Offensive Line thoughts

[PatsBoy12]

think david andrews will be groomed as the replacement. NE always finds these udfa's like wendell/connolly/etc turn them into solid starters.

I said something similar in another thread and some assclown hit the disagree button. LOL

 

[mgteich]

I said something similar in another thread and some assclown hit the disagree button. LOL

Laugh all you want. If Stork and Wendell were healthy for the last month, it is unlikely that Andrews would even have made the team.

Andrews is not being groomed to replace our best interior lineman. We've had lots of OL's with concussion histories who started for us for many years.

That being said, Andrews did very well. And given the injury histories of Stork and Wendell, he has a place on the team, much as Cannon does.

 

[Patriot Missile]

Too early to tell. Should probably know a lot more about this oline by week 4.

Thought the 3 rookies did ok tonight. Albeit against a porous Pittsburgh defense.

I'll be interested to see how they perform next week.

For some reason I feel like these things will work out. BB is a great teacher and I'm sure he will work with Dave G to prepare these guys right.

 

[PatsBoy12]

Laugh all you want. If Stork and Wendell were healthy for the last month, it is unlikely that Andrews would even have made the team.

Andrews is not being groomed to replace our best interior lineman. We've had lots of OL's with concussion histories who started for us for many years.

That being said, Andrews did very well. And given the injury histories of Stork and Wendell, he has a place on the team, much as Cannon does.

I said similar, not exactly. I never said he was being groomed to be anything, and I don't care what you say, Andrews was going to make the team regardless. He was better than a lot of our other O-Linemen in TC. So you have your opinion and I have mine. Good night.

 

[mgteich]

Yup, as in 2014, we'll know a lot more going into Game 5. For now, the situation is much, much better than last year.

Too early to tell. Should probably know a lot more about this oline by week 4.

Thought the 3 rookies did ok tonight. Albeit against a porous Pittsburgh defense.

I'll be interested to see how they perform next week.

For some reason I feel like these things will work out. BB is a great teacher and I'm sure he will work with Dave G to prepare these guys right.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Move on from Stork? overreact much? Once Stork is healthy he is hands down our best interior OL. Our OL without Stork in the meantime still did a pretty good job protecting Brady. I didn't see a lot of mistakes out there from our OL, which is good, because James Harrison is always looking to wreak havoc at the slightest opportunity.

Our OL needs time to gel, and when Stork gets back it should get stronger than ever imo.

 

[fnordcircle]

Still wishing Mathis was a Patriot...

Do you think he would play for $3k a year?

 

[supafly]

The offensive line was really, really good in pass protection. I like the way Josh took the pressure of them and started the game in shotgun.

For those who doubted, Jackson IS our RG. Andrews is our center or backup center. I suspect that we are still unsettled at LG.

Josh Kline started at LG and played a fine game, just as he's done in the past.

As we've talked about previously, I suspect that Kline was the choice all along once Stork went down. The only thing that changed was Andrews replacing Wendell tonight.

Now, if Stork AND Wendell are healthy, then Kline likely doesn't see the field.

 

[PP2]

Their first real test comes in (thankfully) 10 days against one of the best DL in the NFL, and also a defensive mastermind who will throw the entire kitchen sink at them. If they can survive this barrage, they can survive anything else the NFL has to give them.

 

[BTTA]

Yup, as in 2014, we'll know a lot more going into Game 5. For now, the situation is much, much better than last year.

Yes, we need to keep in mind that the coaching staff manages the season in phases, with the focus being on being in prime performance by November. We fans want the light switch to go from "off" (preseason) to "on" (regular season) but in reality they manage it more like a dimmer switch. There's still some testing and experimentation happening in the first few games.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I was very pleased with the line's play last night. Could have been a little better but could have been A LOT worse.

Andrews was excellent. He did his job.

Shaq and Jackson did ok too. Didn't hear their name much but in the few times I was looking for them, they seemed to do ok.

Shaq was outstanding on the Lewis run of 12 yards or so.

Opposite to last year with Gugs getting killed, he deserves a ton of credit for getting the rookies and the backups ready to play.

Big test next week.

