2020 NFL Draft: With Brady Gone, Belichick Looks Toward Building Power-Based Offense

Previously published on our sister blog, Mainely Patriots

April 10, 2020

4:20am, Lewiston, Maine

The departure of Tom Brady means the end of an era for the New England Patriots - or does it?

Of course, it means the end of the Brady sub-era, but with head coach Bill Belichick still in control of the team, the Belichickian Era is still in play, and it is promising the most interesting offseason for the Patriots in the past two decades.

Interesting for no other reason than now with Brady out of the way, Belichick can finally build his team from the ground up, surrounding the bare-bones roster with meat of his choosing, with a chance to put to rest, once and for all, the argument of whether Belichick made Brady or if Brady made Belichick and, at the same time, run his offense according to how he's built it over the past three years.

With Brady under center, the Patriots' offense was at his whim. Sure, Belichick was in charge and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels called the plays, but the concept-based system in place that Brady was the master of, McDaniels may have had the control of the personnel groupings and the requisite corner of the playbook at his disposal, but each concept sent in had half-a-dozen route combinations and twice as many audibles available that only Brady had control of.

And those numbers are probably conservative, but it still illustrates that when Belichick's product was on the field, it was Brady and not him who controlled what resource Brady used - and for the aforementioned past three seasons, the resources were became increasingly incompatible to the offense that he had run for the previous decade-and-a-half.

It was purposeful on Belichick's part. He had to prepare the franchise for life after Brady, and he thought that was going to be three years ago, when the situation dictated that he trade the heir-in-waiting in Jimmy Garoppolo to San Francisco - for what amounted to a substantial loss in his investment...

...all because team owner Bob Kraft and his meddling ways stepped in and forbade Belichick to deal away the quarterback whom Kraft considered one of his kids. To further exacerbate the situation, the San Francisco 49ers had already rejected Belichick's offer to deal Brady, but expressed a tremendous amount of interest in Garoppolo.

But no matter what actually occurred, Belichick stayed his course and started building his roster to make as seamless as possible the transition from Brady to whomever would eventually take over at quarterback - and since he knew that it would be close to impossible to find another pro-ready replacement with a similar skill set, his focus was on building a power-based scheme that would mitigate so much responsibility on said replacement.

So when Brady bitched and bristled last season about his supporting cast, he had reached his last straw with Belichick. Brady wanted weapons to win another title with before he inevitably left, while Belichick was sticking to his plan.

And now that Brady is officially gone, what Belichick now has control over is an offensive depth chart built for power football - which, if he goes forward under the same philosophy, his roster will be much bigger or offense, and that will obviously translate to the product on the field.

Not that he - not I, for that matter - isn't appreciative of all the Brady has helped this franchise accomplish. For example, ever since Garoppolo was traded, my wife has been bitching at me to take down the Brady Fathead that I have on the wall of our living room - but it is still there, along with all of the other Patriots and Bruins memorabilia.

Brady will be remembered fondly, and will always wear the moniker of the Greatest of all Time in my heart - but he will not be missed. The time is now for Belichick to pick up the pieces of the roster and truly build the franchise in his own image - and since football teams are built from the inside out, that begins with the offensive line.

Since selecting right guard Shaq Mason five years ago, Belichick has been stocking his offensive line with powerful run blocking specialists, and now that he doesn't have to appease Brady, he can finally use them for what he intended the entire time.

In this scenario, the line is set in every position except for right tackle, where incumbent Marcus Cannon is on his last legs and ripe for demotion to swing tackle duties. The depth behind him is ill-equipped to step in and wrestle the starting job away - and with salary cap space eaten up by dead money from Brady's last contract, bringing in a replacement via free agency is a dead dream, so Belichick will have to focus on the upcoming draft to upgrade and solidify the position.

So important is the right tackle position in the power blocking scheme that it wouldn't be surprising to see Belichick use his lone first-day selection to draft an upgrade, though he would probably have to trade up to the top-15 in the first round to snag the best right tackle in the draft.

