Scarnecchia Stands Up For Tackles Nate Solder, Marcus Cannon
 Scarnecchia believes in left tackle Nate Solder (pictured). (FILE:USPresswire) |
There's no question that the Patriots offensive line hasn't exactly been at their best through two exhibition games, but they're getting support from the right places.
Offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia met with the media this morning and had some notable comments about tackles Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon, who have been under fire so far this preseason.
Scarnecchia brought up a good point and talked about what it was like when Matt Light was drafted in 2001 and replaced former Patriots tackle Bruce Armstrong, who was with the team from 1987-2000 and was a staple at the left tackle position over his career.
Armstrong's shoes were big ones to fill, and in a great piece from Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com Scarnecchia called the transition from Armstrong to Light "as painful as it could ever be", and knows it's going to take time for Solder to get settled.
“Did any of you think that it was going to be [easy]? Did you think he had any problems with it to start with? Well, hell ya. They all [have] problems,” Scarnecchia said of the Light-to-Armstrong transition in 2001. “It was as painful as it could ever be [with Light]. Just like anything, he got better and became a really good player, ‘one that you can’t replace.’”“I think Nate Solder is a better player today than he was all of last year, so you figure that out. Next question.”
Scarnecchia went on to say that he felt Cannon was "coming along well", and that they still have a couple of more weeks to go to keep working on getting better for the regular season.
“Personally, I’m really pleased with the way [Solder and Cannon] are developing. Is it the finished product? No. We have a couple more weeks to get it as good as it can be, and then we’re going to play games.”
You can read the complete entry here.
