Robinson and Wallace

[PatsFan2]

LT Lowe
LG Sow
C Andrews
RG Onwenu
RT Wallace

I think that is the line that has the greatest chance to stabilize things for this season. Hopefully they can get healthy enough. Robinson is not ready as a pass blocker.

How about...
LT Jacobs
LG Sow
C Andrews
RG Onwenu
RT Wallace

Wallace is definitely not a LT I agree keep him on the Right side. I can't get over how Weak our Interior is against the Blitz.

 

[jdlboot14]

How about...
LT Jacobs
LG Sow
C Andrews
RG Onwenu
RT Wallace

Wallace is definitely not a LT I agree keep him on the Right side. I can't get over how Weak our Interior is against the Blitz.

If we all see it, and agree... why does it always take the dumb coaches to make obvious moves on the OL????

Same story the last 2 years - with completely different staffs.

 

[Headcase]

Perhaps in a unit that depends on others - such as OL - it’s difficult to perform / to be assessed. I think that Onwenu would likely look a LOT better if he was RT on the 2004 Patriots.

Not saying he’s a HoFer, but I believe OL is very very dependant on ‘the 5 working in unison’.

Yes the OLine requires everyone working in unison, and Onwenu would have looked better at RT in '04, but not because the team was better, but because the game was different. He isn't built or quick enough to being playing RT in '24.

Right now we have free rushers from all angles, moving Onwenu back to RG will at least help solidify the inside when everyone is heathy

 

[Zuma]

Jacobs has never taken a snap in an NFL regular season game…so by this logic I’m going with Bryan Hudson. He looks like a tackle, he’s played some tackle in college.

LT Hudson
LG Sow
C Andrews
RG Onwenu
RT Wallace

Bryan Hudson Draft Networking Interview: 'I’m Going To Add A Lot Of Value'

Louisville center Bryan Hudson is among the most athletic interior offensive line prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft.

thedraftnetwork.com

Bryan Hudson: I’m a disciplined offensive lineman that brings a lot of value to the table. I have a lot of versatility. I played all three interior positions in college. I actually came in as a tackle. My athleticism and length allow me to fill in at the tackle spot if needed.

I feel like I can play all five positions as necessary. I have terrific football I.Q. and overall knowledge of the game. It’s at a high level now, but it will continue growing once I get to the NFL.

Official Team Roster of the New England Patriots

 

[mgteich]

I suggest that we sign a veteran, knowing that he will likely only play a few games. That's OK. At least we'd have an opportunity to see Maye with a real OL in front of him.

Of course, if none of the vets is a upgrade to Lowe, then this isn't an option.

you mean move him back to RG right?

y, I'll fix

 

[mgteich]

This post doesn't make sense, much like most of your posts.

I presume that you are under 30. Occasionally us olsters mistype a character or two. I don't think that anyone but you was confused. But, I did fix the post.

 

[slash83]

I’m tired of seeing people on the line playing out of position. Enough with the bs, play people where they belong, the experiment has failed.

 

[JohnJH]

We need to know what we have for the future.

ROBINSON
1) He is really getting abused. He needs to sit and learn the NFL game.
2) On the other hand, he is a fine run blocker. For now he should be our backup RG and our 6th OL in jumbo sets. I would much rather Jordan be starting at RG. Each week, it is Jordan that has been allowing the fewest pressures and sacks.

WALLACE
3) Well, he isn't a present or future LT, or even swing OT. He is a RT. I guess that it was useful to learn this. We did need to know for future planning.
4) Now, we need to see whether Wallace has a future as our starting RT or whether he will be a backup RT for his rookie contract.
5) We need to move Onwenu back to RG. We have 3 OT's (not counting Thomas) who can play RT when healthy (Lowe, Jacobs and Wallace).
Let's use one of them as the starting RT.

BOTTOM LINE
Let's play a solid IOL. If necessary, we should bring in more players from other Practice Squads or elevate our PS OT or trade for backup OT.
My hope is that Jacobs will be able to play LT when Lowe is injured. I recognize that we should try Thomas and Jones more during practces.

If from now until next season (especially in the off-season, Wallace can not only become the starting RT (and maybe even be solid there), and with Onwenu at RG, we just have to address LT and Center (if we have a solid LG on the roster). Next Draft the OL needs to be the #1 Priority (and assuming that we don't draft any bust's on the OL). I would go heavy on Defense in FA (preferably guys that won't be 28 or older in their 1st season with the Patriots). If they can obtain or trade for a solid #1 WR (who's still going to be young enough to give us 5 to 6 years with Maye), and won't cost assets that will prohibit us from drafting the OL, then that would be a bonus. You're right about Onwenu and Wallace. Andrews might not even play next year, and a solid Center is something a young QB needs to help stabilize the line and for snaps. Even if Andrews plays another year with the team, I'd make him the backup (but would still have a young Center to groom behind the new young starting Center. The Defense is getting up there in age. It needs to get younger and more talented. Even before the season started I saw serious depth issues. RB is also an area of need (given the high injury rate). We whiffed on Braelon Allen last year, but there will be one or two that we could snag in the 2025 Draft.

