Trade Cole Strange to a Team That Runs A lot of Outside Zone

[Wozzy]

Agreed.

Wozzy I believe that Mcvay was propped up as the whiz kid becuase the Rams had an electric offense that season.. however it came to a crashing halt in the superbowl... that they realistically should have never been in.

He burned through tons of money, 7 years of first round picks, multiple 2nds and 3rds just to win one ring.

He was young, has learned a lot and turned into a decent coach… but using him as a barometer for great decisions… not so much.

Let me GM in a great market like LA, let me burn through draft picks with silly trades and spend cap through the nose… I could win at least one ring with Johnny Foxboro coaching the team.

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

In regards to Strange…Need to see what we have first before trading away what could be or actually IS your best OL. The talk of him playing C vs G amuses me because he only played C due to the dumpster fire the IOL was last year. The only chance Strange plays C again is if they’re decimated at C and the 2 others before him go down.

 

[rkarp1]

Bradbury is terrible in pass pro. He was one of the worst centers in the league in it last year. He's a mauler that excels in run blocking.

Not sure where you got that Bradbury's issues were scheme related since he was in the same scheme during his time in Minny. And he got worse in pass pro each of the last 2 years.


The Pats purposely moved him to Center because of his athleticism and they felt they needed an upgrade there with both Andrews and Brown injured.

The fact that you think that playing OC is LESS demanding on a player's knees than playing guard tells everyone that your understanding of the game is seriously lacking.

are you the same nitwit that uses Dapatriots as a handle?

 

[BobDigital]

Where the Pats need help trade wise is WR and OL. Strange wouldn't get a WR that matters, he'd just be another cut option fighting for a final spot. As far as OL for OL... I wouldn't be against it and i wouldn't know who they would trade for. Whoever it is would be a guy who has a lot of issues who also isn't all that good and we'd have little reason to believe much in.

To this day i am still not happy they didn't address guard in FA... There were options for guys we KNOW are capable starters. Not guys we hope can be.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Not opposed to trading Strange but as of right now who do we have at Guard?

Onwenu - ok, good. Locked in at RG.

Sidy Sow? He sucked last year.

Layden Robinson? He was even worse.

Jared Wilson? A rookie who projects better at center anyway.

And speaking of center, outside of one good year, Bradbury has been no better at Center than Strange has been at LG. So even if Strange got beat out at LG, he could still arguably be an upgrade over Bradbury at Center too.

If we have a great training camp for the interior OL and a bunch of guys look as good or better than Strange I'm ok trading him, but let's see that first. OP talks about having more depth at a critical position like TE... let's first focus on having a close to average starter at LG, which right now Strange looks like the only guy on our team for that role.

 

[rkarp1]

it's not a matter of trading Strange or was he serviceable, or a little better before his injury
his issue is, post injury, is his leg going to allow him to play?

we saw little opportunity during ota's to judge, but we did see the LG spot start with Scweitzer then L Robinson and then Strange.
LG is for from settled.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Oh sure, trade a player when he is at the bottom of his career and watch him rebound with another team. No thanks.

 

[Wozzy]

Oh sure, trade a player when he is at the bottom of his career and watch him rebound with another team. No thanks.

Agreed, let him prove he’s healthy and get something for him if Sow looks comparable or better. What’s the rush?

 

[Wozzy]

Sidy Sow? He sucked last year.

He missed the first month with a pretty bad ankle injury then barely played. Not sure how that constitutes “sucks” or how anyone can tell the difference in a mostly zone blocking scheme that was coached by the three stooges.

The line has to function as a unit, has to be a well oiled machine. Otherwise assignments get missed, players get blamed for mistakes that maybe weren’t theirs.

Let’s see what it looks like with functional coaching and health. Strange and Sow played very good, if not great as rookies, almost led the team in offensive snaps.

Not counting this year’s rookies none of these other players have shown that competence… nor are they the athletes these two are. Assuming health left guard isn’t a question IMO.

 

[signbabybrady]

it's not a matter of trading Strange or was he serviceable, or a little better before his injury
his issue is, post injury, is his leg going to allow him to play?

we saw little opportunity during ota's to judge, but we did see the LG spot start with Scweitzer then L Robinson and then Strange.
LG is for from settled.

Given the overall state of the line last year it's hard to determine how much the leg impacted his performance when he did return. And it was only a few games but it's not insignificant that he did return last year. But yes there's still questions about how long and how high the ceiling will be for him post injury.

