What is your take on Mack? Assume its a HAS that is painful, can play through but mobility will be impacted?
My guy feeling is that he will be fine for the game. He did play after the injury occurred in the last game. Quinn doesn't use a lot of gamesmanship when giving injury updates. He feels like it is a respect issue for the players. If he tells you that a guys is going to be limited this week, but they are going to up his reps as the weeks progresses and he will be a full go on Sunday, that is pretty much the way it is.
So, yeah, he'll be ready to go at close to 100% at kickoff. As always, he could aggravate it during the game.
I'll be totally honest, I don't want to see Ben Garland in the game at center. I hope his snap are on the defensive side of the ball. He is in our DT rotation, but he is also the primary backup to Mack at center.
Here is a little ATL knowledge that won't be common knowledge for most Patriots fans. The weak link on the offensive line is at RG. If you are familiar with Pro Football Focus, Chester is the only offensive line starter for Atlanta that grades less than a 75.3. Chester comes in at a 53. His liability is primarily in pass protection where he has a grade of 45! (75 is average). He is graded at 70.3 as a run blocker. While Garland grades okay in pass protection, he normally takes snaps at guard. When he plays center, the line calls divert to Ryan and he has one more thing on his plate pre-snap. Mack and Schraeder cover up for Chester on the right side of the line. If you take Mack out of the equation it compromises Chester big time. It is likely we would be keeping a primary weapon, Freeman, in the backfield to help shore up pass protection if Mack is out. Freeman is excellent at blitz pickup, but it is a big schematic win for the Patriots if the Falcons have to play him in that role.
If you want to know why Atlanta is so much better this year than last year, and why Ryan quit throwing INTs, the above paragraph sums it up. We had a guy named Person snapping to Ryan last season. He was like a turnstile as a pass blocker, and there were a multitude of botch center/QB exchanges last season. Basically Ryan was fielding snaps like a short stop, then trying to run the offense. Garland is better than that, but he is no Alex Mack.