 

[signbabybrady]

Yes the OLine requires everyone working in unison, and Onwenu would have looked better at RT in '04, but not because the team was better, but because the game was different. He isn't built or quick enough to being playing RT in '24.

Right now we have free rushers from all angles, moving Onwenu back to RG will at least help solidify the inside when everyone is heathy

He played rt much better in '23

Hopefully if we can get some stability on the interior from Strange or Sow he can start playing a little better at RT if not he might need to kick back into RG.

 

[KCSVEN]

Next Draft the OL needs to be the #1 Priority (and assuming that we don't draft any bust's on the OL). I would go heavy on Defense in FA (preferably guys that won't be 28 or older in their 1st season with the Patriots). If they can obtain or trade for a solid #1 WR (who's still going to be young enough to give us 5 to 6 years with Maye), and won't cost assets that will prohibit us from drafting the OL, then that would be a bonus. RB is also an area of need (given the high injury rate). We whiffed on Braelon Allen last year, but there will be one or two that we could snag in the 2025 Draft.

I think they need 2 things on offense that would be game changers. Elite LT and/or Elite WR. While I agree the Tackle is more important right now if your top tackles are gone in the draft and the top wr is not, you have to go wr I would think. You need stars and playmakers, so best player available, to a point.

They also could use an elite edge rusher on defense which generally comes also at the top of the first round, but offense trumps defense.
Free agency is tough, elite guys are rare to find, even great players are rarely free agents, you overpay a bunch of good players, but they probably need to do that next year. They need to maximize the Maye contract so they need to "burn some cash" of course there are 31 other teams and probably not 32 quality free agents, so overpay they must but not sure you get a ton of quality starters coming here..

Here are the current free agents as of today, and many will resign with their team, Tee Higgins and his hamstring? Chris Godwin?

2025 NFL Free Agents

Tracking the status and signings of all NFL free agents.

www.spotrac.com

 

[JohnJH]

I think they need 2 things on offense that would be game changers. Elite LT and/or Elite WR. While I agree the Tackle is more important right now if your top tackles are gone in the draft and the top wr is not, you have to go wr I would think. You need stars and playmakers, so best player available, to a point.

They also could use an elite edge rusher on defense which generally comes also at the top of the first round, but offense trumps defense.
Free agency is tough, elite guys are rare to find, even great players are rarely free agents, you overpay a bunch of good players, but they probably need to do that next year. They need to maximize the Maye contract so they need to "burn some cash" of course there are 31 other teams and probably not 32 quality free agents, so overpay they must but not sure you get a ton of quality starters coming here..

Here are the current free agents as of today, and many will resign with their team, Tee Higgins and his hamstring? Chris Godwin?

2025 NFL Free Agents

Tracking the status and signings of all NFL free agents.

www.spotrac.com

Elite LT is absolutely at the top of the list, then Elite WR. I also just found out the Braelon Allen (who was there in the 4th Round), has already been NFL Rookie of The Week. He would've been a nice backup/future RB 1 behind Rhamondre. Before th 2024 Draft, I was emphatic that if he was still there in the late 3rd/anywhere in the 4th Round, that we should draft him.

 

[VrabelJr]

I presume that you are under 30. Occasionally us olsters mistype a character or two. I don't think that anyone but you was confused. But, I did fix the post.

It’s not my job to fix your errors

 

[mgteich]

I’m tired of seeing people on the line playing out of position. Enough with the bs, play people where they belong, the experiment has failed.

Perhaps we should sign Cam Fleming. He has only been an OT, formerly for us I think.

It’s not my job to fix your errors

Reading comprehension is a wonderful thing. It might concern you that no one else had problems understanding my post.

 

[203Pat]

Perhaps in a unit that depends on others - such as OL - it’s difficult to perform / to be assessed. I think that Onwenu would likely look a LOT better if he was RT on the 2004 Patriots.

Not saying he’s a HoFer, but I believe OL is very very dependant on ‘the 5 working in unison’.

Some of it is lack of communication and just inexperienced players next to him but he has been flat out beaten more times than you would want for a guy we paid.