The problem is that with no second-round pick to offer as incentive to other teams that select ahead of him, Belichick would be hard-pressed to find enough ammo to exchange with them to secure Louisville's 6' 7", 360 pound Mekhi Becton without mortgaging their future.

Becton would be worth the price to be paid, as despite being so large, he is still as nimble in pass protection as he is powerful in the running game. In pass protection, his wingspan makes it difficult for edge rushers to get around and bull rushers will find it nearly impossible to move him off his base - But his forte is run blocking, where he simply wipes out defenders and plows the row for runners.

He does need some instruction in regard to working in space on the second level, but the man is a difference-maker as a right tackle and could very well change the entire culture of the offensive line.

As good as Becton projects to be, Belichick just doesn't have the draft capital to make a trade-up without dealing away future draft picks, so he would be wise to trade his own first-round draft pick to move down into the second round, then use one of his three third-round selections to go after TCU's 6' 6", 330 pound Lucas Niang.

Powerful hands and violent intent are the hallmarks of Niang, who comes from the same program that produced Cannon a decade ago. Like Cannon, his specialty is run blocking, but he comes to the NFL with a more defined pass blocking package than Cannon possesses. His handwork is elite in both phases, but speed-to-power pass rushers will occasionally gain the edge of him in pass protection, as he relies more on strength and length to swallow up one-dimensional rushers.

That would have been an occasional problem with the stationary target Brady still under center, but becomes less so with a more mobile quarterback, second-year signal caller Jarrett Stidham being the odds-on starter at press time - though that could change drastically, especially if Belichick did indeed trade down and use his second rounder on one of the many quality quarterbacks coming out of college.

Either way, a mobile quarterback would precipitate the selection of Niang. In the running game, he is a pancake maker with the ability to climb the ladder and erase linebackers - A tremendous value if he's still available in the third round, as predicted.

Whichever route Belichick takes to select a right tackle, upgrading the position is a priority, and either Becton or Niang would join left tackle Isaiah Wynn, left guard Dan Thuney, center David Andrews and the aforementioned Mason to form a powerful run-blocking line that is also capable of protecting a more mobile quarterback.

The Art Of Football, Part 5: Young Offensive Line Helped By Balance In Play Calling, Health

The New England Patriots are absolutely and unequivocally loaded on offense.

There isn't a friend or foe of the team that will deny that they have a rotation of running backs built to create matchup issues all over the formation, a set of tight ends so monstrous and physical that they will dominate the seam and the red zone, and a receiving corps that is the most dangerously diverse in all of professional football...

Linemen Solder, Thuney and Andrews celebrate with Edelman, Brady

...and lest we forget that the entire kennel is led by perhaps the greatest quarterback who ever laced up a pair of cleats, who runs the unit with such grace and efficiency that they can substitute at whim while giving the opposition almost no chance to rest their weary warriors, a fascinating lesson on personnel rotation resembling a line change in hockey.

With such advantages all over the skill positions, there is no way that a defense can cover that many studs every single play of every game - sooner or later, they are going to burn you and there's nothing that anyone can do to prevent that, regardless of the quality of their secondary and linebacking corps.

The Patriots are just too good and there's just too many of them.

So the only realistic hope that any opposing defense is going to have in containing the Patriots' juggernaut is to load up on pass rushers and get to Brady before he can unload the ball.

Good luck with that.

Brady runs the Patriots system like a sniper posing as a chess master, spending mere seconds in the huddle to give his players a concept to align in so that he has twenty-plus seconds at the line of scrimmage to move them around like so many pawns, their motion creating an equal and opposite reaction by the defenders that gives Brady a pretty good idea where his mismatches are...

...so that once the ball is finally snapped, he knows exactly where he's going with it, wasting little time loading up and firing to virtually any point on the field.

Brady is decisive and has the snap in his release that bleeds confidence - something that came to the forefront in the final twenty minutes of the Super Bowl, but if there was one thing that really turned the game in the Patriots' favor, it was the protection that Brady received from his offensive line.

