The o-line, or lack there of...

[Richard Camembert]

Edit:
The fiance poking at the phone caused a premature post...Premature post? That's a problem to address, son.

And that hasn't worked out that great for eight years now. Whaaaaa...?

And now, in my opinion, our greatest perceived weakness would have to be the group of men assigned to keep #12 upright. Ya, how about the defense? The mix'n'match secondary? The trail technique? Underachieving players who have resulted from a substantial expenditure of resources? Having guys off the street in the Superbowl? 2nd worst YPG in the league? The OL has been a strength of the team; the defense is a core issue, as you can see from the attention paid it in the draft this year.

This unit simply hasn't proven jack Seriously? Seriously??

, and the few that have either aren't that impressive, or they are mankins. I'd say Waters is an All-Pro, as is Mankins; Solder impressed the heck out of me last year; Connolly was a real find and stepped up big-time when needed; Vollmer's injuries are an issue, I agree with you there, but when healthy he has shown.

Don't worry deuce, I'll beat you to the punch, this is the latest "dumbest post in the history of patsfans.". No, but I think you need to take a nice moonlit boat ride with the woman of your dreams and show her why she needs to be with you...

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I think we need something to worry about...

Ian simply must find a way to incorporate this sentiment into the sites logo, once and for all.

 

[borg]

What do Welker, Hernandez, and Gronk all have in common????

Answer: The best quick pass options in the NFL

My point: McDaniels can neutralize O line deficiencies via the short passing game. Mix in the draw....and.....the screen pass, a McDaniels favorite, and the Pats will be able to cover up some O line limitations. Toss in some in motion slam blocks from our TE fleet as well. Lastly....avoid 3rd and long. Piece of cake ....19-0

 

[patriot lifer]

The O-line has the potential to spiral down the toilet if certain things don't work out. We all have a ton of respect for Scarn, but what ever happened to the offense becoming more balanced? Pass protection is one thing, but moving the D-line is another level for an O-line.

Solder is, after all, still only a second year player. Vollmer's injuries look like they aren't going away any time soon. And we all know that Cannon's natural position is guard, not tackle. And then there's no one else beyond that. We had the luxury of 3 really good tackles last year, and Matt Light had been fairly durable. If there's a position on offense where we could be weak, it might be tackle.

On the interior, I am hopeful that Waters does return. If I had to bet, I'd say that he will return. I don't think he wants to bother with the tedium and physical toll of TC. So long as he returns with Mankins, our interior O-line is set. If he doesn't, then our O-line will take a downgrade over the prior year.

It's a little concerning with the reports out of camp too. Seems like more often than not that the D-line outperforms the O-line. Hopefully it's more indicative of the talent on D than anything else.

 

[woolster22]

Easy guys, I got home with twenty minutes left in some sob story...there was plenty of time together as soon as it was done

Outside of the saints, what prolific pass first offense has achieved the ultimate goal of winning it all lately...this is what I was getting at with the eight years thing...

If you want to look for a weakness on this team it would have to be defense (acknowledging many rookie additions that seem to be trending towards significant improvement to the unit), o line, or maybe special teams (not p/k but the units, again see young talent stockpiles).

I am not saying the line is so bad that there is no way Brady escapes the season healthy, but on a seemingly stacked team, it would be voted my weak link (lots of new faces in the defensive secondary, holding judgement until we get to see them in action).

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[Deus Irae]

Easy guys, I got home with twenty minutes left in some sob story...there was plenty of time together as soon as it was done

Outside of the saints, what prolific pass first offense has achieved the ultimate goal of winning it all lately...this is what I was getting at with the eight years thing...

2006 Colts (557 pass attempts for 4308 yards, 439 rush attempts)
2011 Giants (589 pass attempts for 4734 yards, 411 rush attempts)

4 of the 6 SB winners, post-2005, have had more than 4000 passing yards in the regular season.

 

[stinkypete]

Look at the recent Super Bowl participants...NY Giants, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Indy and Arizona all had lines that ranged from questionable to downright poor. OL questions have recently proven easy to survive.

 

[jmt57]

Brady is a pure pocket passer. The way to disrupt him is with pressure up the middle. The group that the Pats have at interior OL - Mankins, Water, Connolly, Thomas, McDonald, Koppen and Wendell - have proven to be more than adequate when called upon in the recent past.

As for someone at RT should Vollmer not be able to go, I have faith that at least one of Cannon, Kopa, Hix or Weems will be able to step up and get the job done, especially with some help if needed from a TE as well as play calls (running game; short, quick pass routes) that minimize any shortcomings of the RT.