 

[Real fan 02]

How about...
LT Jacobs
LG Sow
C Andrews
RG Onwenu
RT Wallace

Wallace is definitely not a LT I agree keep him on the Right side. I can't get over how Weak our Interior is against the Blitz.

What about 6'9 giant Caleb Jones? At LT.. we probably won't have Sow for a while. At this point they should have kept Mafi..

 

[mgteich]

What about 6'9 giant Caleb Jones? At LT.. we probably won't have Sow for a while. At this point they should have kept Mafi..

Robinson is much better than the Mafi that he replaced.
Jordan is much better than Mafi.
The team preferred Leverett over Mafi, and even that was probably right.
I suspect that our new RG Thomas is better than Mafi.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

If we all see it, and agree... why does it always take the dumb coaches to make obvious moves on the OL????

Same story the last 2 years - with completely different staffs.

The hope is that its over now and we go to the lineup most of us are calling for with wallace at rt. The only thing i can imagine is they figured itd be worth a try because if that combo were to work out with both rookies or at least wallace at LT and onwenu kicked out to Rt the line is essentially all set the next couple years. Robinson and onwenu on the right could’ve been pretty nasty. The injury to lowe made it tough to because it doesn’t look like jacobs is ready yet and theres nobody else to play LT. Maybe we can see more of jacobs moving forth though he wasn’t even active week 1 or 2 iirc and they finally dressed him last night.

The shuffled up line with everyone out of position obviously not working out though so gotta get that scrapped

 

[dliverey44]

I rewatched the game and I did not think Wallace looked any worse than Lowe at LT, but I think we need to play him at RT because the Robinson run needs to stop for now, I know Mayo said he can be special but right now he looks short bus special. Owenu is a below average RT in my opinion. Michael Jordan has been our best OL.

I found it somewhat telling that Thomas was used as the 6th OL a few times and not Leverett. Then when Jordan went out it was Thomas that took his place. Jacobs had decent movement at LT, it was a very small sample.

 

[AQPE]

I've been discussing the OL woes, and more specifically the OT woes for the Pats for several years. I'm not in the @mgteich level (who is?) or even @State or @Wozzy but compared to other Pats topics this has definitely been a focal point for my contributions here. It's evident that most of us on the forum now recognize this for the absolute dumpster fire it has descended to. When you have to sit there hoping that Vederian Lowe is OK next game, well that puts it in stark perspective doesn't it?

My analysis about what to do to improve this is pretty grim. i don't think there is a good choice, and honestly I don't think there was a particularly good set of choices heading into free agency last spring. Tryon Smith was likely the best option but the guy hasn't had a full year in 8 seasons. I didn't want them to waste money on Jonah Williams or Jermaine Eluemunor - Williams got a ridiculous amount of money to be a backup RT in Arizona. The draft situation has been discussed ad nauseum. I was fully on board in picking a QB prospect at #3 and still am. I also didn't want to see the Pats, with so many holes on their roster, overspend to move up from #34 to get a guy like Tyler Guyton, but was disappointed that they didn't figure out a way to trade into position to get Patrick Paul, Blake Fisher, or Sumataia (I was definitely not a fan of Rosengarten for the 2nd round). Given what we've seen so far with those 3 guys, or with Guyton or Rosengarten, I can't say I think they would be in a much better position now if they drafted any of those guys as opposed to Polk and Wallace.

So now here we are again looking at guys currently in college having to think that someone there may be the guy the Pats need. I like what I've seen about Will Campbell, the 6'4" (maybe) guy from Texas, etc. However, here are some sobering numbers:

• In the 5 drafts from 2019 through 2023, a total of 21 guys were drafted in the 1st round and played in the NFL at OT.

• Of those, only 9 are currently playing LT, 2 of whom are backups.

• 1 guy is out of football (Isaiah Wilson, a raving lunatic).

• 1 guy now plays guard (Mekhi Becton, a backup with the Iggles).

• 10 guys play RT, 2 of whom are backups.

Ipso facto, it is far from likely that this problem for the Pats at LT can be solved simply this year or next year in free agency or the draft. The best way they can solve it is to develop a guy or two. That doesn't at all mean passing on a guy in next year's draft that they hope to develop, but it also indicates to me that for the overall benefit of the team:

• They are going to have to take some lumps this year and play Wallace and Robinson, and Lowe, and the two newer guys, and try to accelerate the development of the guys they already have.

• In next year's draft, take the BPA regardless of position rather than forcing the issue by overdrafting a LT prospect and winding up with an Evan Neal who can't get it done.

 

[javajunky]

Let the best young linemen and receivers play. We are playing for next year and beyond.