13 November, 2019
Lewiston, Maine 1:59am
I've been sitting here for two hours staring at my
computer screen, at a loss for anything comprehensible to write about the New
England Patriots' situation along the offensive line, especially in light of
the fact that they seem to be counting on a second-year player with all of six
quarters of real-time professional experience to stabilize the unit.
Isaiah Wynn is a fine player, and showed in those
six quarters that he really may be a legitimate left tackle when his lack of
height had most scouting departments projecting him as a guard coming out of
the University of Georgia – but as of
now, he isn't anything, spending the majority of his first year-and-a-half as a
professional on the shelf with a variety of ailments.
Anyone who follows football knows that success on
offense starts with the big uglies up front that opens holes for backs in the
running game and provides protection for the quarterback in the passing game -
and it's not like they are mindless neandrathals that just aimlessly trudge
through folks and knock them on their carcasses.
Blocking schemes are just as complicated as any
other part of a game plan, and the linemen not only have to know where all the
other players on their team are supposed to be, but also have knowledge of
their foes' defensive alignments, and the individual skill sets of any player
they may have to mirror.
So in a way, offensive linemen have to be the
smartest and most aware players on the football field,with the possible
exception of the quarterback - but the signal caller doesn't have to engage in
a sixty-minute street fight with very large human beings that are dead set on
killing the people they are blocking for.
Like most teams in the National Football League,
the Patriots employ a zone blocking scheme. The linemen have to be intelligent,
athletic and possess a mean streak to be successful in what amounts to a turf
war - but also graceful. It's almost like a ballet, all moving in tandem. A
offenisve line coach is mostly like a choreographer. For that very reason, an offensive
line must develop a working chemistry before it can be effective.
For the Patriots, injuries have interupted that
chemistry.
It's one thing to have to replace one lineman,
which New England had to do when center David Andrews developed blood clots in
his lungs in the preseason, and they were fortunate to have an in-house
solution to the most critical position along the line at the pivot in
third-year reserve Ted Karras.
Karras's insertion appeared to be seamless, aside
from some shotgun snaps that looked like big brown moths fluttering back to
quarterback Tom Brady that have impacted the timing of a couple of plays, and
they got by when right tackle Marcus Cannon went down with a shoulder injury in
the same game...
...but since the apparently fragile Wynn hobbled
off the field against the Dolphins in week 2 with what turned out to be a case
of turf toe, newly-signed swing tackle Marshall Newhouse has struggled in pass
protection, the nine-year veteran giving up multiple quarterback hits and sacks.
Newhouse was a college teammate of Cannon's at TCU
and, like Cannon, was known as a road-grading run blocker and played on the
right while Cannon started on the left. But in Foxborough, the script has been
flipped.
Cannon is a mainstay at right tackle, is just a
couple of years removed from an All Pro selection and is still considered one
of the best strong side blockers in the league,
while Newhouse, who won a Super Bowl with Green Bay, is on his fourth
team as a limited swing tackle...
...limited because his lateral movement against
speed rushers is sub-par, which has been evident since Wynn went down. To
compound the issue, the Patriots have had to keep a potential pass catcher in
to help Newhouse on the edge, limiting Brady's options in the pattern.
This is a situation in which the Patriots really
miss having retired tight end Rob Gronkowski on the field, who was a load to
handle in the running game and was an expert at chipping defensive ends and
wheeling into the short flat in the passing game - though current tight end Ben
Watson has shown the same abilities, but not at the level that Gronkowski
performed.
But now Wynn appears to be ready to return to the
lineup, which if his limited film justifies what he is, he represents a major
upgrade on the blind-side edge which, given his limited body of work, tells
just how bad Newhouse has been – and his mediocracy at the position doesn't
just affect the edge, it filters over to the rest of the line.
Joe Thuney has been a warrior at left guard,
helping out both Newhouse and Karras in pass protection where he can act as a
second layer, but nothing can help them in the running game, where Newhouse's
lack of mobility and Karras's inexperience at the pivot has resulted in clogged
running lanes.
On the right, guard Shaq Mason is having his worst
season as a professional, limited by injury and exasberated by injury to Cannon
and the absence of a decent blocking tight end. The tight end situation is what
it is, and will not be addressed this season, assuming that Gronkowski remains
retired. Same with the fullback position, where the Patriots have lost both
James Develin and Jakob Johnson for the season and have resorted to employing
linebacker Elandon Roberts as an impromptu battering ram in the short-yardage
ground game.
That's quite a puzzle for line coach Dante
Scarnecchia to try and complete – impossible even, with a couple of pieces
missing.
But Wynn's return and an upgrade in the pass
catching ranks will help, though it remains to be seen just how much.
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