Truthfully, that was a mixture of tenacity, will and the sheer number of plays run by the Patriots offense taking it's toll on the Falcons' pass rushers, as they were exposed to 63 passing plays, the equivalent to running 63 ten-yard windsprints while pushing a 300 pound blocking sled - and with that type of volume, even the most well-conditioned of pass rushers are going to wear down.

Brady is protected by what Pro Football Focus proclaims as one of the up-and-coming offensive lines, a line that is defined by their youth, football intelligence and nastiness.  The folks at PFF rated the Patriots' offensive line number ten for their efforts in 2016, which is saying a hell of a lot considering that they were starting a rookie at left guard and a second-year undrafted free agent at center...

...not to mention bookend tackles who have had plenty of issues the previous couple of years and a second-year right guard that couldn't pass block to save his - or Brady's - life in his rookie campaign.

A lot of different things factored into the Patriots offensive line's improvement over the course of the season, but the biggest reason was simply gaining balance in the play calling, something that has obviously been recognized by Belichick and his staff as they have worked to add new dimensions to both the running and passing game in an attempt to continue the trend.

In 2015, the Patriots were thirtieth out of thirty-two teams in rushing offense, the balance lopsided in the favor of passing offense by a ratio of 63% - 37%.  Predictably, since the Patriots were not all-in on running the football, the opposition focused on getting to Brady instead of stopping New England's less-than-scary running attack, and Brady took the beating of his life.

In 633 drop backs, Brady was sacked an atrocious 38 times, and was pressured or hit on over 35% of his attempts otherwise - not including the playoffs, where the Denver Broncos beat him like he stole something, sacking him four times and hitting him twenty in what was a perfect encapsulation of the offense's entire season.

Last season, however, the Patriots set their line early by installing Cannon at right tackle with the powerful Mason flanking him on the interior and drafting North Carolina State's Joe Thuney to man left guard to complete what New England considers vital to keeping Brady upright, namely, the play action.

New England sports the most unique play action concept in the football world, pulling their guards and employing a sixth offensive lineman to hard-sell the run, causing the opposing linebackers to play downhill and vacate the second level, leaving both the seam and the intermediate crosser - staples of the Patriots' passing game - wide open, the concept isolating corners one-on-one with Brady's pass catchers.

The numbers back that up, as Brady put up the best completion percentage and passer rating in the NFL when invoking the play action at a deadly 72%, and a filthy 125.0, respectively - both far and away the best numbers of his career.

Of course, the play action will never work if the opposition doesn't have any reason to respect your running game, and the Patriots gave them plenty to respect in 2016 - and probably even more in 2017.

In 2015, the Patriots built an undefeated record through their first ten games despite a horrific series of injuries along their line as the play action off of the running game worked to keep Brady upright for the most part, and were even able to hold things together for a while after electric running back Dion Lewis was lost for the season in week 9...

...but they weren't able to overcome losing power back LeGarrette Blount's season-ending hip injury in week 14, as the yards per carry took a nose dive - and, subsequently, the Patriots' opponents had nothing to fear from the running game and concentrated on loading up the pass rush to get to Brady.

All of that makes what they were able to accomplish as a unit that much more impressive - impressive enough, even, to extend new contracts to right tackle Marcus Cannon and center David Andrews that will keep them in Foxborough for at least the next couple of years.

But as successful as Brady was in the play action with his running backs presenting one-dimensional skill sets that tipped off the defense as to what was coming, Belichick made sure that he supplemented  the running game by signing a couple of all-purpose backs, the threat of a run on any down sapping the aggressiveness of the opposition's pass rush.

This illustrates the fact that the entire offense has direct impact on the performance of the line. Play action is the single most important weapon in the arsenal, but is made possible only with the success of the running backs and with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels featuring them in the attack. The tight ends all are devastating run blockers and all can get loose up the seam, making it problematic for safeties to blitz without giving Brady a wide open target...

...and with receivers that can stretch the field in Cooks, Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell, that helps the line in the same capacity in that while they are stretching the field, Brady is firing off back shoulder throws and hitting those guys on dig routes, cutting the pattern short and showing their numbers to Brady.

When any of that happens, one can count to three and ball is out, usually with good results.