 

[RayClay]

Given our apprehensions about last night's line, they did just fine. I suspect it had more to do with Brady and Lewis crisp play, but it still has to be a confidence builder.

 

[supafly]

So do I, and I think it's a complete no brainer.

Solder-Kline-Wendell-Jackson-Vollmer

What exactly, are you disagreeing about @One-If-By-Sea?

This was exactly the line that started and played in the majority of snaps, aside from the last minute scratch of Wendell.

Did people not see Josh Kline start and do well last night? Yes, they allowed Mason opportunities, particularly in running situations, as we all expected. Hopefully, he's able to gain more reps and experience as the season moves forward. He's clearly the LG of the future.

 

[jah]

So, Kline-Jackson or Mason-Kline for guards?

 

[captain stone]

Who if not Jackson?

Cannon, as I previously mentioned in the post quoted.

And while I'm here, it's time for me to serve myself a helping of crow: Andrews wasn't the health-threatening disaster that I feared; in fact, I don't recall seeing much if any pressure from the middle of the pocket, though I'm still disappointed in the continual lack of push in the running game.

 

[captain stone]

Cannon at RG is a speck in the imagination of posters on this board. He hasn't looked good when he was tried out there. He was bad enough that the patriots used a high draft choice to draft a RG.

Cannon is our backup OT, as he has been since he arrived. Given that both OT's have been injured, Belichick is willing to pay a lot for a backup OT with almost no position flexibility, other than as an emergency RG if there is an injury during a game.

Cannonfodder didn't look good when he was tried at LG; I don't know if he's been given the same opportunity at RG.

And for the I hope last time, Cannonfodder is our backup RT; he is NOT…N…O…T…our backup LT.

 

[RobertWeathers]

So, Kline-Jackson or Mason-Kline for guards?

Hmmm..

Tha BUF defensive front scares me.

In terms of athleticism, I want Shaq and Jackson in there.

It's in the best long-term interest of the club for those two to develop and play like veterans come January.

Hopefully the Stork is ok togo Week 8.

In Nov and Dec, the line is blowing people off the ball.

If they falter, Wendy or Kline come in.

 

[ashley]

I was pleasantly surprised by our line last night. Andrews played better than I think we all thought and the rookie guards as well as Kline held their own. Good job. I don't want to see Cannon in there if not an emergency. The only exception would be RT...we all saw what happened last night when he was in there at tackle...not good. I'm encouraged though by our line....let's see how we do next week.

 

[patfanken]

Whatever your thoughts are on the state of the OL, the ONE thing we can be sure of is that it is both deep and competent. I would like to see the stat line on how the OL did. My guess would be it was one sack and about 3-5 hurries. And when you consider the one sack was more due to the a great defensive design and disguise than any mistake by any one player. There might have been another "sack" on the screen pass to nowhere, but I thought Brady made it passed the LOS.

But for the most part Brady didn't face ANY of the dreaded "pressure up the middle" and that MUST have been part of the Steeler plan going into the game given who was playing in the interior OL/ Now the Steeler DL and front 7 is SUPPOSED to be better than average. So it was a good sign that Brady wasn't bothered much with the rush. As it was mentioned, NEXT week will tell a more accurate picture. Buffalo might have the BEST DL in the league and the problems they can create will only be magnified by a very rabid Buffalo crowd on the road. If they can pass THAT test, then this offense is going to blow up this year.

 

[mgteich]

With regard to Mason, I would say that HOPEFULLY he is the LG of the future.

In any case, for 2015, we have 2 other options: Kline and Wendell.

I don't have problems. It is simply that he hasn't yet shown himself to be better than Wendell or Kline.
On the other hand, it seems that Jackson is our starting RG, for now and into the future.

If Mason is only a backup LG and a FB, that's fine. If he is a starting LG, then GREAT.

What exactly, are you disagreeing about @One-If-By-Sea?

This was exactly the line that started and played in the majority of snaps, aside from the last minute scratch of Wendell.

Did people not see Josh Kline start and do well last night? Yes, they allowed Mason opportunities, particularly in running situations, as we all expected. Hopefully, he's able to gain more reps and experience as the season moves forward. He's clearly the LG of the future.