Starting Our Best Five Offensive Lineman

[Jim Beankie]

Just looked up the pressure stats for the Pats last 2 games last year and it was 26% (3sk) and 34% (7sk - 2 were coverage-ish). RBs rushed for under 60yds each game. Who the heck could succeed with that kind of protection? The guys were both Andrews, Sow, Mafi, Onwenu, and Lowe.

If any QBs are cut, I just don't see them re-signing with the Pats with this line, unless they're masochistic and think that the QBs ahead of them are going to get pummeled and space will open up for them.

 

[signbabybrady]

Teams need to be built from the inside out. Before the franchise QB—unless you’re willing to sit him for a year—you need the talent in the trenches.

Are five best to this point?

Lowe—fair to poor. A work in progress
Sow—good. Chance to be very good.
Andrews—strong on intangibles but physically mediocre
Onwenu—great
Okorafor—inconsistent and potentially a locker room malcontent.

Glad to see someone not ignoring what's actually occurring on the field.

For better or worse right now this looks like our top 5. Scary but right now I'm not sure we even have another option at LT other than Lowe.

And I'm not saying this is a great group but I think our bigger problems in practice have been when the second unit is lining up and I think people are reading those reports and holding it against the top 5. Again I'm not trying to over sell the top 5 because it's not very good either but hopefully they won't be totally inept. God help us when we need to inevitably rely on some of our depth especially at LT and Center.

 

[Spiral]

Question to all: Has Lowe improved? He did not look like an NFL player last year. If he's in the mix, then I think the offense will be terrible again and I think we may have two QBs on IR by mid year.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Sow played RG last year. I would move him back to RG and move Onwenu to RT, as permanent changes so the sooner the better. Put Robinson at LG, and he can compete with Strange when the latter returns. Install Wallace as the LT, with Lowe & others competing.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I’m starting to think that the team needs to bite the bullet and embrace youth and talent, even though there will be rough patches along the way.

LT Caedan Wallace*
LG Sidy Sow (I doubt Strange will ever displace him.)
C Ole Davey A
RG Layden Robinson*
RT Big OneMenu Mike

* rookies. Why? Are Okorafor, Anderson, and Lowe getting it done?

I say might as well if no other combination proves to work. Get as much a look at robinson and wallace as you can prior to the 25 offseason.

 

[State]

Question to all: Has Lowe improved? He did not look like an NFL player last year. If he's in the mix, then I think the offense will be terrible again and I think we may have two QBs on IR by mid year.

Lowe looked dreadful at RT to start last season. But he holds some promise at LT. He and Connor McDermott—who should have been brought back in—were adequate last year at season’s end at LT when Trent Brown was doing Trent Brown things.

 

[Boomer B]

I’m a little perplexed at what the coaching staff is doing with Mayes development. Our starting o-line is bad but our 2nd o-line that Maye plays with is hot garbage, a complete dumpster fire. How can the kid develop when he’s got no time to make a play. The number one thing this team needs to do is develop Maye, and if that means he splits reps with Brisset with the number 1 unit then that’s what should be done.

As far as the o-line goes, our tackles are horrible and would be backups anywhere else. We also have 0 depth. The tackle situation needed to be addressed but they did next to nothing. It’s gonna hinder Mayes development.

 

[Pape]

For months, we have been discussing starting out top 5 offensive linemen. As of now, who are they?
=========
Sow, Andrews, Onwenu and Okorafor are four.
============
Is Wallace ready to start?
Is Robinson ready to start?
Leverett?
=====
Should any of the rest really even be on the team if we could find upgrades after the final cuts? Lowe? Anderson? Mafi? Jordan?

With the for I have listed, we either need a starting RG or a starting RT. If Onwenu is the RG, we also need a backup #3 OT.
===========
It isn't terrible to have seven OL's that we can hope to count on as starters or backups.

The solution revolves around RT and backup LT. I would argue that if we have FOUR starters, we could TRY to fill other starting position as well as backup OT and backup OG/OC with players that we think should be playing in the NFL.

The REAL key is backup LT. Do we have one? I'm OK if it is Wallace. We need someone better than Anderson and Lowe.

We need a starting left tackle before we need a back up left tackle.

 

[Thunderhead]

Question to all: Has Lowe improved? He did not look like an NFL player last year. If he's in the mix, then I think the offense will be terrible again and I think we may have two QBs on IR by mid year.

I'm going with an emphatic no. This is just one bad rep from the preseason game vs Carolina, but dude started a full second early and still got smoked.

 

[mgteich]

We need a starting left tackle before we need a back up left tackle.

OK.
We're not getting one.

 

[Pape]

OK.
We're not getting one.

A vet kicked loose at the end of camp mayhaps...

Otherwise...

Long season.

 

[dex13]

A vet kicked loose at the end of camp mayhaps...

Otherwise...

Long season.

Scary thought....a guy couldn't a backup spot becomes the Pats starter.

its going to be a long season.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

I'm actually cautiously optimistic that we can be functional. I think an interior trio of Sow/Andrews/Onwenu can be really good. Like really good. A legit strength type of unit.

