With the retirement of starting left guard and captain Dan Connolly, the Patriots will have to replace a significant player who played a key role. You can discover the NFL odds for this season and it’s unlikely that this new garners much national attention as it relates to the Pats’ hopes of repeating as Super Bowl champions, but if there has been a consistent theme when the Patriots bow out of the playoffs, it has been sub-par protection for Tom Brady.
In their last two Super Bowl losses, the Giants’ vaunted defensive line terrorized Brady by winning the battle in the trenches. The Patriots never found a rhythm and lost both contests in the final moments.
However, last season the Patriots held off the Seahawks’ defensive line, especially in the fourth quarter and low and behold, the Pats finally secured their fourth title.
Connolly has played all three interior positions for the Pats. After much turmoil in early 2014, the Patriots settled in with an interior trio of Connolly, rookie Bryan Stork at center and Ryan Wendell at right guard. This wasn’t exactly the best interior trio of the past 15 years for New England, but it was one that got the job done when it was all on the line.
So now, without Connolly, their most versatile and experienced interior offensive linemen, the Pats will once again have some big questions along their interior.
Wendell wasn’t thought to be anything more than a center before last season, but he proved he could do a solid job at right guard and that calmed the entire line last season.
The Patriots drafted two potential guards – Tre Jackson and Shaq Mason. Jackson was a career right guard, while the undersized Mason saw time at center and right guard. So you’ll notice, neither have experience at left guard.
Some players can make that transition to the other side, while some cannot. The Pats will certainly take a look at Jackson and Mason at left guard this summer, as perhaps the easiest answer is to keep Wendell at right guard.
But Wendell won’t be handed the job, while former tackles like Caylin Hauptmann and Cameron Fleming will also get a long look.
Then there’s veteran Josh Kline who has done an admirable job filling in at various points in the last two years. This is similar to how Connolly progressed in New England, so he could be in for a jump as well.
The Patriots did plenty of experimentation well into the regular season last year before Stork got healthy and Wendell stepped into the right guard spot. Can they afford that kind of juggling this year, especially if Jimmy Garoppolo is needed to start a couple games?
One thing is for certain – the Patriots are one of the most well-coached teams in the league and despite often having some bumps early in training camp and into the early part of the regular season, they always manage to find a way to make it work.
This year, even without Connolly, will be no different.