Relaoding The Musket, Part 5 - Embarrassment Of Riches Adorn Patriots' Offensive Line. Really.

Mason (69) should have a roster spot all sewn up, but the same can not be said for Cannon (61)

It's called having too much of a good thing, and the New England Patriots have that all over their roster.

Think about it: On defense, they have what has to be the best safety depth in the league, a pair of linebackers that are sure to be in the top 30 of the NFL's 100 best players, and a defensive line that has too few spots for a plethora of outstanding run-stuffers, edge setters and pass rushers...

...while on offense they have the greatest quarterback who ever lived, backed up by the most game-ready sophomore in the league, a set of tight ends that are so good that they dictate what receivers are kept on the roster to complement them (not to mention , and a collection of running backs that fit the philosophy perfectly - and an offensive line absolutely stocked to the brim with talent.

That is a far cry from what we witnessed during the second half of last season, and that we heard from the media and other casual fans, but last season was an aberration in that injury - to the line and to many skill position players - dictated what the line was: a collection of matadors who simply stepped aside and let quarterback Tom Brady deal with the onslaught of pass rushers.

Which is bullshit, of course, but fans can be excused for seeking a scapegoat after the huge egg the Patriots' offense laid in the final two months of last season, misguided as it is.

Because it's not like the Patriots' offensive linemen suddenly sucked after years of stout protection - and truth be told, they really weren't that bad, given the circumstances.  There is no hiding the fact that the struggles of the offense were directly attributed to the struggles along the line, but the aforementioned circumstances put the injury-decimated line in the no-win position of being no more than a levee attempting to hold back a tsunami.

Six playoff teams gave up more sacks and quarterback hits than New England's offensive line did in the regular season, including two conference championship game participants and the eventual Super Bowl champions - and in the post season, all three of the Patriots' fellow conference championship participants gave up more sacks, but none of them allowed their quarterback to be hit more than Brady was.

Perhaps that was because no one threw the ball more than Brady, as he dropped back an insane 49 times per game in the playoffs, a full 19 more than both Super Bowl participants.  When put in that context, the Patriots offensive line was actually the best team at protecting their quarterback.

Where they fell short is in the running game, running the ball just 31 times in their two playoff games while calling 98 passing plays, a balance disparity of 76% to 24% in favor of the passing game - and if one were to eliminate Brady's rushing attempts, they would discover that the running backs to handoffs from Brady just 22 times.

Arizona was in the same boat, so to speak, losing in the NFC Championship to Carolina and abandoning their running game when they fell behind by 17 points in the first quarter while Carolina enjoyed balance on a epic scale, and the Broncos were almost perfectly balanced in their narrow win over New England, who simply had run out of players for Brady to hand off to.

What does this have to do with the offensive line?

When the Patriots lost LeGarrette Blount to a season-ending hip injury in week 14 against Houston, they lost much more than just a player - they lost the ability to create balance, and when a team becomes one-dimensional in the manner that New England did, it affects the offensive line more than any other unit on the offense.

Think about it.  When a team doesn't have a very good passing game and are forced to run the football, the defense can load up the box against the run and leave their corners one-on-one with the receivers, rendering the running game inert.  By contrast, if a team doesn't have a running game to speak of and are forced to the air, the defense can pin their ears back and come after the quarterback, overwhelming the offensive line with sheer numbers.

That is exactly what happened to the Patriots' offensive line last season.

Their troubles began in the preseason when starting center Bryan Stork suffered a concussion which eventually landed him on the team's injured reserve list, with a designation to return, leaving the job to Ryan Wendell - but when undrafted rookie David Andrews beat out Wendell for the job, New England found themselves starting the season with all three interior line positions manned with rookies.

Career backup Josh Kline was added to the mix, spelling left guard Shaq Mason and right guard Tre Jackson and for the first three games, things seemed to be on the up-and-up for New England, as Andrews was drawing raves for his technique, Mason for his athleticism and Jackson for his sheer size and toughness - and when combined with veteran bookends in identically-sized tackles Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer, the Patriots looked to have one of the more intriguing young lines in the NFL...

...but that all changed in a week 5 matchup with the Cowboys in Dallas, as New England lost blindside mauler Solder and his backup, young LaAdrian Waddle, in consecutive series - Waddle suffered a shoulder injury and would return in a few weeks, but Solder was shelved for the season with a torn bicep.

Vollmer moved from the strong side to take over on the left and swing tackle Marcus Cannon filled in on the right, but the following week in Indianapolis started a turnstile of revolving linemen - Cannon started at left tackle against the Colts and Vollmer went back to his accustomed right tackle, but Cannon lasted only one quarter, forcing the Patriots to bring in their third line grinder in Cam Fleming...

And so it went, as New England ended up starting 13 different offensive line combinations and never finding that cohesive bond due to minor injuries among the interior linemen, Solder's injury and Stork's absence until he could come off the IR in November.

The issue, of course, was with the swing tackle depth, as neither Cannon nor Fleming were consistently effective.  In fact, things got so bad that upon Stork's return, the team started him at right tackle against the Giants in Week 10, rather than go with what they knew wasn't going to work against New York's elite pass rush.

Now, according to my math, New England did exactly nothing to rectify the issue with tackle depth, leaving the team's fate in the hands of Cannon, Fleming and Waddle - but while that will cause shivers down every Patriots' fan's spine, it has to be remembered that all of them suffered from the imbalance in the play calling which by the time the season ended was being dictated solely by however many pseudo-healthy bodies they could put on the field.