Along with balance, a lot of the improvement among the players is due to the in-your-face coaching style of line coach Dante Scarnecchia, while still more can be attributed to the players remaining healthy, which enabled them to become a cohesive unit - and still more can be attributed to them just growing into their positions, as there is no substitute for experience.

Take Cannon for example.  Long loathed by Patriots' fans due to his revolving door-style of pass protection, the Texas A&M product produced at such a level in 2016 that he earned second-team All Pro honors at right tackle, the result of the aforementioned benefits but mostly due to the fact that for the first time in his career, Cannon was able to call the position his, as it had been previously manned by Sebastian Vollmer and Cannon was his backup.

It also helped that right guard Shaq Mason experienced a second-year jump in production, more than holding his own in pass protection in addition to his elite status as a drive blocker in the running game. Typically, it is the powerful-yet-nimble-footed Mason that pulls to sell the run in the play action, with the tight end or the sixth offensive lineman pulling into the gap vacated by Mason to chip the pass rusher.

Andrews has become a trusted pivot, as his reputation as a nasty street fighter precedes him, and Thuney will be given every opportunity to improve on his deficiencies as a pass blocker this season, which was confirmed when Belichick virtually ignored the guard position in free agency and the draft, leaving a thin layer of depth when he released Tre Jackson and Chris Barker.

Solder is in a contract year, and is in a no-win situation.  If he plays well, New England will not be able to afford to keep him as a premier left tackle, not even with the franchise tag - but if he plays poorly, the writing will be on the wall that his performance down the stretch last season was an anomaly and that his skill is deteriorating.

Those scenarios don't lend themselves to Solder wearing a Patriots' uniform past 2017, and Belichick knows that, having drafted the mean and talented Antonio Garcia out of Troy, a developmental left tackle whom the team will groom for the position under the tutelage of Scarnecchia and is a lock to make the team, as veteran Michael Williams has been released...

...and to make room for sixth-round pick Conor McDermott, swing tackle LaAdrian Waddle may see his roster spot pulled out from underneath him - though McDermott could use a year on the practice squad to bulk up, his 6' 8", 310 pound frame and thin lower body needing the attention of a professional strength and conditioning coach.

McDermott certainly isn't ready to anchor against NFL pass rushers, and may never be, but his athleticism - he was named a finalist for the McDonald's All-American High School basketball team as a senior and was named Mr. Basketball in Tennessee the same season - and his elite knack for the cut block makes him a perfect sixth lineman, as he has the feet and the recoil in his hips to pull into gaps to clear out linebackers.

Veteran Cam Fleming holds that office currently, and was tendered at the original round (fourth) in restricted free agency which will earn him $1.8 million non-guaranteed in 2017 if he makes the squad, which doesn't preclude him from being shown the door if McDermott's athleticism wins out over Fleming's sheer size and power.

All of that said, the starting five are solid and the sixth lineman is well accounted for, but depth is very young.  If there is anything that is going to derail the Patriots' juggernaut offense, it is going to be injuries to the offensive line - even more devastating than in 2015 because of the inexperience of the depth...

"Boring" Patriots Stomp Rams With Workman Like Offense, Stout Defense

In all seriousness, the Los Angeles Rams were doomed from the second they stepped onto the field turf at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

On the very first Patriots' series, head ball coach Bill Belichick used all three of his running backs on a drive meant to destroy their morale and to put to sleep any notion that their defense was going to stop the New England offensive machine, forcing the Rams to bring their safeties up to help in run support which affected their seventh-ranked pass defense.

Passing backs Dion Lewis and James White lined up in the pony formation on the first play of the game - an alignment that we should see plenty of going forward - with Lewis taking a handoff and skittering to the left for four yards, then burly power back LeGarrette Blount took the next handoff for nine yards up the middle, then White replicated the production off left guard on the next play...

...and while the Patriots would have been content to rip off running plays for eight yards per carry and demoralize the Rams' run defense even further, they had to settle for a Blount 43-yard stomp to paydirt and an early 7-0 lead.