 

[rkarp1]

Given the overall state of the line last year it's hard to determine how much the leg impacted his performance when he did return. And it was only a few games but it's not insignificant that he did return last year. But yes there's still questions about how long and how high the ceiling will be for him post injury.

it's also not insignificant that when he did return last year, it was not at LG.
it is also not insignificant that the team went out and signed Scweitzer (since retired) and last year drafted Robinson. the team is also trying T Robinson and Wallace and Conley in that spot.

 

[signbabybrady]

it's also not insignificant that when he did return last year, it was not at LG.
it is also not insignificant that the team went out and signed Scweitzer (since retired) and last year drafted Robinson. the team is also trying T Robinson and Wallace and Conley in that spot.

Him playing center last year says more about the center position after Andrews injury. And seemingly adds to his value.

I have noticed that Vrabel doesn't seem sold/set on Strange.

But even still I don't think he's found anyone better yet. We'll see if someone can beat out him during training camp.

 

[Sect140]

A lot of West Coast coaches have dealt with this criticism. Shanahan, McVay have all been accused of allowing their QB’s to take unnecessary beatings, I think it’s a byproduct of the scheme.

If McVay and Shannahans QB’s get hit too much for holding on to the ball to long then they have revamped the west coast offense or they need new QB’s. The West coast offense is suppose to emphasize short quick passes to stretch the field horizontally and open up run lanes or it used to be.

 

[rkarp1]

Him playing center last year says more about the center position after Andrews injury. And seemingly adds to his value.

I have noticed that Vrabel doesn't seem sold/set on Strange.

But even still I don't think he's found anyone better yet. We'll see if someone can beat out him during training camp.

I believe L Robinson is already a better run blocker than Strange.
I also prefer Sow in his rookie season over Strange in pass pro.
today, I prefer a 100% healthy Strange in both pass/run...but see more upside with the other two

 

[mgteich]

We already got that in Sidy Sow, who could have a big year coming up. Big time talent.

COULD is the operative word.

For now, we are stronger with Strange on the 53.

We need a starter and backup LG that we can count on. Sow and Strange are those players unless TWO players step up.

 

[signbabybrady]

I believe L Robinson is already a better run blocker than Strange.
I also prefer Sow in his rookie season over Strange in pass pro.
today, I prefer a 100% healthy Strange in both pass/run...but see more upside with the other two

I don't know about Robinson yet. They tried him with the 1s during mini camp but I wouldn't read too much into that.

Sows good rookie year was followed up by the mess of last year. Sow was dealing with injury and I can't pin the mess on him so I'm still pretty hopefully with Sow.

While he's obviously been in the league longer which typically indicates less of a ceiling I'm intrigued to see what Doug Marrone can get out of him and maybe the ceiling is still a little higher than we think.

 

[Sect140]

Like the LA Rams for their starting TE Tyler Higbee and a late draft pick.

They dealt with Higbee being injured for a season and drafted Terrance Ferguson from Oregon in the second round this year. And they have two quality backups.

That way the Patriots have better depth at that critical position and won’t be held hostage if and when Hunter Henry is injured.

Plus, Strange was broken by Quinnen Williams. No need to have him face that monster twice a season.

His apex athleticism is uniquely suited to outside zone runs. The Rams had researched him thoroughly but could only laugh in an unguarded moment when BB took him in the first round, which was going against the grain to put it mildly.

I wouldn’t trade any of the interior linemen yet, let them all compete for the starting LG position, don’t hand it to anyone, no one is that good that it’s their position going into camp. Strange has been injured, Sow has been injured the more bodies in camp the better.

 

[Wozzy]

If McVay and Shannahans QB’s get hit too much for holding on to the ball to long then they have revamped the west coast offense or they need new QB’s. The West coast offense is suppose to emphasize short quick passes to stretch the field horizontally and open up run lanes or it used to be.

It’s evolved a lot since Bill Walsh, McVay took steps to protect his QB, but Stafford wasn’t the problem. O’Connell’s QB’s take entirely too many hits. It seems to be common among young coaches.

 

[Wozzy]

it's also not insignificant that when he did return last year, it was not at LG.
it is also not insignificant that the team went out and signed Scweitzer (since retired) and last year drafted Robinson. the team is also trying T Robinson and Wallace and Conley in that spot.

The only thing significant at that point was the need for a center and playing their five best players. Andrews was hurt, Ben Brown was getting smoked… Strange was the best option at center.

I don’t get this line of thinking, center is certainly not easier to play than guard.

 

[Wozzy]

I believe L Robinson is already a better run blocker than Strange.

Robinson hasn’t shown anything except he wasn’t ready to start as a rookie. Both Strange and Sow were ready, they’re both clearly better.

Robinson has to get stronger and bulk up to closer to 320 pounds, he was 300 pounds soaking wet and weak.