Waddle has untapped potential as a blindside protector, having played on the left at pass happy Texas Tech, and holding his own against the best the Big 12 had to offer as far as pass rushers are concerned, including future All Pro Von Miller - the same Von Miller who shamelessly abused Cannon and Fleming in the AFC Title game and who did the same to Carolina in the Super Bowl to garner MVP honors.

But that doesn't mean there isn't hope for the edges in the event of injury, as the aforementioned elite tight end tandem of Rob Gronkowski and former Chicago Bear Martellus Bennett will rarely - if ever - come off the field because of their skill not only as pass catchers, but also as devastating run blockers.

Gronkowski has always been a factor in the running game, but so was Michael Hoomanawanui, who was dealt to New Orleans at the end of September, upgrading the Saints' edge blocking by a significant margin while leaving New England with a gimpy Williams and little else opposite Gronkowski.

In return, New England shored up the interior of their defensive line with three-tech Akiem Hicks and, in truth, he was a main cog that allowed the Patriots' defense to carry the team through the difficult last two months - but maybe they wouldn't have had to rely on the defense as much had they kept Hoomanawanui...

...but that is a double-edged sword, and pointless to even argue, especially since the position is now well-stocked with H-back types and monstrously complete tight ends, so the tackle depth isn't as critical since there are so many folks able and willing to lend a hand if the onus falls to one of the depth options already on the roster.

One of those options was thought to be third-round pick North Carolina State rookie Joe Thuney, but on second glance Thuney is sort of an enigma.  He has the length to play on the outside, but has short arms and panics a bit with speed rushers and has a tendency to latch on if he thinks he's going to be beaten on the corner, and tends to lean on them if they try inside technique.

So, many are expecting Thuney to compete for a spot on the interior, where he can slide-step to mirror three techs and his short arms and tendency to lean won't cause as much of a balance issue.  In that respect, Thuney is a project, but with upside and a great teacher in line coach Dante Scarnecchia, he should be a depth fixture all over the line, particularly on the inside

Besides, on the inside is where the embarrassment of riches lie as well as the resultant too much of a good thing.

Andrews proved that he could handle the pivot while Stork recovered on the IR, and offered a technically sound pass anchor, though he is undersized with a light lower body.  He doesn't offer and position flexibility, however, which limits his roster potential as Stork and newcomers Jonathan Cooper and Joe Thuney all excel at multiple positions, including center.

Of course, Stork's health is a concern, so the center position is volatile spot.  If Stork can stay healthy, he's the best option at the pivot, but will head ball coach Bill Belichick keep a pure center on the roster to back up Stork, or will Andrews find himself on the waiver wire come September?  One thing is for sure, with his body of work as a rookie, he won't clear waivers.

Both guard spots are wide open for camp competition, and Belichick has to hope that newcomer Jonathan Cooper rises above his incumbents and realizes his enormous potential.

Drafted seventh overall by the Arizona Cardinals in 2013, the oft-injured Cooper came into the league lauded as an excellent pass blocker and works better from the left guard spot, which enables him to use his elite foot quickness and outstanding power to pull to the strong side and to stonewall bull rushing tackles...

...which is primarily what incumbent left guard Shaq Mason excels at as the class of 2015's best drive blocker, edging out the huge right guard Tre Jackson for that title.  Both struggled as rookies in pass protection, however, which lends credence to Belichick's insistence that Cooper be part of the compensation package in the deal that sent defensive end Chandler Jones to Arizona.

Kline is serviceable, if undersized, as a rotational guard, but his time in New England may be about to expire as Cooper, Mason and Jackson are the top three guards on the roster and Thuney is a virtual roster lock as a third-round draft pick.

Traditionally, Belichick has kept ten offensive linemen on his 53-man roster, and when you consider those four, plus four tackles and two centers, it leave nothing but the waiver wire for everyone else - that is, unless sixth-round pick Ted Karras puts his impressive lineage on display and steals one of the guard spots....

...but Karras seems destined for the practice squad, while Kline, either Marcus Cannon or Cam Fleming, Chris Barker and Keavon Milton attempt to latch on elsewhere.

That's what happens when you have too much of a good thing...

Balance, Health Key For Patriots' Offensive Line; Thuney's Versatility Boon For Unit

Thuney is a five-position mercenary, which makes him very valuable to Scarnecchia's offensive line.

Jonathan Cooper is a young, tough guard - which makes him fit right in with the interior of the New England Patriots' offensive line.

He missed his entire rookie season after fracturing his fibula in a preseason game, suffered a knee issue in his sophomore preseason that required weekly draining of fluid, along with a painful turf toe injury which combined forced him to miss almost all of the 2014 season, making his first career start in week 14...

...which lasted all of two games until he fractured a bone in his wrist, carrying over into the 2015 season, but was able to play the first nine games of the year before the knee problem arose again and ruined the rest of the season.

So when New England pulled off the trade to get rid of defensive end Chandler Jones and his enormous cap hit, the Cardinals sweetened the deal when they packaged Cooper in with a second round draft pick, essentially giving up on the former number seven overall draft pick in 2012 after just an eleven game body of work, Arizona coach Bruce Ariens stating that Cooper was "tough and athletic, just continuing to grow" but qualifying his actions by adding, "We don't have time for growth."

Perhaps that's the reason why, in a nutshell, the Patriots find themselves perennial favorites and in championship game after championship game while other teams' fortunes have them perpetually climbing the ladder - they take other people's projects that they have no time to develop and figures out ways for them to contribute while training them to be football players.

