Ryan Wendell To IR to Make Room For Stork

[Fencer]

I can't remember the last time our Offensive Line was so decimated with injuries....this is really unfortunate, that it's become the weakest link of our offense

It's 5/11 of the offense, which is about 45%. Of course it's sometimes the weakest link.

 

[Fencer]

I wonder if it makes sense for them to put him on IR. They are now down to 8 OL on the active roster and have no reinforcements coming.

Flemming, Cannon Vollmer, Kline, Mason, Andrews, Jackson, Stork. Not unheard of for them but kinda light.

Good thing they started the season w/ great depth on the OL.

 

[VrabelJr]

Kind of crazy that we are down a Starter and Backup at Tackle, one or two starters at Guard and we're now just finally getting our actual starting Center back and our OL is still arguably Top 5 in the league.

 

[BTTA]

Kind of crazy that we are down a Starter and Backup at Tackle, one or two starters at Guard and we're now just finally getting our actual starting Center back and our OL is still arguably Top 5 in the league.

It should be by the Denver game, but it won't be tomorrow.

 

[VrabelJr]

Crazy thought: What if being pushed into the flame turns Fleming into a very capable player? How insane will that be?

 

[Mack Herron]

Crazy thought: What if being pushed into the flame turns Fleming into a very capable player? How insane will that be?

Nice idea but I don't see how he becomes athletic enough to block edge rushers.

 

[jah]

Crazy thought: What if being pushed into the flame turns Fleming into a very capable player? How insane will that be?

Would be cool. Not sure how likely.

 

[VrabelJr]

Nice idea but I don't see how he becomes athletic enough to block edge rushers.

Yeah that's a harsh reality and I guess why we put him on the right side.

 

[mgteich]

Kind of crazy that we are down a Starter and Backup at Tackle, one or two starters at Guard and we're now just finally getting our actual starting Center back and our OL is still arguably Top 5 in the league.

Is there anyone who agrees with this assessment other than those who post on patriot boards?

 

[VrabelJr]

Is there anyone who agrees with this assessment other than those who post on patriot boards?

Can you name five teams with better OLs? Bengals and Vikings is all that comes to mind without question. Maybe the Jets? Cardinals OL is slightly better, dead even or slightly worse than ours depending how you want to slice it. Cowboys OL is better on paper but not on film. I'm struggling. Please help me find 5 OLs better than ours!

 

[JMC00]

Is there anyone who agrees with this assessment other than those who post on patriot boards?

Well i'm sure you and some others on here have them as a bottom 5 OL

 

[supafly]

Can you name five teams with better OLs? Bengals and Vikings is all that comes to mind without question. Maybe the Jets? Cardinals OL is slightly better, dead even or slightly worse than ours depending how you want to slice it. Cowboys OL is better on paper but not on film. I'm struggling. Please help me find 5 OLs better than ours!

Like you said, CIN and ARZ are both top 5-6 overall, taking both run/pass into account, at least according to Football Outsiders. It looks like there are 4 teams that are ranked in the top 10 in both categories: ATL, ARZ, CIN, and OAK (no particular order).

Things become a bit murkier once you separate pass protection and run blocking.

TOP 5 RUN BLOCKING

1) NE (but 24th in pass protection)
2) ARZ (top 10 in both)
3) ATL (top 10 in both)
4) CIN (top 5 in both)
5) DAL (but 20th in pass protection)


TOP 5 PASS PROTECTION

1) OAK (top 10 in both)
2) NYJ (but 24th in run blocking)
3) WAS (but 22nd in run blocking)
4) CIN (top 5 in both)
5) DEN (but 29th in run blocking)


FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | 2015 OFFENSIVE LINES

 

[supafly]

Looks like Mason has to be a go for tomorrow no matter what, seeing as how both Jackson and Cannon are already ruled out--and Wendell has been placed on IR.

Without Mason, they'd only be able to dress 5 OL = Stork, Vollmer, Kline, Fleming, Andrews.

Either way, we should expect a move to be coming next week.

 

[BobDigital]

I really like how our OL looks for the future.

