The August O-line freakout happens every single summer, so I’m dismissive of people freaking out over preseason performance because it’s nothing new and just part of the process.
As I wrote in my last post, last year was also very much about the new receivers and lack of weapons. However I do think Wendell and Connolly needed to be upgraded and it was one of the main points I discussed leading up to the draft. I was thrilled they took Stork, Halapio and Fleming.
But I think Solder, Vollmer, Mankins and Cannon are very, very good and all still very much in their prime. There’s room for improvement and bounce-back years and once Stork and Halapio and even Josh Kline get into the mix they should have an upgraded interior.
As for Scarnecchia, remember it all still goes through Belichick.
I sincerely disagree if you think this isn’t an offensive line that could win a Super Bowl. I’ll leave the last word to respected SI writer Doug Farrar who ranked the Pats with the number one offensive line in the NFL this offseason.
1. New England Patriots – The main point of flux in this line is the replacement of retired coach Dante Scarnecchia with ex-Jets line coach Dave DeGuglielmo. Scarnecchia was a demigod on Foxboro and he’ll definitely be missed, but the good for the Pats is that they look to start the same five guys who took the most snaps on their 2013 line, and when healthy, that line was one of the team’s real strengths. Even with the skill players around them in constant flux, New England only dropped from first to fourth in Adjusted Line yards, and they led the way for the Patriots to gain 4.69 running back yards per carry, the highest total the team has had since 1996. There was a drop in Adjusted Sack Rate from fifth to ninth, but that can be credited as much to the fact that Tom Brady had to spend so much time getting on the same page as his mystery receivers as anything else. If tackles Sebastian Vollmer and Nate Solder can return to full heath and total playing time, and veteran Logan Mankins keeps up his relatively high level of play, it will make things even easier for center Ryan Wendell, who had the team’s highest blown block rate, and right guard Dan Connolly, who had his own pass protection issues. You’ll hear at times that Brady makes things so much easier for his line, but he didn’t really have a chance to do that in 2013, and this might be the most efficient run-blocking line in the NFL.