Many players are drafted out of college who are great athletes, but weren't afforded the luxury of perfecting their craft, instead are plugged into a system, are trained to perform in that system, and find that when they arrive in the NFL, their learning curve is protracted because they were essentially pawns that lined the coffers of their respective school's athletic department, with really no regard to their future other than, of course, the college degree they earn out of it.

Many NFL teams behave in that manner as well, especially the ones whose owners put tremendous amount of pressure on their coaching staffs to win now, so they draft the kids like Cooper who fit a particular style in college but struggled in the pros and were given up on because teams don't have the time to develop an imperfect being.

That trail of thought ends at the lighthouse.

This is what separates the Patriots from all other teams and Bill Belichick from all other general managers, the philosophy that begs for ambiguity, the one that seeks to accentuate a player's strength. All teams and coaches and general managers do this to some extent, but there has not ever been a football person who has taken other teams' cast-offs and improved his team by integrating their talent into his collective...

...kind of like a Borg approach - for those who dig Star Trek, you know that the alien species known as the Borg are a bunch of assimilated members of many different species, and who have prosthetic, mechanical limbs and other various body parts implanted in place of their severed original members, making them part of a collective "hive", each assimilated being adding his or her unique distinctiveness as a way of improving the whole.

It's whacked for sure, but it makes sense in a communal degree.  But not even Belichick has balls big enough go full cyborg on the NFL, so what he does is pay those players and promise them that if they just trust the coaches and do their job, then they will win a lot more than they lose, and if everyone does their job, the team has as good a chance as anyone to kiss a trophy.

Could that also explain Belichick seemingly thumbing his nose at the status quo in the draft?

Yes, it could, but that is a topic for another time but right now it is important for us to understand that
Cooper has a legitimate shot at jump starting his career in New England, but first he will have to earn a roster spot on an interior offensive line that is chock-full of young talent.

Cooper's first-round draft status carried little weight in New England, so no roster spot is guaranteed, especially given that Belichick surrendered top-three draft capital to select North Carolina State behemoth Joe Thuney, adding him to an interior mix with Shaq Mason, Tre Jackson, David Andrews, Josh Kline and Bryan Stork.

Mason appears to have a death-grip on the left guard spot, displaying rare athleticism in the running game to pull and drive defenders out of the hole, but the right guard and center positions are anything but settled heading into OTA's.

The Cardinals were toying with the idea of shifting Cooper - who had previously played at right guard - over to center before they dealt him to Foxborough, and Thuney practiced extensively at center as a Senior at NC State, both of whom add intrigue to the pivot position, which was manned by Andrews as a rookie for the fist half of last season, then taken over by the incumbent Stork after he returned from the IR.

The thing is, Stork also has position flexibility, having played guard in college and even has an emergency start at right tackle on his professional resume - in fact, the only player on the interior that really doesn't have documented positional versatility is Andrews, who is purely a pivot though he received reps at guard in last summer's training camp.

That could be a disadvantage for him, but Andrews has already made it tough to cut him, given his performance during the Patriots' 10-game winning streak to start the season.

So what the Patriots have on the interior are a bunch of guys who can play either guard or center, with the only players close to be a roster lock being Mason at left guard and Stork at center with a log jam at right guard between Cooper, Jackson and Kline - while the roster locks on the ends being Nate Solder on Brady's blindside and Sebatian Vollmer on the strong side.

And unless Thuney completely bombs in camp, he could very well become the unit's default lineman - because the value to the team is in his versatility, and perhaps his rare singular talent would have saved the offensive line last season when the injuries started to mount, or at least given them more of a fighting chance.

Regardless, Thuney's selection in the third round was a boon to Belichick. Most see him as a guard in the pros but with his overall athleticism and tremendous footwork, placing him solely on the interior would be limiting what the North Carolina State product brings to the field and not receiving full value out of their high draft capital investment.

Thuney's best destiny would be as five-position mercenary of sorts, as he could ably fill in at any position on the line - and not just fill in, but do so ably, as he has shown the dexterity and intelligence to show proper technique at every position.  These types of players are rare, with a young Logan Mankins being the last player that the Patriots had with such impactful versatility.

Needless to say, offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia will love the kid's versatility and toughness - he played through injury most of his senior season and has that Mankins-like approach to the game.

Many feel that Scarnecchia coming out of retirement to pick up an offensive line that was seen to underachieve under Dave DeGuglielmo will be a windfall to the unit, but not even the amazing Scarnecchia can change what these guys are, which is a drive blocking, power-running unit.  In the two seasons that "Scar" was dipping his toes in the sand, Belichick brought in three of the most powerful drive blockers in the last two draft classes...

...center Bryan Stork in 2014 and guards Shaq Mason and Tre Jackson last season.  Together with Solder, Vollmer and the heft of the tight ends on the roster, the Patriots should have been a top 10 rushing team in 2015, but due to injury and ambivalence toward the running game by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, the running game scared no one, mired in the bottom three units in the entire NFL.

With a running game being a quarterback's best friend, the combination of injury and McDaniels' neglect of balance in the offense left Brady and his offensive line no friends to lean on in tough times, instead, the line was outnumbered and overwhelmed and Brady took an epic beating.

DeGuglielmo took the fall as a convenient scapegoat, the Patriots opting not to renew his contract, but the simple fact of the matter is that he had very few options in his coaching style other than trying to figure out a way to stem the onrushing tide of pressure from opposing defenses, which proved to be futile.

Scarnecchia is a team player, but is also very vocal and won't hesitate to let Belichick and McDaniels know where he and his charges stand.  He has earned that right, much like Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel did when they acted as sounding boards for Belichick at the start of his dynastic run.

