted as a potential 5-position lineman. I'd be interested.

 

[doesntmatter1]

Finding decent guards shouldn't be that difficult. I think our #1 need next year will be at right tackle. Cannon will probably move on and I haven't seen Vollmer play an entire game in a very long time.

On another note, a lb by the name of Hicks on the longhorns caught my eye today. I will soon check out some of his other games.

 

[mayoclinic]

On a simplistic note, my "blueprint" for the Pats right now is to build an offensive line the way the Cowboys have. We're a long way from that right now. But the ability to match up with any team in the NFL and know that your line can impose their will on the opponent is huge.

 

[patsfaninpa]

On a simplistic note, my "blueprint" for the Pats right now is to build an offensive line the way the Cowboys have. We're a long way from that right now. But the ability to match up with any team in the NFL and know that your line can impose their will on the opponent is huge.

I don't think we're as far off as you think. I view Solder as someone who has let his technique slip some. He can get it back. He's done it before. Not a huge differnce in his ability and T. Smith. Stork isn't much different than Frederick. We need a guard like Martin. Scherff could be that kid. SeaBass is better than Free when healthy. BB has praised Fleming which is pretty rare. We can get there with a good draft pick and a vet to push Connolly/Wendell at the other guard.

 

[mayoclinic]

I don't think we're as far off as you think. I view Solder as someone who has let his technique slip some. He can get it back. He's done it before. Not a huge differnce in his ability and T. Smith. Stork isn't much different than Frederick. We need a guard like Martin. Scherff could be that kid. SeaBass is better than Free when healthy. BB has praised Fleming which is pretty rare. We can get there with a good draft pick and a vet to push Connolly/Wendell at the other guard.

I agree with this. Solder is the wildcard. He has the talent, but his mental focus has been very poor this season. If he gets is act together, and assuming Stork develops as projected, then we aren't that far off. OTOH, if Solder doesn't get his act together, then we need an entire new left side of the OL.

I've always been a Tyron Smith fan, and I liked Travis Frederick, though I never expected him to be taken in the 1st round. I haven't seen any detailed breakdowns of Dallas' line play, but I'm guessing that Zach Martin is making a big difference. I suspect he's really quite a stud, as many projected. I assume he'll eventually move to LG and make that line even better.

 

[Marinlik]

If Scherff is still on the board close to our pick in the draft then I think we should trade up for him. Grab him and put him at guard. Then you have a really good guard for a long time. I think Scherff might be the best guard prospect in this draft. Of the guards I've seen so far, no one is as dominating as Scheff is when run blocking.

We should rebuild this line starting with Stork in the middle.

As been noted. Solder really is the wild card here. If he doesn't improve then I don't want us paying $7m for him next year. But if we do release him then we should probably take a tackle to play tackle. But we would have extra cash to spend in free agency. Which could be used to improve the guard position of there are any good free agents. Or maybe sign a linebacker and a running back so we don't need to draft those. Atleast not as high. Because even if we have Hightower - Collins - Mayo as starters. We don't have depth. And when we loose one of those we have to change the scheme around.

 

[mayoclinic]

If Scherff is still on the board close to our pick in the draft then I think we should trade up for him. Grab him and put him at guard. Then you have a really good guard for a long time. I think Scherff might be the best guard prospect in this draft. Of the guards I've seen so far, no one is as dominating as Scheff is when run blocking.

We should rebuild this line starting with Stork in the middle.

As been noted. Solder really is the wild card here. If he doesn't improve then I don't want us paying $7m for him next year. But if we do release him then we should probably take a tackle to play tackle. But we would have extra cash to spend in free agency. Which could be used to improve the guard position of there are any good free agents. Or maybe sign a linebacker and a running back so we don't need to draft those. Atleast not as high. Because even if we have Hightower - Collins - Mayo as starters. We don't have depth. And when we loose one of those we have to change the scheme around.

Agreed. I think that for many Scherff is the consensus top choice at this point. He seems like a perfect fit. There are a lot of players I like, but no one who I can think of being as clear a fit and having as high a ceiling as Scherff.

 

[captain stone]

I don't think we're as far off as you think. I view Solder as someone who has let his technique slip some. He can get it back. He's done it before. Not a huge differnce in his ability and T. Smith. Stork isn't much different than Frederick. We need a guard like Martin. Scherff could be that kid. SeaBass is better than Free when healthy. BB has praised Fleming which is pretty rare. We can get there with a good draft pick and a vet to push Connolly/Wendell at the other guard.

Frederick & Tyron Smith are way, way better than Stork & Solder. But at least our 2 will have the rest of this season & more than likely next season (I believe that Solder's 5th-year option will be used) to show
that C & LT are in good hands, and if Vollmer can finish healthy, then we'll know where to spend our OL
recources (LG, unless Fleming is actually as bad as he looked in KC, then both LG & RG).

 

[ATippett56]

My blueprint for the New England Patriots offense in the 2015 NFL Season:

Draft offensive guard, running back, offensive guard, tight end.

Dan Connolly and Marcus Cannon will be unrestricted free agents next year. Marcus Cannon is not an offensive guard but an effective right offensive tackle.

Left Tackle - Solder
Left Guard - ????
Center - Stork
Right Guard - ????
Right Tackle - Vollmer

Backup Center - Wendell (under contract for the 2015 NFL Season)
Backup Offensive Tackle - Fleming

2015 New England Patriots offense (notable players under contract):

Quarterback - Brady, Garoppolo
Offensive Center - Stork, Wendell
Offensive Guard - none worthwhile
Offensive Tackle - Fleming, Solder, Vollmer
Running Backs - White, Gaffney (IR)
Tight Ends - Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui, Wright
Wide Receivers - Amendola, Dobson, Edelman, LaFell

ERFA - Develin, Tyms, Gray (need Miguel to verify)
RFA - Bolden
UFA - Cannon, Connolly, Ridley, Slater, Vereen

 

[manxman2601]

I like this stat:

@PP_Rich_Hill: Julian Edelman ranks 4th in rushing yards by a WR, behind Percy Harvin, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Tavon Austin.

Unlike JE, they were, of course, all drafted in the first round to do just that.

https://twitter.com/pp_rich_hill/status/535298758704377858

 

[mayoclinic]

With the Pats supposedly signing LeGarrette Blount to a 2 year deal today, the Pats currently have the following backs signed through 2015:

- Jonas Gray
- LeGarrette Blount
- James White (signed through 2017)

Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley and Brandon Bolden are UFAs. Brandon Bolden and FB James Develin are RFAs.

 

[patsfaninpa]

I think most of us were surprised that we didn't keep Blount this past off-season. I was. No reason not to sign Develin and Bolden. They'll be cheap. We'll have 3 running backs if we sign Vereen. Vereen, White and Gaffney. 3 big backs in; Blount, Gray and Bolden. Plus, a fullback in Develin. If we keep Vereen, looking doubtful rb is going to be an early pick.

If we really wait, I'd check into Keith Marshall out of Georgia. He started out there with Gurley. Ran for over 700 yards as a frosh. Tore his ACL last year and hasn't gotten back. Was actually a higher rated recruit out of high school than Gurley, which means nothing. Just that he has a lot of talent though.

 

[Marinlik]

If Blount can go back to his 2013 form and we can sign Vereen then I feel fairly good for our RB situation in 2015. Gray looks like a good find. He has nice vision and doesn't dance around. He finds the hole and he hits it hard. Enter Blount as a fairly cheap quality backup and I think we might be in a place where we don't really need to sign a running back in the draft or sign one in free agency.