Settling, because the Patriots are all about methodically taking the opposition's will away, and really aren't given to the big play - for in reality, all the big play does is put your defense back out on the field without their proper rest, and they are not in that business.

The New England Patriots have to be the most boring team in the National Football League.

But that's not a bad thing, is it?

They don't have an explosive wide receiver that can break a game wide open - in fact their idea of a downfield passing game is finding a soft spot in the zone between the second level and the secondary. Their favorite passing play is a bubble screen, and they are thrilled when their power back cuts against the grain for four yards. They nickel and dime their way down the field, chewing up clock and before you know it, they've scored in the high twenties without you even realizing it.

They have a quarterback that runs his offense like he's a dispatcher at a public works facility.  They have a head coach who looks like you'd sooner see him in line at the Gut Truck outside a tire factory than you would on an NFL sideline. Their offensive coordinator is the young, hyper-active prodigy that needs to be reeled in and properly supervised while their defensive coordinator spouts off engineering jargon like most people casually chat.

None of them, from the owner to the 53rd man on the roster are people you would call the life of the party, except, of course, tight end Rob Gronkowski - but Gronk is no longer on the active roster, courtesy of a slipped disc in this back which has landed him on the injured reserved list though Blount has had his moments, primarily celebrating with the End Zone Militia after a touchdown

The New England Patriots, as a team, approach each week as a business proposition.  They practice and ply their craft each day, always looking to get better individually, but always buying into their now-famous axiom, "Do Your Job", motivated and compelled to achieve that most celebrated company motto.

Blount's thunder roll touchdown was a direct result of establishing a running game from the start.  When the Rams' saw that Blount was in the game, they naturally had to at least respect the possibility of the run, but more than that, the short passing game combined with early success in the run drew the defense close to the line of scrimmage...

...and when Blount approached the line, the bottleneck caused by so many defenders in the box enabled right tackle Marcus Cannon, fullback James Develin and tight end Martellus Bennett to seal off the edge against all eight defenders, leaving only the secondary to deal not only with with Blount's deceptive speed, but also his 6' 0", 250 pound frame, which replays show they wanted no part of.

To the credit of the Los Angeles coaching staff, they found a way to adjust to what New England was doing on offense and in the second half looked like a top-ten defense, but with only an anemic offense to hand the ball over to and facing a seventeen-point halftime deficit, the game was essentially over.

One didn't need a crystal ball to know what was about to happen to the Rams on offense. In the four games since their merciful bye week, the Rams' offense has scored a total of 19 points in the second half, and that includes a garbage time, last second touchdown against the Carolina Panthers four weeks ago.

Their running game, a strength last season, has been all but invisible this season and their passing game hasn't reached 200 passing yards in their last three games - and all of those trends would continue on a chilly Sunday afternoon in Foxborough.

As they always do, the Patriots' defense concentrated on stopping the Rams running game, hoping to make running back Todd Gurley's presence inconsequential, while trying to put more pressure on rookie quarterback Jared Goff than they've been able to since their own bye week - and the result was utter domination of the hapless Los Angeles offense.

New England held the Rams to a season low in rushing (36 yards), time of possession (22:03) and first downs (7) while limiting their passing game to their second-lowest output of the season by one yard (126 yards), picking off two Goff passes - both tipped balls, one by defensive end Jaball Sheard - and holding them to just 1 of 13 on third down conversions.

Their lone touchdown was, you guessed it, a garbage time, last-second toss from Goff to wide receiver Kenny Britt, but that couldn't mask the fact that the Patriots' defense forced eight punts - six of them of the three-and-out variety - and didn't allow the Rams to reach 100 yards in total offense until after the two minute warning in the final frame after holding them to just 26 total first half yards.

So, the Patriots' offense didn't have to do anything special, and they didn't.  It was just another day at the office.

Quarterback Tom Brady led a conservative, button-downed "attack", throwing 46 passes - completing 33 - for 269 yards, posting a yards per attempt a full three yards worse than his season average of 8.6. Some of that was a natural consequence of  calling an absurd amount of screen passes that the Rams were prepared for, but rare was the occasion that Brady put the ball up for more than a half a dozen yards.