I'm more concerned with defense - depth at safety if/when an injury occurs; pass coverage of the corners; the pass rush; and even run defense - more than I am concerned about the offensive line.

 

[rookBoston]

I was a bit panicy about the OL a few weeks ago. But I'm starting to pull out of it now. I would love to have another no-name OT making waves in TC, pressing Cannon for first team reps. But, hey, cant have everything.

Here's our worst case lineup:
Solder - Thomas - Wendell - Connolly - Cannon, not great, but not so bad.

And here's our best case:
Solder - Mankins - Connolly - Waters - Vollmer, which is probably among the best in the NFL.

My homer, glass-half-full read is that the worst case line has been getting reps and will solidify in preseason. Then, as we add our pro-bowlers back into the mix, the play will only get better. Even if all three of Mankins, Waters and Vollmer start on PUP, come playoff time, they should be good to go and we get a premium mid-season talent injection.

Just that with our 2nd team starting, our depth is pretty thin, dangerously thin... McDonald I like. Either Kopa or Hix have to come on... and then ?

 

[Joey007]

Should we be worried about the O-line??

The O-line is really starting to concern me. With Gallery gone, there being a chance Waters is gone, Koppen not performing well and Mankins and Vollmer unhealthy. I'll admit I'm concerned. Brady's 35, while he's playing better than ever he could be one serious injury away from his career being in serious jeopardy. Now, if we can get our injured guys healthy, and hopefully get Waters to return, I think we'll be fine. But if Waters retires, Vollmer continues to suffer from injuries, and Mankins starts on the PUP, we are then left with Solder at LT, Koppen, Wendell, Thomas, Connolly in the interior and Cannon at RT.

Keeping Tom Brady healthy is one of the biggest factors in making another Super Bowl run, if Waters leaves as well we could have problems. No disrespect to Thomas or Wendell, I just can't trust them as starters to basically, protect our franchise.

And a question for you guys, say Solder goes down. Would Cannon be the backup??

EDIT: Ok, since I discovered a thread was already created for this topic, I'll throw this out there- Vets like Jake Scott, Vernon Carey, are they options??

 

[Reckedtrek]

Re: Should we be worried about the O-line??

Hhmmmm... good question! Why not look in this thread?

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/931647-o-line-lack-there.html

 

[mayoclinic]

Re: Should we be worried about the O-line??

You need to talk to woolster22. The two of you can share your anxieties about the OL.

 

[borg]

And the O line is down to 8. According to Reiss, Weems and Hix both dinged up at practice today.

 

[jah]

And the O line is down to 8. According to Reiss, Weems and Hix both dinged up at practice today.

This OL can't catch a break...Kopa must be loving it.

 

[Sciz]

This OL can't catch a break...Kopa must be loving it.

Kopa is hurt too.

 

[DaBruinz]

There is plenty of veteran O-line help out there if the Pats really want to go that route:

Vernon Carey - He's a good guard and an underwhelming tackle.
Chad Clifton - Unless he's retiring, he could fill in at LT if needed.
Marcus McNeil - When healthy, he's very good.

That being said, I wouldn't be surprised to see Waters in camp by the end of this week..

 

[Patriot Missile]

That being said, I wouldn't be surprised to see Waters in camp by the end of this week..

That would ne nice.

 

[UofApatsfan]

I don't think it's so much a question of the quality of the line, as it is the depth at tackle.

let's say week 1 vollmer continues to have back issues, and solder gets a high ankle sprain -- where are we at?

comparing the team to the cardinals or the jets doesn't really make me feel any better.

Nearly every team would run into issues if its starting LT and RT went down with an injury the same week. That's not something you can really come up with a great plan for.

 

[Off The Grid]

The hell with Syria, what happens when the rest of the world has enough of our crap and ditches the dollar as the global currency? When will the "us spring" finally take place?

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2

Please try keep your hatred for America to yourself ~ this isn't the venue for it.

*BTW: Nobody gives a rat's @$$ that that tripe was "Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2".

 

[Deus Irae]

There is plenty of veteran O-line help out there if the Pats really want to go that route:

Vernon Carey - He's a good guard and an underwhelming tackle.
Chad Clifton - Unless he's retiring, he could fill in at LT if needed.
Marcus McNeil - When healthy, he's very good.

That being said, I wouldn't be surprised to see Waters in camp by the end of this week..

It was reported that former Dolphin Vernon Carey was on the #Jets short list if Wayne Hunter were to struggle. Well, Carey retired today.

https://twitter.com/Steiny31/status/232203601991315456

McNeil has spinal stenosis and is coming off of neck surgery. That's a big gamble for a team to take.

Clifton's 35, coming off of back surgery, and failed the Packers' physical. He may be done.