They are what they are, and what the Patriots' offensive line is built for is to make the opposition respect their running game, which has a trickle-down effect of Brady's masterful play action fakes becoming a legitimate weapon again and giving the linemen a chance to anchor in their stances and to throw the first punch, both things keeping the pass rushers off of Brady in the pocket.

It really is that simple.  We already know that the Patriots have one of the most progressive offenses in football - what with the best quarterback to ever play the game playing pitch and catch with a monstrous collection of tight ends and some of the toughest covers in the league - but that means very little without balance between the running and passing.

A couple of different factors can affect how many and which offensive linemen make the roster.  First is Scarnecchia's presence and his preference for solidifying his offensive line early in the team-building process, then letting the depth players left over fight it out for a spot on the roster. Scarnecchia will have his starters set before the first preseason game and ride them through rough patches to build cohesion.

Secondly is the fact that Belichick signed Martellus Bennett and Clay Harbor to team with Rob Gronkowski to give New England the best set of tight ends in the game.  Bennett and Gronkowski may be the two most complete tight ends in the league, and having them in the game running out of 12 personnel means that the need for a swing tackle is not as critical as it has been in the past...

...solely because there is not a scenario in the play book that the team benefits from having either of those guys out of the game, so neither will be replaced by a swing tackle on short yardage as both are among the best blockers at the position.

Last, is the development of Thuney.  If he is what Belichick envisions him to be - sort of a swiss army knife - then that should open up a roster spot somewhere else.

So in Belichick's perfect world, He would have Solder and Vollmer, healthy, as his starting tackles with mid-2015 pickup LaAdrian Waddle and Thuney as swing tackles, Mason and Jackson as guards with Cooper and Thuney as reliable depth, and Stork at center backed up by Andrews - eight linemen with a possible ninth being tight end Michael Williams, who is a dual threat as drive-blocking tackle in the running game.

It's a different look for sure, and perhaps a bit early to make such a forecast - especially considering that super-sized tackle Marcus Cannon has always been a favorite of Scarnecchia's, and it's common knowledge that he loves undersized scrappers like Josh Kline and David Andrews fighting on the interior...

...but whatever happens in the team-building process, one can be reasonably certain that balance is on it's way to Foxborough. and with balance, an effective offensive line, a clean Brady lots and lots of points.

It really is that simple.

Big Nickle Offers Patriots Versatility in Team Building Process

Shea McClellin is an enigma.

At least to Patriots fans he is.  But to the fans of his former team, he's a first-round bust with a capital "B".

The Chicago Bears are in the midst of their annual task of dumping talented, miscast players so that they can bring up the rear of the NFC North once again, and Patriots' head ball coach Bill Belichick has felt compelled to oblige them twice this offseason, first by trading a fourth-round draft pick to Chicago for tight end Martellus Bennett, then following it up on the same day by signing free agent linebacker McClellin.

The Bears refused to pick up the Boise State alum's fifth-year option, and McClellin took visits with the Jets and Seahawks before landing in Foxborough with a contract that pretty much guarantees he will be on the 53 man roster come September - but why would Belichick sign a guy being called a "typical Bears' draft bust"?

Well, we all know that the Dark Master is a different cat from most in his position of authority in that he doesn't just select a player and then try to jam him into a scheme like a square peg in a round hole as most other coaches do, instead he takes that round hole and bores it out so that the square peg fits.

It's been the not-so-secret of his success as a general manager - not to mention the success of the product on the field - his ability to see a player for what he is and adapt his scheme to take advantage of his strengths and minimize or even mask his deficiencies. It has been this ability that has gotten the most out of castoffs like Rob Ninkovich and Alan Branch, as well as the rabbits that he pulls out in the secondary each season.

So regardless of the barbs aimed at McClellin from Bears' fans, there still may be some hope for him - especially since the Patriots run a scheme where their linebackers are left free to flow to the ball.

This is due, of course, to the Big Nickle alignment that was a staple of the Patriots' defense last season, an alignment that employed an extra safety in nickle situations who essentially became a weakside linebacker, allowing for Belichick to run with just two linebackers who worked in tandem as a disruptive force.

Of course, that wouldn't have been possible without the defensive line plugging gaps and setting the edges, or without the superb group of safeties that Belichick has assembled - nor without the freakish athleticism of linebackers Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins.

Linebacker has been both a strength and a weakness for Belichick - a strength because his starters have always been top shelf, but also a weakness because the depth behind them have always been a crap shoot that most times, leaving Belichick scrambling to make mid-season deals to shore up the second level - and the past couple of seasons it's been to replace weakside linebacker Jerod Mayo, who has ended the past three years on the IR.

The sudden, but not-so-unexpected retirement of linebacker Jerod Mayo made the probability of the Patriots going after a linebacker in the offseason a foregone conclusion - but acute injuries to both Hightower and Collins last season outlines the need for quality depth. At the start of the league year, the questions was, would it be through the draft or in free agency?

Is it too much to ask for both?

McClellin is a versatile player in that he has the bulk (6' 3", 260 pounds) to play both inside on the second level as well as putting his hand in the dirt as a situational strong side defensive end, and also employs the requisite speed and proper pursuit angles to be a sideline-to-sideline edge-setter to provide a stop-gap in the event Hightower or Collins are forced to miss time with injury or illness...

...which happened in five games during the second half of 2015, and the Patriots' run defense suffered.  How much?  Well in those five games, the opposition averaged 113 yards per contest, while in the games where they were both present, that number dropped to 90.  Try as they might, New England's depth players just couldn't recreate what those two players bring to the defense.