C - Between Stork and Andrews I feel very good about this spot.
OG - Mason looks like a stud to me. I think he is going to be a probowl player for years. Jackson I feel good about and Kline has proven to be a solid player. I am wondering about Stork's ability to play OG. I am sure though between Stork and Jackson and Mason we will find a very good combo that is one of the best.
OT - Vollmer still has elite ability. I am fairly happy with how he has stepped in at LT though his best spot is RT. The LT spot is okay with Solder and it is hard to get a truly elite LT if you don't pick in the top 10.

Overall though I like the unit. The OT depth has proven capable but I want and OT option with high upside and I am not sure Flemming is that and Cannon is as good as he is getting. I think that is the only thing I would like spend resources to improve here.

 

[BobDigital]

Looks like Mason has to be a go for tomorrow no matter what, seeing as how both Jackson and Cannon are already ruled out--and Wendell has been placed on IR.

Without Mason, they'd only be able to dress 5 OL = Stork, Vollmer, Kline, Fleming, Andrews.

Either way, we should expect a move to be coming next week.

I am sure they would not have put Wendell on IR if Mason was not ready. I am not worried about this line in the coming weeks.

They will be getting Jackson back very soon and Cannon in not too much longer probably.

 

[supafly]

They will be getting Jackson back very soon and Cannon in not too much longer probably.

I think we're all concerned on some level about the lack of depth at OL, but the return of Mason should help. I'm also expecting a PS player to be brought up next week, if not another player added altogether.

I'm not sure that I'd necessarily feel quite as comfortable as you may about the status of Jackson, as the good news was that there wasn't an all out tear in any of the ligaments. I'm not sure what that means in terms of a timeline, but he may be out another 2-3 games for all we know. It may have been a 4-6 week injury at best.

Hopefully, Cannon and his toe are able to return in the next couple of games.

 

[VrabelJr]

Like you said, CIN and ARZ are both top 5-6 overall, taking both run/pass into account, at least according to Football Outsiders. It looks like there are 4 teams that are ranked in the top 10 in both categories: ATL, ARZ, CIN, and OAK (no particular order).

Things become a bit murkier once you separate pass protection and run blocking.

TOP 5 RUN BLOCKING

1) NE (but 24th in pass protection)
2) ARZ (top 10 in both)
3) ATL (top 10 in both)
4) CIN (top 5 in both)
5) DAL (but 20th in pass protection)


TOP 5 PASS PROTECTION

1) OAK (top 10 in both)
2) NYJ (but 24th in run blocking)
3) WAS (but 22nd in run blocking)
4) CIN (top 5 in both)
5) DEN (but 29th in run blocking)


FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | 2015 OFFENSIVE LINES

I wonder if pass protection is averaged by passing play? None of those teams are anywhere near the top of the league in passing attempts.

 

[supafly]

I wonder if pass protection is averaged by passing play? None of those teams are anywhere near the top of the league in passing attempts.

Has to be. It's ranked by "adjusted sack rate," so the top 19 teams are above the NFL's average, which is 6.3 percent.

Unless you want stats from PFF, this is likely the best we're going to get.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Like you said, CIN and ARZ are both top 5-6 overall, taking both run/pass into account, at least according to Football Outsiders. It looks like there are 4 teams that are ranked in the top 10 in both categories: ATL, ARZ, CIN, and OAK (no particular order).

Things become a bit murkier once you separate pass protection and run blocking.

TOP 5 RUN BLOCKING

1) NE (but 24th in pass protection)
2) ARZ (top 10 in both)
3) ATL (top 10 in both)
4) CIN (top 5 in both)
5) DAL (but 20th in pass protection)


TOP 5 PASS PROTECTION

1) OAK (top 10 in both)
2) NYJ (but 24th in run blocking)
3) WAS (but 22nd in run blocking)
4) CIN (top 5 in both)
5) DEN (but 29th in run blocking)


FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | 2015 OFFENSIVE LINES

Sup, what stats are they relying on to come to that number? Obviously my own observations are biased but I would not rate the Patriots a top 5 run blocking team but I would rate them top 5 pass blocking team (minus the first half of the Dallas game they have been VERY good by my biased observation).

 

[VrabelJr]

Has to be. It's ranked by "adjusted sack rate," so the top 19 teams are above the NFL's average, which is 6.3 percent.

Unless you want stats from PFF, this is likely the best we're going to get.

Thanks for the looking them up!