The week before against the New York Jets, Brady was hobbled with a knee injury that made it so he had a tough time pushing off of his right leg, physics dictating that he would overthrow his receivers  with a high trajectory release. He barely got away with it against the Jets, but the Rams' secondary would probably have made him pay for those errant throws, so perhaps Brady's knee is still an issue and the game plan - including the arcane number of screen plays - was a result of that.

Whatever the case, wide receivers Julian Edelman and rookie Malcolm Mitchell accounted for more than half of those passing totals despite being caught up in the screen-fest themselves, but it was Chris Hogan who scored the Patriots only passing touchdown, a fourteen-yard, back shoulder beauty that turned out to be the game winner, putting New England up 14-0 early in the second quarter.

The rest of the game was a coming out party for struggling place kicker Stephen Gostkowski - who found his missing mojo, nailing four field goals right down the middle - and a tutorial on directional kicking by punter Ryan Allen and in punt coverage, as the Patriots' special teams help Rams' lightning quick returner Pharoh Cooper to four yards on three returns.

Patriots' fans who pine for an explosive deep threat or for someone to replace Blount are going to have to get used to seeing what we saw on Sunday for the rest of the season - a workman like, ball control effort on offense that averages 27 points per game, and a bend-but-don't-break defense that surrenders just 17 points per game, which thus far has resulted in a 10-2 record and having the team on the cusp on yet another AFC East division title.

If that's not good enough, a lighter bandwagon isn't going to hurt the company's bottom line...

Patriots' Offense Rounding Into Form Despite Bumps In The Road

Right tackle Cannon has not allowed a quarterback hit or sack in the last four games

 Bill Belichick has long said that what his teams look like around Thanksgiving is as good as they are going to get.  This Thanksgiving, however, his New England Patriots are experiencing things differently than in any season past.

On defense, they have jettisoned their most physically gifted player, Jamie Collins, presumably for not adhering to the Patriot Way, and have spent the last two games scrambling to find their groove without their pro bowl linebacker, while on offense, the team has been slowly stabilizing as they get players back into the fold after missing significant time with one issue or another.

The blue liners have the Big Nickel alignment to fall back on, but things are not that simple for an offense that was predicted to be a literal juggernaut.  Given those lofty projections and with six games left in the season, the Patriots sit at sixth in the league in both total offense and scoring - disappointing, but there are reasons.

And it isn't as if the Patriots haven't been efficient on offense, but there have been issues with continuity, as several members of the squad have either missed good chunks of time this season, or are currently shelved - or both. Tight end Rob Gronkowski missed the first three games of the season and is currently on the shelf and expected to miss his second consecutive game with a chest injury...

...while quarterback Tom Brady missed the first four games in Roger Goodell's dog house and electric passing back Dion Lewis came off the PUP list just two weeks ago and saw limited snaps in his first action of the season in last Sunday's win at San Francisco.  Essentially, Brady's internal clock is pretty much set to the second week of the season, if we count his fist four games as a sort of preternatural preseason.

Same with Gronkowski, and Lewis has just started his preseason - but the Patriots have proven that, unlike last season, this offense is capable of carrying them to the win column.

The best and most telling sign of this comes with the incredible balance that has become a calling card.  Last season and, indeed, for the past decade, balance on offense to the Patriots meant running the ball just enough to keep the threat of the run in the brains of the opposing pass rushers.

But this season, as the offense leaned on the running game to help the team compile a 3-1 record before Brady returned, they also received a real-life tutorial on the fundamental importance of the protracted usage of the running game. Indeed, the Patriots sport the sixth-ranked rushing game in the NFL, with power back LeGarrette Blount working on a career season where he is projected to end up with nearly 1300 yards and nineteen touchdowns.

Those yardage totals haven't been seen around Foxborough in a decade, and the number of touchdowns has never been approached, but the most amazing thing about it is that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has learned that his running game is - to quote coach Herman Boone - just like Novocaine: give it time, it always works.