Now, the Patriots have that insurance in the four-year veteran linebacker McClellin, who will also man the middle if the Patriots ever find the occasion to do something weird, like actually lining up in a 4-3...

Selected in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, then-Bears' General Manager Phil Emery stated that McClellin was drafted to play with his hand in the dirt as a defensive end, even though his natural position, and the position he played in college, was middle linebacker. Two disappointing seasons later, new Bears' coach Marc Trestman switched McClellin to strong side linebacker...

...then last season coach John Fox moved him inside to man the middle, and he responded with his best season as a pro - but the fans could never get over Emery "wasting" a first round pick on McClellin, and Fox, despite being quoted as saying that McClellin was the "quarterback" of his defense, left him unprotected by declining his fifth-year option, hoping to bring him back under a far more reasonable number.

But Belichick saw an opportunity to make this square peg fit without forcing him into a position to fail, and scooped him up as important depth and a capable part-time starter.

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Last season, the Patriots ran a 4-2-5 "Big Nickle" as their primary alignment, meaning that they deployed four defensive linemen, two linebackers, two cornerbacks and three safeties. The result was success beyond the wildest dreams of Big Nickle enthusiasts, as New England finished the season surrendering just 18 points per game and held the team together through the second half of the season, when the offense seemed to have lost their way.

The Big Nickle is tough to attack for two reasons: first, the extra safety drops into the box and will act as a weak side linebacker, keying on the opponent's running back, taking him in the pattern or plugging a gap in run support. Secondly, the team plays with a single high safety in this alignment, meaning that they could employ both a run-support strong safety and a cover corner-type free safety at the same time.

As a result, the offense will have a difficult time ascertaining who has whom in pass coverage as well as who will be bringing pressure and where that pressure is coming from.

The Patriots are perhaps the only team in the league with the personnel to run such an alignment on a full time basis, and it is the primary reason why New England kept seven safeties on their roster last season in contrast to just four cornerbacks and five linebackers for the majority of the year.

And there are even solutions to the much-maligned linebacker depth already on the roster, as weaksider Jon Bostic - McClellin's former teammate at Chicago - is still under contract as well as run stuffing former Dolphin Jonathan Freeny - but the one player on currently on the roster who could make the biggest impact as a linebacker in the Big Nickle isn't a linebacker at all.

In college at Auburn, Brandon King played what is known as the "Star" linebacker position which, in the pro lexicon means a hybrid strong safety / linebacker - or, simply put, the Big Nickle - despite tipping the scales at a light 215 pounds, and even found himself playing defensive end in the Tigers' 3-2-6 dime alignment due to his exceptional speed and pass rushing skill.

King was brought aboard the Patriots' bandwagon as a priority free agent after the 2015 draft, and was impressive enough in his special teams play to be signed to the practice squad after being one of the final cuts as the Patriots trimmed their roster to 53 on final cut down day - elevated from the practice squad just three games into the season, King proved to be a menace to the oppositions' punt and kick return teams, finishing second to All Pro special teamer Matthew Slater in tackles.

It isn't often that one comes across a kid who is 6' 2", 225 pounds (he has added 10 points of bulk since joining the team) and can run in the 4.4 range, and who finishes play with jarring, finite hits, but if last season is any indication, the team values him more for his special teams stardom than as being the "Star" linebacker.

King is just one of the aforementioned seven safeties kept by New England last season, a group led by team captain and free safety Devin McCourty, veteran strong safety Patrick Chung and hybrid centerfielder Duron Harmon. McCourty, a former corner with blazing speed, helped in coverages underneath (usually on tight ends) while Chung proved to be a violent striker in run support and an able tag-a-long on backs curling into the pattern...

...with Harmon patrolling the deep end like a soccer goalie and with second year kid Jordan Richards backing up Chung.  Joining King as special teamers-only is Nate Ebner, who was re-signed by Belichick this offseason and is currently on loan to the United States Olympic Rugby team slated to compete in Rio De Janerio this summer before resuming his football career.

It was be a huge shock if Belichick decided to draft another safety, especially early in the process, given the incredible depth he has, but what would not be a shocker is if he saw a cornerback fall to him in the second or third round and he pounced, given the deep draft class at the position.

Currently, Pro Bowl corner Malcolm Butler headlines the corner, with Logan Ryan the only other veteran corner of note on the roster, though second year players Justin Coleman and Daryl Roberts hold significant promise as young blankets. The team has said that they are interested in bringing back nine-year veteran Tarell Brown, who is currently scheduled for free agency.

Brown was a starting corner for the San Francisco 49ers during their recent peak, when they lost to the Giants in the 2011 NFC Championship and to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl 47 the following year before hitting the skids with knee problems, the same knee problems which forced him to the Patriots' IR last season.

If Brown's knee has now sufficiently healed, he could bring a wealth of experience opposite Butler and relegate Ryan to the slot, where he has shown to be a worthy performer, and also give Coleman and Roberts time to grow.  Belichick also made another under-the-radar move recently, bringing in big corner E.J. Biggers, formerly of Philadelphia.

Another benefit of the Big Nickle, as mentioned earlier, is that the quarterback won't have an easy time figuring out where the pass rush is coming from or where to deploy his backfield help, but it goes without saying that despite New England dumping Chandler Jones and his annual late-season disappearing act, they have improved their ability to get to the quarterback...

