Left Tackle will be huge ongoing problem for Pats this season

[BTTA]

How can anyone here not think tackle will be an issue? I don’t get it. It’s a problem.

Nobody here is saying it isn't an issue, or a weak spot on the team.
At this point in the off season, every team has weak spots they've yet to figure out. There are literally months to go for evaluations, cuts, trades, etc. Some problems get addressed mid season.
There is no evidence that the Patriots' coaching and personnel staff don't see this as well, and are making it a priority.
Given the improvements in coaching and defensive personnel, having only one glaring need at this point is actually pretty good situation.
Every super bowl winner had weak spots. How they mitigated them is part of why they became champs. Losing teams overinvest to solve problems early in the offseason to satisfy the anxiety.

 

[Wozzy]

If Trent Brown wants one more massive contract before he retires, he will show up and play well. Calvin Anderson has already played well in his short career and is a plus athlete. He has exceptional mobility, smarts and strength.

Reiff and Sow will battle on the right side, Sow has the athleticism to dominate, I loved that draft pick.

They need to stay healthy, the young players have to contribute and prove they belong. Sounds like every ascending team in the final stages of a rebuild. It’s “show me” time for a lot of young players.

 

[VectorPrime]

Is Trent Brown in shape and motivated? Then there’s no problem. Is he not? Then there’s a gigantic problem. It’s that simple in my view.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Is Trent Brown in shape and motivated? Then there’s no problem. Is he not? Then there’s a gigantic problem. It’s that simple in my view.

Calvin Anderson means it is not a gigantic problem. An issue that needs an upgrade? Yes. A gigantic issue? No. C Anderson is better than that.

 

[Ivan]

riley-reiff-struggles-paints-grim-picture-patriots-offensive-line

I still think Pats should have prioritized this critical position more than they did in Free agency and draft.
Riley Reiff is no Jonathan Ogden. Trent Brown is notoriously inconsistent in performance and injuries.
Calvin Anderson is completely unproven and Sow is not really a tackle. OT is a foundational piece in the pass heavy current NFL. To build a solid team you have to have pillars on the line that will hold up.

There has been consistent chatter about DHOP and how much he will help Mac, but I think LT was always and still is more important.
Doesn't matter if you have DHOP and Gesicki/Henry, if the opposing team's DE can walk right around the LT on the outside or with aswim move on the inside.

I think MAC will face a lot of pressure from opposing D's this year.
Surprised BB did not pay more attention to OT and that he is spending so much time wooing a 31 yo WR who does not like to practice and has previously said he was not wild about coming to the pats. DHOP is not going to transform this team...but a great LT would.

How does a LT “ transform the team “ when you believe the QB sucks? That makes no sense.

 

[TheRazorsEdge]

No doubt about it, that Patriots do have a need for a long term answer at both tackle positions. Calvin Anderson has potential but I peg him as a spot starter/good depth guy. Wild card is Sow who may or may not be someone like Marcus Cannon for us overtime. Trent Brown, as much as I love him when he's "on" - I'm just very uneasy about him. There's enough data here to know at his best he's amazing at his worst he's a liability, outside of 1 year, consistency is not his strong suit.

However, they completely redid their depth chart and are stronger collectively than last year. It's a need for sure but I think you have enough to keep it from being a fatal flaw in 2023.

Perhaps if DHop doesn't come to fruition there's a trade out there that can net us another Trent Brown-ish type of player with the intangibles who just needs a clean slate, but for now, like last year - I think Offensive Tackle remains a need for this team long term..

 

[Wozzy]

Calvin Anderson means it is not a gigantic problem. An issue that needs an upgrade? Yes. A gigantic issue? No. C Anderson is better than that.

It’s also not a gigantic issue because they drafted stud prospects in Mafi, Jake Andrews and already had a plus athlete in Kody Russey. They have a lot of interior depth.

What everyone seemingly forgets is that Onwenu could kick out to RT in a pinch. They don’t want to, probably won’t have to… but they could.

All this moaning about tackles is silly, the only way it’s a problem is total scorched earth injury and calamity… which describes every position group on all 32 teams in the league. No team has that much depth.

Some combination of Trent Brown, Calvin Anderson, Sidy Sow, Riley Reiff, Conor McDermott or Mike Onwenu will be great assuming health.

 

[captain stone]

How did brown regress?

By the game...?

 

[Ring 6]

By the game...?

The post said he has regressed since last year.

 

[captain stone]

The post said he has regressed since last year.

He also arrived at mandatory OTA in such poor shape that he could only stay on the field for a few minutes, total.

 

[State]

When CPT and I were hammering away on this issue, some thought we were cranks.

Well, it’s now officially a worry, apparently.

Moving up to draft a lousy kicker and giving up 120 where Carter Warren was sitting there sticks in my craw.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

When CPT and I were hammering away on this issue, some thought we were cranks.

Well, it’s now officially a worry, apparently.

Moving up to draft a lousy kicker and giving up 120 where Carter Warren was sitting there sticks in my craw.

See @BTTA 's post above. It has always been a worry. Everyone talked about the need for a LT in the draft - I was surprised we passed on all of the LTs. It is a matter, like BTTA notes, of how big of a worry it is. We will see in camp. Like you note, Warren is an interesting prospect while not overly athletic. The Pats went with Sow, who is more athletic but has significantly less college experience, so we will see if it works out.

