How to Replace Andrews?

[SHOWTIME15]

Andrews was undervalued by fans for most of his career. I do not believe Karras will be as good as Andrews. Having said that : I am confident he can be a solid contributor NE can count upon to keep this train rolling.

I’m fine with Karras as long as he doesn’t get Brady killed...not having Gronk to block doesn’t help either.

 

[PatsFan2]

So no love for "thanks Dad" James Ferentz??

 

[patchick]

Andrews was undervalued by fans for most of his career. I do not believe Karras will be as good as Andrews. Having said that : I am confident he can be a solid contributor NE can count upon to keep this train rolling.

I suspect centers are often undervalued because so much of their responsibility for the line as a whole can't be seen. Plus, much like kicking extra points, we tend to take a steady stream of 100% perfect snaps for granted. Andrews and Brady work SO well together.

 

[mosslost]

Sorry mods, but I thought this deserved a new thread since the other thread was for wishing Andrews the best on his recovery. Please merge if you think necessary. By all accounts it sounds as if Andrews is done for the season, possibly career. Thoughts on replacing him?

BRADY QBR 16 points lower with other centers since Andrews came into the NFL.

 

[catent]

IIRC, Karras has graded out well in his limited action over the past few seasons. He never was an issue and the o-line didn't miss a beat when Karras played in lieu of Andrews.

That's not to say that Andrews isn't a very good player -- he is. But Karras is a more than capable backup, and as others have noted, he's bigger, stronger, and more physical/violent than Andrews.

Andrews is more of a tactician with good feet and hands, uses leverage well, is good blocking in the open field, and perhaps most importantly of all, Brady/BB/JMcD trust him with line-calls, handing off blocks, adjusting on the fly, and so forth.

I think Karras can reach that point with more experience and playing time, and no doubt the team will work hard to get him prepared to perform at that level mentally -- physically there's nothing to teach, the guy is a beast.

And as another poster noted, I'm excited about the idea of having a big mauler at C for Michel to run behind.

I feel really bad for Andrews personally and there may be some growing pains with Karras, but I expect said growing pains to be largely unnoticeable and not affect the performance of the team.

 

[Sciz]

BRADY QBR 16 points lower with other centers since Andrews came into the NFL.

That’s an overly simplistic way of saying that Stork played over Andrews late in 2015 when most of the rest of the offense was hurt.

 

[Patsgofor4]

May I suggest that some of the posters here take a deep breath and calm the f*ck down. Yes, losing your starting center less than two weeks before the start of the season is never good but at least they have a back up option who knows the system well and has performed well during his limited opportunities.

Does anyone remember all of the hand wringing that occurred when Stork went down and the patriots were forced to start an undersized undrafted free agent rookie? That ended up working out pretty well.

As others have pointed out, Karras brings some attributes that Andrews doesn’t necessarily have, like superior physical strength, which could show up in a positive manner, such as short yardage plays, which have been one of the weaknesses of this offense for years or when facing massive DTs/NTs. And who is the say that Karras is a finished product? He very likely has room to grow with more experience and playing time, especially with Scar to help him, and this is his chance to show that.

By all accounts Andrews is a very intelligent guy and that has played a key role in his success and the teams success. Brady trusts him. But the way people are talking, and writing, one would think that Andrews is an Eli Musk level thinker while Karras is on the level of Mongo. Just because his uncle play that role in one of my favorite all-time movies doesn’t mean that Ted is going to look at the opposing defense and scream out “Ted like candy!”.

Would I rather have Andrews be the starting center week one? Of course. But to think that this is going to cost them a championship is kind of silly. Now if Karras goes down week one, it’s time to head to the Wrentham Outlets for extra underwear.

 

[mosslost]

That’s an overly simplistic way of saying that Stork played over Andrews late in 2015 when most of the rest of the offense was hurt.

I was just sort of trollin anyway. I hear ya

 

[SBLIII]

Karras might be an upgrade. He is a huge sleeper and now getting his shot.

 

[DW Toys]

Karras

Or, trade for Trent Williams, kick Wynn to Guard, and kick Thuney to Center.

Makes sense. Good post.
DW Toys

 

[patman52]

I am fine with Karras at center, I like the Mcnasty aspect of his game. Frodo has shown that he needs more seasoning before being trusted being that close to Brady. I expect to see BB make a move to bring in someone. Bodine may be let go out of Buffalo he has plenty of starting exp but they signed two high priced centers this off season. He only gave up one sack in the last two years.

 

[mgteich]

Karras can develop as he plays more.

If he was, he would have been starting over Andrews.

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Isn’t it cool that the son of the guy that played Emanuel Lewis’s dad on TV now plays for the Pats?

 

[mgteich]

next man up
We needed a veteran swing OT. We still need a swing OT.

ACTIVE (AS OF NOW)
Wynn, Thuney, Karras, Mason, Cannon
Froholdt, Croston

ADDITIONAL NEED(S)

We need a swing veteran OT. This may involve a trade, perhaps after a couple of signings and cuts (tryouts) during the next 2 weeks. I suppose that Skipper may be on the 53 as this carousal goes round. Cajuste is a prospect for 2020 that we might bring on board in the last half of the season.

I'm sure that Belichick will look at vet interior line backups, but this is less necessary if Froholdt is ready to be the Game Day backup at C/OG.

 

[mgteich]

It would be prudent to extend Karras. The longer we wait, the more it will cost.

 

[SBLIII]

It would be prudent to extend Karras. The longer we wait, the more it will cost.

We could get him cheap for NOW but maybe Karras does want to wait now.

 

[AlexB]

We could get him cheap for NOW but maybe Karras does want to wait now.

Karras has the chance to start this year and may want to bet on himself in free agency next year rather than accept an extension for backup money now.

 

[Teej]

If you watch the videos on YouTube of every pass and run by Stidham in the last two preseason games, you'll see a lot of Karras, Ferentz and Gauthier at center. IMO, Gauthier looked the best of those three. It may be because he had more experience playing it at Miami but I thought he set the strongest base in pass protection and had better feet.

 

[Taco]

It’s time for Dante to coach Karras up so well that we can’t afford to resign him next year.

 

[patriot1136]

If you watch the videos on YouTube of every pass and run by Stidham in the last two preseason games, you'll see a lot of Karras, Ferentz and Gauthier at center. IMO, Gauthier looked the best of those three. It may be because he had more experience playing it at Miami but I thought he set the strongest base in pass protection and had better feet.

This is what I was wondering. What about these other O-lineman on the roster? Ferentz seems like a good guy, but hadn't looked good in preseason and I wouldn't be too excited with him as one of our top backups. But what about Gauthier, St. Louis, Ivey etc.? Can any of them be a solid backup C or G? Doesn't Croston play G and T? Although I know Croston isn't great either.