The true miracle of last night... the O-line...

[manxman2601]

Who got FB snaps? Mason? I missed that.

He had one definite snap at FB on a goal line play but I'm pretty sure he had one or two more too.

 

[RayClay]

If Andrews keeps it up and can learn to play a little Guard, they can probably trade Wendell by mid season when Stork returns.

If I had posted a week ago that Stork would be placed on IR-DTR, and Wendell would be inactive, but the O-line would cruise regardless, I would've been showered with disagrees.

Sheesh. We avoid disaster and show a little depth while our star center has unknown health and we're depending on three rookies.

Could y'all please not start trading players for nothing before we're settled? What will you get for Wendell? A conditional 7th round pick in 2027?

 

[RayClay]

Doug Ked chartered how the OL fared against the pass rush:

PASS PROTECTION
Nate Solder: two hurries
Marcus Cannon: sack
Dion Lewis: sack
David Andrews: QB hit
Tre’ Jackson: QB hit
Sebastian Vollmer: hurry

http://nesn.com/2015/09/patriots-advanced-passing-stats-malcolm-butler-struggles-in-tough-matchup/

Nothing from either Kline or Mason.

Offensive Line Snaps

OFFENSIVE LINE

C David Andrews -- 61 of 61

LT Nate Solder -- 57 of 61

G Josh Kline -- 54 of 61

RT Sebastian Vollmer -- 52 of 61

G Shaq Mason -- 36 of 61

G Tre' Jackson -- 35 of 61

OT Marcus Cannon -- 13 of 61

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-...h-snap-count-clarifies-patriots-picture-at-rb

Note that Mason ended up with one more snap than Tre Jackson despite not starting. Of course he did have a couple of snaps at FB.

Great post. That's a damn near heroic performance by Andrews. Maybe he's got the right stuff, as they say in space travel circles

 

[p8ryts]

I'm pretty sure that was on Cannon who went inside to double with the guard on that blitz, leaving Lewis to handle the edge rusher and the blitzer by himself.

Correct, Lewis picked the first guy up, the delayed blitzer was unaccounted for, TB needed to take him into account.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Belichick's been quoted as saying this group was more talented than last year's.

Something is up with BB. I can never remember him being this candid and open about anything. Gronk making a difference in 2011 and 2012, Arrington being streaky, post game last night talking about all kinds of Xs and Os, today blasting ESPN and SI, Tomlin and "excuses".

Maybe Linda Holiday took BB to Dr Phil or something..

 

[kudzif]

What I don't understand is how the UGA starting center, team captain in the SEC goes undrafted? I can see the Pats passing him up due to Stork, but really?

Because he was not that good.Playing in the SEC does not guarantee you are good. The jury is still out on him based on his preseason because yesterday could have been a fluke, but everyone else looks good and I am cautiously optimistic that the line can be great.

 

[stinkypete]

The Pittsburgh defense is a mess, but their line is solid. It was no small task for 3 rookies to hold their own against them.

Compare to this time last year when the line couldn't hold back the likes of Minnesota and Oakland. I expected similar struggles to start the year. This is very promising.

 

[venecol]

Doug Ked chartered how the OL fared against the pass rush:

PASS PROTECTION
Nate Solder: two hurries
Marcus Cannon: sack
Dion Lewis: sack
David Andrews: QB hit
Tre’ Jackson: QB hit
Sebastian Vollmer: hurry

http://nesn.com/2015/09/patriots-advanced-passing-stats-malcolm-butler-struggles-in-tough-matchup/

Nothing from either Kline or Mason.

Offensive Line Snaps

OFFENSIVE LINE

C David Andrews -- 61 of 61

LT Nate Solder -- 57 of 61

G Josh Kline -- 54 of 61

RT Sebastian Vollmer -- 52 of 61

G Shaq Mason -- 36 of 61

G Tre' Jackson -- 35 of 61

OT Marcus Cannon -- 13 of 61

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-...h-snap-count-clarifies-patriots-picture-at-rb

Note that Mason ended up with one more snap than Tre Jackson despite not starting. Of course he did have a couple of snaps at FB.

BB was smart to rotate the OL, aside from Andrews.

 

[venecol]

Lewis gave up a sack?

He also had a nice block on what would have been a sack.

 

[patsinthesnow]

@PP_Rich_Hill: It seems like Tom Brady has taken to UDFA rookie David Andrews. Gives him personal daps/attention at every turn pre-game, post-game.

Could he play guard when Stork returns?

 

[PatsDeb]

Andrews, Mason and Jackson up the middle... three rookies... and they truly held their own.

Brady only got sacked twice that I can recall. And he was very complimentary of them as well in the postgame interviews he did for everyone except NBC. : - )

Belichick's been quoted as saying this group was more talented than last year's. Well, last night was pretty darn good evidence of that.

They were pretty good, especially for the first game, but don't discount Brady getting rid of the ball very quickly in order to minimize the potential damage.

 

[patchick]

What I don't understand is how the UGA starting center, team captain in the SEC goes undrafted? I can see the Pats passing him up due to Stork, but really?

Honestly, 6'2" 295 o-linemen with average athleticism almost never get drafted. The most recent drafted comparable is probably David Molk, a 4-year starter and Rimington winner who still lasted until round 7.

 

[mgteich]

@PP_Rich_Hill: It seems like Tom Brady has taken to UDFA rookie David Andrews. Gives him personal daps/attention at every turn pre-game, post-game.

Could he play guard when Stork returns?

Perhaps, just perhaps, we are fine at LG with Kline and Wendell. Kline played lots more than Mason or Jackson and had ZERO hurries and ZERO sacks.