New England Patriots Preview: Offensive Line
By Varun Tekur
Taking a look at the guys up front for the New England Patriots offense.
This week, I will preview the Patriots offensive in the third of my 2016 New England Patriots positional previews. I previously discussed the team’s quarterbacks and running backs and will cover the team’s wide receivers and tight ends, defensive line and linebackers, and defensive backs leading up to New England’s first preseason game against the New Orleans Saints.
Although New England was one of the strongest teams in football last year, one of their major weaknesses was on the offensive line. The big blockers up front just couldn’t seem to keep Tom Brady consistently protected, leading to lots of frustrating knockdowns of the Patriots signal caller. New England was able to survive the sometimes terrible play by the offensive line due to Brady’s quick instincts.
However, the Patriots will have the much more inexperienced Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback for the first four weeks of the season, and the offensive line will have to play significantly better than last year to give Garoppolo enough time to make the right reads and throws.
Offensive Linemen currently on the Patriots Roster: Chris Barker, Marcus Cannon, Cameron Fleming, Jon Halapio, Ted Karras, Kyler Kerbyson, Josh Kline, Shaq Mason, Keavon Milton, Bryan Stork, LaAdrian Waddle, Jonathan Cooper, Tre Jackson, Joe Thuney, Sebastian Vollmer, Nate Solder, David Andrews
The injury bug badly infected the O-Line in 2015, contributing to a poor season by this group which is expressed by their #25 ranking in Pro Football Focus’ Offensive Line rankings for 2015. They were even ranked as the second-worst pass blocking unit in all of football, and despite this, Tom Brady was still able to throw for 4770 yards and lead the team to the AFC Championship game. If the Patriots could do that with such a terrible offensive line, imagine what they can do with even an average one.
The offensive line was New England’s weak point in 2015, and teams were eager to exploit this weakness by sending lots of pressure up the middle against the Patriots. An improved offensive line will make teams less reluctant to do so, giving Patriots receivers more time to get open and making it easier for Patriots running backs to explode through the line of scrimmage.
New England hopes that this 2015 weakness won’t be as big of an issue in 2016. Starting left tackle Nate Solder tore his biceps in early October last year, leaving Tom Brady without his trusted blindside protector for the rest of the season. However, Solder appears to be healthy during training camp and looks to bounce back in a big way in 2015. In addition, right tackle Sebastian Vollmer returns to the team in 2016. Having both of last season’s veteran starting tackles on the roster allows the Patriots to focus more on getting the rest of the offensive line set. Cameron Fleming and Marcus Cannon can provide depth at offensive tackle, but they were inconsistent last year and most likely won’t start unless one of Vollmer of Solder is injured. Lastly, LaAdrian Waddle is a tackle to watch out for. He started in 2014 as a rookie for the Lions, meaning that he has starting caliber talent, but has been plagued by injuries ever since.
The guard position is where it starts to get murky for New England. Due to all of last season’s injuries, the team had to rotate many different players in and out of the guard position and never really settled on two starters for this position. This year, the Patriots are hoping that some of their young players will step up to earn starting spots at guard. Tre Jackson and Shaq Mason were drafted in 2015, and they both aim to earn reps at the guard position. Another player to keep an eye on is this season’s Patriots third round pick, Joe Thuney. He was named to the 2015 AP All-ACC First team with North Carolina State, and could be a quality contributor to the team if his talent translates to the NFL level of play. Even if he doesn’t grab a starting spot this year, he could use this season to develop and get used to blocking the agile and overpowering NFL defensive lineman. Josh Kline is also young lineman who could be in the starting lineup at guard if he impresses the coaches.
Jonathan Cooper, who the Patriots received from Arizona in the Chandler Jones trade, is a new addition to the offensive line who can really make an impact on the team if he fulfills his potential. He was a highly touted prospect out of college and was selected 7th overall in the 2013 NFL draft, but he has not yet validated his lofty draft status due to various injuries.
His production hinges on his ability to stay healthy, but he was recently carted off of the field during training camp, and it remains to be seen whether this injury is a serious one. If Cooper can play as well as the Cardinals hoped he would when they drafted him, he can provide a major boost to the offensive line and could be one of the team’s x-factors in 2016.
David Andrews looks to improve upon the surprisingly effective season he had last year while playing center as an undrafted rookie out of Georgia. If Andrews doesn’t perform well or is injured, Bryan Stork can step in to play center, as he was the team’s starting center for much of their Super Bowl winning season in 2014. If Andrews starts at center, the team could also look to play Stork at guard.
Finally, a major off-season improvement on the sidelines, not on the field, could really elevate the offensive line’s level of play. The Patriots brought back legendary offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, who last coached for the team in 2013 before retiring.
He has more than 40 years of coaching experience and will serve as a great mentor and teacher for the many young lineman that the Patriots have. Plus, he worked with veterans like Vollmer and Solder when he last coached for the team, so he is familiar with their strengths and weaknesses and can help them further develop their skills.
If injuries don’t plague the offensive line like they did last year, the Patriots can utilize the preseason and early season to find an offensive line group that works well together. Continuity was one thing that this positional group lacked last year, so having a core group of lineman that can be depended on every Sunday will be really beneficial to the team. If Solder and Vollmer play well at the bookend tackle positions, two young players step up and claim the starting guard spots, and David Andrews continues to improve upon his blocking abilities at center, this group will be much more stable than in the past.
Next: Rick Porcello: Dark Horse Cy Young Candidate?
Keep it locked here at Chowder and Champions for the best in-depth Patriots coverage and make sure to check out my next preview of the team’s wide receivers and running backs.