I'm hopeful Okorafor can be what he was in PIT. He wasn't an ideal starter, but he was "not that bad" enough to get a second contract. They recognized that he wasn't good enough and needed to be replaced, hence drafting an OT in the 1st last year that eventually took his starting spot. I don't have any expectation that he'll play well enough where any of us want to retain him. Just like PIT did, we'll be calling for him to be replaced by a draft pick. But I'm optimistic that he can "stop the bleeding" for a year at RT as in be a liability but not a crippling liability, if that makes sense.

LT looks like it's a mess and I don't have much fait that we can fix it. Lowe is not an NFL starter barring some sort of crazy breakout that there aren't any signs of. Wallace is a rookie that feels like a reach from a front office that was desperate to draft any OT. If he does pan out at the NFL level, it feels more likely to be at RT than at LT and he seems raw enough where it will take some time rather than an instant hit. I mentioned Okorafor at RT hopefully being a weak spot you can live with vs. a total disaster at RT, but if he's forced to play LT it could flip towards crippling weakness. Anderson was a swing tackle to begin with vs. starter level, and now he's recovering from a serious health scare.

My guess is they start the year with Lowe/Sow/Andrews/Onwenu/Okorafor. They'll give heavy help to Lowe at LT (to the point that it limits their scheme), hope that the interior can be a legit strength like it should be, and then hope Okorafor can hold his own and be a poor starter but not THAT bad. Behind the scenes, they'll hope for Wallace to develop and prove ready to take over for whichever of Lowe/Okorafor is playing weaker - presumably Lowe, but you never know. Ideally, he becomes a left tackle because it's just more ideal to have that spot filled, but we'll see.

I also don't rule out them moving Onwenu back out to RT if the play there is so bad and/or even if just Strange (when he's back) and/or Robinson practice so strongly that they earn a starting nod inside. I think that will be a mid season thing though. It's not like they have some stud, ready-to-go backup for Onwenu inside so as much of a hole as we have at the OT spots, RG becomes just as big a hole/question mark if Onwenu moves outside. And now you have that hole and Onwenu is a worse RT than he is RG so the rest of the unit around that weakness is weaker too.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

One thing we have is guards: Sow, Onwenu, Robinson, Strange when he returns, Leverett. Onwenu can play RT better than anyone else we have, so even though he’s a better G than T, I’d move him to RT. The line becomes more solid that way, especially when Strange returns if he can be 100% (when is he expected back?).

Commit to Wallace at LT, he’ll eventually be pretty good there. He’s the most athletic candidate we have. Give him a lot of help the first month of the season.

 

[mgteich]

I’m a little perplexed at what the coaching staff is doing with Mayes development. Our starting o-line is bad but our 2nd o-line that Maye plays with is hot garbage, a complete dumpster fire. How can the kid develop when he’s got no time to make a play. The number one thing this team needs to do is develop Maye, and if that means he splits reps with Brisset with the number 1 unit then that’s what should be done.

As far as the o-line goes, our tackles are horrible and would be backups anywhere else. We also have 0 depth. The tackle situation needed to be addressed but they did next to nothing. It’s gonna hinder Mayes development.

0 depth? at OT? We have 4 backup OT's. That's depth.

 

[Spiral]

I see one above-average starter on the offense--Onwenu. Barmore, Judon, and Gonzales are other guys I think are above average. This is a really bad roster. I think this is a contender for the number 1 pick next year.

 

[mgteich]

One thing we have is guards: Sow, Onwenu, Robinson, Strange when he returns, Leverett. Onwenu can play RT better than anyone else we have, so even though he’s a better G than T, I’d move him to RT. The line becomes more solid that way, especially when Strange returns if he can be 100% (when is he expected back?).

Commit to Wallace at LT, he’ll eventually be pretty good there. He’s the most athletic candidate we have. Give him a lot of help the first month of the season.

It takes more than a month for a non-stud (top 10) rookie to develop into a starter at LT, especially one who has never played LT.

 

[signbabybrady]

Question to all: Has Lowe improved? He did not look like an NFL player last year. If he's in the mix, then I think the offense will be terrible again and I think we may have two QBs on IR by mid year.

Yes. Last year I don't think he belonged on an NFL roster. This year he's our best LT so far. That's not to say he's good but there's clearly improvement.

 

[mgteich]

Yes. Last year I don't think he belonged on an NFL roster. This year he's our best LT so far. That's not to say he's good but there's clearly improvement.

Unfortunately, his being our best LT doesn't mean that he belongs on an NFL roster.

 

[signbabybrady]

Unfortunately, his being our best LT doesn't mean that he belongs on an NFL roster.

I wouldn't argue if you said doesn't belong starting. We're talking about a guy who's played in 15 games starting 8 of them over the span of 2 years. Who despite everyone's opinion of him including mine is taking first team reps at LT for over a week of camp. I'm not saying some of that isn't by default but I feel pretty confident saying that he belongs on a roster even if that's 2nd string on a team who picked 3rd last year. It's seeming like this will be the 3rd coach to put him on an active roster.

It's his 3rd year in the league and he has improved.