...which sounds like crazy talk considering Jones just made the Pro Bowl, but when you can take Jones exorbitant salary and split it up to sign edge rusher Chris Long, late of the Rams, meaty nose tackle Terrence Knighton, and massive three-techs Frank Kearse and Markus Kuhn - not to mention getting a 2016 second round pick and a former first-round selection in guard Jonathan Cooper from Arizona in a swap for Jones - the pattern becomes clear.

This is not to discount Jones' contribution, but the six-to-one ratio that Belichick built from dealing Jones made the team better on the edges - with Jabaal Sheard taking over opposite the ageless Rob Ninkovich at ends with Long and a plethora of second year talent chomping at the bit for playing time - and better on the interior with Knighton beefing up the rotation at nose tackle while Kearse and Kuhn offer competition to Alan Branch and Dominique Easley at the under-tackle.

Combine that with the already more-than-impressive back seven in the Big Nickle, and the Patriots have given offensive coordinators many reasons to be up nights.

Free Agency Vs. The Draft - Possibilities For The Patriots On The Offensive Line

The New England Patriots offensive line is built to run the ball.

Unfortunately, given the difficulties the offense had last season with injuries and suspect play calling, not many in the media or in the fan base are willing to concede this fact, nor are they willing give the big uglies a free pass for what was viewed as very erratic pass protection.

And why should they? After all, quarterback Tom Brady found himself on his back more than an escort during Mardi Gras, as speed rushers pummeled him from the edges and bull rushers pounded him up the gut.

But here's the thing, and there's really no getting around it: the offense became so one dimensional in the second half of the season with a myriad of injuries among the "skill" positions that most times, the opposing defenses simply loaded the box, overwhelming the line and daring Brady to beat them over the top with single coverage on his pass catchers.

Mason blocking for Dion Lewis

Sheer numbers dictates that the line would have issues - given that it was normally the starting five trying to hold back a wave of seven or eight rushers on every play - and injuries among the line itself made that task all the more daunting, as left tackle Nate Solder missed the majority of the season with a torn biceps muscle...

...and injuries to every single starter at one point or another contributed to the fact that the Patriots used an unimaginable 37 different line combinations trying to find one that could protect the franchise signal caller. Altogether, the Patriots used five left tackles, five left guards, two centers, seven right guards and five right tackles.

Their thirteen different starting lineups in 16 games was an NFL high for the season and the most the Patriots have ever incurred since statistics for that kind of thing were begun, so it is generally accepted and understood among those who pay attention to such things that New England's offensive line was in flux all season long.

Curiously, the Patriots play calling countered all of the skill position injuries and flux along the line by asking the linemen to pass protect on two out of every three plays instead of seeking balance to counter the aggression of the pass rush.

Yes, it is understood that the hip injury to lead back LeGarrette Blount left the team without a true, experienced power back for the last three games of the season, but with Brandon Bolden, Joey Iosefa and James White on the roster - not to mention late-season pick up Steven Jackson - there should have been enough in the backfield to at least try to maintain so semblance of balance.

But in the post-season, the Patriots almost completely abandoned their running game, handing the ball to their backs just seven times against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional round, and 14 times in the AFC Championship game.

That is not enough.

*****************************

The New England Patriots have been to the AFC Championship game for five consecutive seasons, resulting in two trips to the Super Bowl and one World Championship which, for statistical purposes places them on the Mendoza line, at .200 success rate.

Now, fans of many teams would take that any day of the week and twice on Sundays, but the Patriots have built a culture that thrives on winning - to the point that anything less than hoisting the Lombardi Trophy is grounds for a CIA-style grilling and the abject calling out of assorted scapegoats.

There were no such issues at the beginning of the Patriots' dynastic magic, as they went three for three in conference title games and in Super Bowls, winning three world championships in four seasons. Those teams were not flashy and the only thing remotely stylish about them were the glitter of the three trophies.

Those teams valued substance over style, balance over brazenness and fundamentals over flamboyance - in short, they were all old school tough,something that has been lost on the Patriots' offense since former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis left after the 2004 championship season.

For example, back in the 2003 AFC Championship game, the Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts by countering their high-style, big play offense by punching them in the mouth, leading the media and fans everywhere to label the Colts "soft"and that they ran a "finesse" scheme - and those things were not said in a positive manner.

Contrarily, the Patriots offense was smashmouth, physical. They ranked 17th in the NFL in total offense and featured a nice balance between pass (52%) and run (48%), with big bruising back Antowain Smith and tough as nails change-of-pace back Kevin Faulk accounting for nearly 1400 yards between them, while averaging a meager 3.4 yards per carry...

...but Weis, being old school, kept feeding them the rock. What's the old saying, "Three yards and a cloud of dust"? Weis kept the offense balanced because he knew that the running game, no matter the success rate, offset the aggressiveness of any defense and kept the element of surprise viable throughout any given game.

And the greatest beneficiary of balance? Right, the big uglies.

Matt Light was the only big name on an otherwise anonymous unit that started names like Hochstein, Koppen, Andruzzi and Ashworth. Quarterback Tom Brady was merely average, with only 3600 yards passing, throwing for 23 touchdowns and getting picked off 12 times - yes, Brady was merely average because he didn't need to be the Brady that we've seen carry the offense for the past decade.

Brady was only marginally better in 2004, throwing for 3700 yards, 28 td's and 14 picks. This time, however, Andruzzi and Ashworth were replaced on the right side by the even more obscure Steven Neal and Brandon Gorin - and the percentages between run and pass actually switched places from the previous season and newly signed Corey Dillon stomped through opposing defenses for 1600 yards at a clip of 4.7 yards per carry.