I did not think you were a crank, but you appear to get a bit cranky at times, especially about punters and kickers.

 

[State]

Belichick is the greatest defensive mind n the history of the NFL, but there have been issues on the OL since the rising star Cole Popovich was dumped because of fearful idiocy by the league office.

 

[Real fan 02]

David will be at center this year, barring any health or injury issues. BB won’t plug a raw rookie in there right away. Even if David goes down Jake will sit a year behind Russey. BB just won’t expose a rookie at center until he’s been in the system at least a year.

Unless Jake shows he can handle all the responsibility.. We've been fortunate to have some good centers the past few years during the championship era.

 

[State]

Unless Jake shows he can handle all the responsibility.. We've been fortunate to have some good centers the past few years during the championship era.

We’re more than good with Kody Russey and Jake Andrews, who was probably taken two rounds too early, at center.

But LT is a position of weakness. I’m keeping my fingers crossed about Anderson, but what we’ve seen so far doesn’t inspire confidence.

LT could very well hold this offense hostage just like the center position did Parcells’ first year. He says so himself. But he drafted Dave Wohlabaugh from Syracuse in the fourth round and got a free agent. He fixed it.

Belichick rolled the dice on TB at LT. A dubious approach.

But if Trent Brown is indeed the overweight, fat slob he looked in OTAs, we may have a problem. A big problem. It’s not complicated.

But our GM went all kicker and IOL in the draft. WTF was he thinking?

 

[Rob0729]

I think people may be reading too much into Reiff being with the second string. Let's see what he does in training camp.

And Trent Brown could practice himself back into shape. If he has a good year, he could still get one more decent contract. So he could be motivated come training camp.

Right now the tackle position is the Patriots' weakest link. That doesn't mean it will be when the season comes around. I am not ready to pull the panic button until we see what they have in training camp and the preseason. And maybe Klemm is a really good o-line coach and do a lot of what Scar could do by making a solid line out of some mediocre players.

 

[mgteich]

. a solid line out of some mediocre players.

We have 4 solid starters, include Brown at RT. We have backups Sow, Anderson, Andrews/Russey and Mafi/Hines, with McDermott as backup RT.

Some mediocre players? No, Klemm has to coach up ONE player to start at LT.

If Bill were to trade for starting LT tomorrow, we would talk about making a solid line out of mediocre players.

The BOTTOM LINE is simple. Our posters think that we have a terrible line because we Bill ha only acquired Reiff and Anerson so far at LT.
We are not mediocre at LG, C, RG or RT.
=======================
Reiff, Anderson
Strange, Sow
Andrews, Andrews, (Russey)
Onwenu, Mafi/Hines
Brown, McDermott

This is NOT Brown and a bunch of mediocre players. Sign an OT to upgrade whichever OT leaves and this is a solid OL, our worst unit, but still a solid OL.

l

 

[1960Pats]

When complaining that the Patriots didn’t add good enough players, it’s usually good to suggest who better options would have been.

Why? Nobody here is being paid 20 million a year to make those decisions.

 

[borg]

We are not mediocre at LG, C, RG or RT.

Huh?

Love the optimism but lets not put the cart before the horse. Strange was often a liability last season. Given the clusterphuck coaching ensemble that Dear Leader subjected his offense to, the players deserve the benefit of the doubt, especially the first-year OL like Strange who were saddled with a double dose of Patricia as "coordinator", OL coach, and bobo. That being said, Strange was at times physically overmatched in one-on-ones and questions about his lower body strength are legit. Strange's high draft position likely had much to do with his athleticism that would fit the zone blocking scheme the team was attempting to transition to. If BB/O'Brien opt to emphasize their tradition gap scheme, Strange may lack the stoutness to thrive in that scheme. Time will tell. Hopefully everyday this past offseason was 'leg day' for Strange. And hopefully he didn't hire Shawn Crable's leg guy.

 

[Wozzy]

Huh?

Love the optimism but lets not put the cart before the horse. Strange was often a liability last season. Given the clusterphuck coaching ensemble that Dear Leader subjected his offense to, the players deserve the benefit of the doubt, especially the first-year OL like Strange who were saddled with a double dose of Patricia as "coordinator", OL coach, and bobo. That being said, Strange was at times physically overmatched in one-on-ones and questions about his lower body strength are legit. Strange's high draft position likely had much to do with his athleticism that would fit the zone blocking scheme the team was attempting to transition to. If BB/O'Brien opt to emphasize their tradition gap scheme, Strange may lack the stoutness to thrive in that scheme. Time will tell. Hopefully everyday this past offseason was 'leg day' for Strange. And hopefully he didn't hire Shawn Crable's leg guy.

Cole Strange played the third most offensive snaps on the entire team, he wrestled with Cameron Hayward in week two so he can wrestle with anyone… he missed some blocking assignments early and got scolded for it by getting benched for some snaps, he was immediately put back in. Was that Cole or Bozo the clown coaching?

“Weak legs” is based on nothing but your perception, Strange is an exceptional athlete and a scheme fit anywhere. The errors he made were mental errors, not a physical problem.

Unless he took up smoking meth in the offseason or suffers a debilitating injury, he’ll be a plug and play player for years to come.