In these seasons, the Patriots won back-to-back championships by being more physical than the other guys, something that has been lost through time and attrition.

Since, New England has been to seven conference championship games, but winning just three and taking home one lonely Lombardi Trophy, being pushed around in the process as the Patriots offense became that finesse squad that the teams' fans used to insult the Colts for being. Sure, the Patriots were an elite offense, finishing each season since 2005 in the top ten and tops in the league three times, but what difference does any of that make if there isn't a trophy accompanying them?

Since Dillon retired, the Patriots have gone through backs that were just good enough, as the power running game ceased to be anything more than a curious afterthought in an offense that featured elite pass catchers such as Moss, Welker, Brown, Hernandez, Edelman and Gronkowski.

In fairness, Belichick has tried to improve the personnel in the backfield by drafting power back Stevan Ridley and passing back Shane Vereen in 2011 to bring some relevance back to the ground game, and even brought in 250 pound LeGarrette Blount to lead the team in carries the past couple of seasons, but it's time to bump that notion up to an even higher level...

...and Belichick has by investing heavily in the offensive line in the past two drafts, bringing in the best two drive blockers in each draft, three of whom are with the team in a starting capacity as center Bryan Stork is flanked by his former Florida State teammate Tre Jackson at right guard and athletic Shaq Mason at left guard forming the nucleus of a ferocious wall blocking interior, joining behemoth book end tackles Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer.

Solder is a former college tight end who is a better pass blocker than run blocker - which is to be expected for the man in charge of protecting Brady's back side - but the rest of those fellas are purely nasty drive blockers who were forced into pass pro-heavy game plans, ignoring the ghosts of championships past that saw Weis, Smith and Dillon maintain balance on offense, regardless of rate of success for the run.

That is what the Patriots' version of the Erhardt-Perkins offensive philosophy begs for and maybe, just maybe, this is the season where we will see the Patriots' turn back the clock and allow their drive-blocking linemen to do what they do best, which is jack the opposing run defense right in the teeth.

Especially with the addition of former Cardinals' guard Jonathan Cooper and Bears' tight end Martellus Bennett to the roster on successive days earlier this week, which signals an end to the finesse football that the Patriots have been playing since their dynasty days and ushers in a smashmouth style of ball that serves the talent along the line of scrimmage very well.

In that respect, there isn't much that needs tweaking among the starting five, but with Vollmer and Solder coming up on the expiration of their contracts, the thought with the offensive line looks to the future - to projects coming out of college on the second and third days who will be ready to assume larger roles next year rather than now.

Depth is what the line needs, though the current depth encountered the same long odds of holding back the tidal wave of pass rushers as the starters last season, and are not nearly as bad as they looked at times - but that doesn't mean there aren't better prospects coming out of college in 2016.

Offensive linemen are generally considered the safest selections in the early stages of any draft, but there are exceptions, though they are few and far between - and the Patriots happen to have a living, breathing example of how things can go sideways with a top draft pick, as they acquired guard Jonathan Cooper along with a second round draft pick from the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for defensive end Chandler Jones on Tuesday.

Cooper is an enigma, selected seventh overall in the 2013 draft by the Cardinals - and after a myriad of injuries derailed his debut, he has been just a guy, being benched a couple of times last season. It remains to be seen if a change of scenery can inspire Cooper, as in college he was an elite drive blocker with some pass protection issues, but this was a really inexpensive way to find out if Cooper can contribute as a swing guard.

At least it's inexpensive until the first week in May, when Belichick has to decide whether or not to pick up an insane $11 million team option for 2017. That's not going to happen, given Cooper's long-standing "bust" status, though a restructure could ensure that he at least gets a chance to compete in camp.

At worst, Cooper is an upgrade over incumbent swing guard Josh Kline, and at best will unseat Tre' Jackson at right guard, but the real issue with the line - the one-dimensional offense itself - has already been addressed resoundingly by the Patriots' free agency blitz,

The Patriots followed up the Cooper deal on Wednesday by trading a fourth round draft choice to Chicago in exchange for tight end Martellus Bennett, a move that not only upgrades the weapons stock in the passing game, but also positively impacts the offensive line.

Bennett is an accomplished run blocker, as is All-World tight end team mate Rob Gronkowski. giving the Patriots the option to go exclusively with two-tight end sets as part of five wide formations (02 Personnel where the Patriots are concerned), one back (12 Personnel) or 2 back (22 Personnel) sets, regardless of down and distance...

...without sacrificing a "skill" position on a swing tackle, which Belichick has employed for the past few seasons as a sixth offensive lineman to hopefully find the solution to their run blocking woes, and the results have been mixed. But with Bennett aboard to team with Gronkowski, the opposition will have to tough time determining what kind of play is coming at them when the Patriots don't have to substitute to open up another chapter of the playbook.

All of a sudden, the offensive line isn't five matadors any longer in pass protection - not to mention that running lanes will be more readily available to whomever they choose to be their Bell-cow. The line is suddenly doing what they were built to do.

So, is there is still a need for the Patriots along the line? Backing up the starting five are the aforementioned Cooper, who can play both guard positions, Kline, who is undersized but scrappy, and perhaps the line's best kept secrets, swing tackle LaAdrian Waddle and center David Andrews. Waddle is a pure left tackle who has the talent to eventually take over on Brady's blind side if Solder departs after this season. Vollmer is in his contract season as well, so there probably is a need to at least look at the tackle in the draft.

But even the need there is overblown, as Marcus Cannon and Cam Fleming has done spot duty on both sides, with varying degrees of success.

Andrews is interesting. He has virtually no position versatility and will live or die on the pivot, but he did such an excellent job filling in for Stork, who started the season on the IR with a return designation, that there are some that feel that Stork would be better used as a guard or even as a tackle, as he played both in college in addition to center.

Last season, Belichick even started Stork as an emergency right tackle, and he held his own despite the relative inexperience.

What all of this adds up to is that Belichick will probably draft a developmental tackle in the mid or late rounds and bring a few more linemen in as rookie free agents, but with the log jam on the interior, the incumbent depth at tackle and a switch in philosophy on the offense to a heavy-base set to promote the all-important balance, there is no need to spend early draft capital when there is such an abundance of both heft and skill.

Patriots Deal Jones To Cards, Shed Cap Dollars, Late-Season Slumps

Chandler Jones has 36 sacks in 55 career games.

That's quite a feat these days, what with the National Football League playing in an era where offensive tackles are athletic and violent and can usually match good defensive ends punch for punch in the trenches, so what Jones was able to accomplish through the first four years of his career was nothing if not impressive.

But stats are so very deceiving. 36 sacks in 55 games is nothing to sneeze at, yet pro Football Focus rated him as the 25th best pass rusher in his rookie year, 70th in an injury-marred sophomore campaign, 29th in 2014 and just 40th last season despite receiving his first Pro Bowl nod. How could they have rated him so low?

The answer may lie in how he performed in the most tense of moments - late-season contests and in the playoffs - where the best of the best rise to the occasion.

It's called being clutch, coming up with the big play in the critical situation and in football, where clutch means being in the right place at the most opportune of moments, Jones has lousy timing.

Chandler Jones was traded to the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon, and the reaction from the fan base was predictably terse, because most of what they see are those numbers 36 in 55, but a trip inside those numbers tells a story of how Jones disappeared off the face of the map in the most critical of times.

Jones started his career on the fast track, gathering up six sacks in the first eight games of his rookie season, only to get shut out of the final eight games of the regular season and both Patriots' playoff games.

2013 started out just as promising with 8.5 sacks in nine games, only to hit paydirt three more times that season. 2014 was a tough year for Jones as he played only 10 games - gathering 4.5 sacks in seven games before a hip injury kept him out of the next seven games, only to see 1.5 sacks in the final three regular season games, but did manage a sack against Seattle in the Super Bowl.

Last season was his best, though, as he raced out to the league lead with 10.5 sacks in his first nine games, then fell off a cliff in collecting just two more for the team down the stretch. For those keeping score, that means that Jones generated 29.5 sacks combined in the first halves of each of his four seasons of professional football, and only 6.5 in the second halves of those seasons. Combined.

Playoffs? In nine career playoff games, Jones has two sacks.

Now, this is not meant to disparage the legacy of Chandler Jones. He is a phenominal athlete and one of the best pure pass rushers in the game, statistically speaking - but that's all he is, and that's all Arizona gets and, fortunately for them, that's all they need out of Jones.

Jones goes from New England's 4-2-5 Big Nickle alignment to Arizona's traditional 3-4, where he is already listed as weakside linebacker on the Cardinals' depth chart, and all they will want him to do is to get after the quarterback - and probably just on pure passing downs as they attempt to break his habit of wearing down late in the season by not asking him to set the edge in the running game, something he is loathe to do in the first place.

No? When Jones is manning the weak side edge on running downs, the opponent is rushing for well over five yards per carry, while those numbers drop significantly for those same teams when they rush up the middle (3.4 ypc) and to the strong side (3.2ypc).

Look, Jones is a pure pass rusher, and that's what the Cardinals will focus him on. They found a way to make Dwight Freeny look like his old disruptive self last season, so perhaps with the way that Bruce Ariens' defense attacks in layers, Jones could have a huge year.

I hope so. We all hope so. Jones is well liked and forever a part of Patriots' lore, but he is gone and all that head ball coach Bill Belichick is left with is $5.5 Million in liquid cap space and a solid gold second round draft picks that could end up being the talisman for Trader Bill to move up the draft board and pick up an elite targeted athlete in an area of true need...

...and we're talking having the ability to move up to the top of the second round, where there is sure to be first round talent still on the board - say someone like a Derrick Henry, or a Will Fuller or a Noah Spence may still be in draft limbo.

Or they could just keep the draft picks as they are and go heavy in the middle rounds where the true value in any Belichick draft lies, as the Patriots now hold two picks in the second round, two in the third round, one fourth rounder, two sixth and two seventh rounders.

An example of how important this draft pick is lies in our own mock draft. At number 60 overall, we had the Patriots selecting Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard, then not picking again until the end of the third round where we projected them to take a running back (Jonathan Williams) and a linebacker (Scooby Wright) - but the additional second rounder changes things a bit in that names like Missouri linebacker Kentrell Brothers and Texas Tech offensive tackle Le'Raven Clark figure to still be available.

Not to mention that part of the Jones-to-Arizona deal involves the Patriots receiving a former top 10 draft selection of the Cardinals in offensive guard Jonathan Cooper, who has all of the physical tools to be an elite drive blocking load, but has been a colossal bust thus far in his time in the NFL. If a change of scenery turns out to be just what the doctor order for Cooper to realize his potential in New England, then the Patriots certainly got the best of this deal.

But that is what is known as future earnings. Right now all anyone needs to know is that Chandler Jones is gone, replaced on the roster by a tenured veteran who is looking for a ring in the twilight of his career, and that Belichick has five million additional dollars to work with along with much coveted high draft capital.

And if anyone can make those kinds of circumstances work, it is surely the Dark Master...