To Patriots' fans, there aren't too many things more beautiful than watching their 250 pound running back cut through a hole and get loose on the second level,  but is equaled in beauty by Gronkowski smothering the ball with his huge hands while sprinting up the seam, Lewis displaying his video game-quality elusiveness, James White's subtle electricity, Martellus Bennett's hand fighting at the line of scrimmage, and etc., etc.

But something is amiss in Foxborough.  Gronkowski is most certainly out this Sunday when the Patriots travel to New Jersey to take on the hated Jets, while fellow tight end Bennett and Brady were listed as questionable on the Thanksgiving injury report and did not participate in practice - which is particularly troublesome for Brady, as he's dealing with a bum knee and hasn't practiced for the past two days...

...and while Brady has such a grasp of the offense that he was able to step right in and start dominating after serving his four-game suspension to start the season, missing a couple of practices isn't a good sign. Fortunately, there's a somewhat seasoned Jimmy Garoppolo waiting in the wings in case Brady can't go against the Jets.

It's a unique situation that far sighted head ball coach Bill Belichick can use to his advantage. Garoppolo has already shown that he has a keen grasp of the offense and that he has all of the tools required of an NFL signal caller, throwing for 500 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions while leading New England to two early-season wins - and if Garoppolo does indeed end up playing on Sunday, it just adds another length of game footage to an already decent film study to either entice quarterback needy teams in the offseason, or to give Patriots' fans solace in Brady's golden years.

So, worst case, Garoppolo at quarterback, a full complement of wide receivers and a backfield full of sick moves and "Blount" force are in store for the Jets, as the passing back combo of White and Lewis and the deep seam element provided by Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell can somewhat offset the loss of the two tight ends against the mediocre Jets' secondary.

Somewhat, because Patriots quarterbacks have targeted their tight ends with a full 40-percent of their pass attempts this season, and their passing backs - primarily White - another thirty percent.  So it remains to be seen if the wide receivers can have an immediate and forceful impact on an offense that has obviously gone heavy.

Of course, everything on offense is dependent on two critical factors - Brady getting the ball out of his hands and to the receivers as they make their breaks, and the offensive line - a unit that looks as if they have rounded into form and are playing their best ball at the right moment - giving him that time.

Led by - dare we say it? - right tackle Marcus Cannon, who hasn't surrendered a quarterback hit or sack in the past four games, the Patriots offensive line has very quietly become a cohesive unit that is getting better as the season progresses. In fact, if one were to look at the line in a purely statistical nature, the Patriots rank in the top 10 for the least quarterback hits surrendered (49, ranked 10th in the NFL) and sacks (20, ranked 9th).

Given those numbers, it isn't surprising that New England is ranked sixth in the league in passing, rushing, scoring and total offense, and has helped to introduce balance back into the Patriots' game plan.

Cannon and center David Andrews are both getting whispers of Pro Bowl notice, while left guard Joe Thuney has an inside track to making the league's All- Rookie team. Gigantic Cam Fleming has become a staple swing tackle and lines up as an eligible tight end on a good portion of snaps (When you ear the referee say "Number 71 is reporting as eligible, that's Fleming) and usually lines up on the weak side covering the outside shoulder of left tackle Nate Solder.

Which is purposeful as the veteran Solder has been the weakest link on the line in 2016 and has been the culprit in several negative plays for the Patriots' offense in the past two games, including a holding penalty that negated a lovely 35 yard Blount rumble for a touchdown against the 49ers.

With so much talent on the Patriots' offense, finding a left tackle in the draft or free agency this offseason is probably going to be priority-one, but that is a subject for another time.

As it stands, the Patriots certainly have enough on both sides of the ball to take the Jets, whom they play twice in the final six games - even if Brady and Bennett join Gronkowski on the skids - but with the suddenly resurgent Miami Dolphins just two games back and representing the season finale for New England, the AFC East has the tightest race it's seen in almost a decade...

...so every play counts, and every player is vital - and with a bevy of opportunists playing split wide, in the slot and in the backfield, there is no reason why the Patriots shouldn't come away with their eighth consecutive division title, and a decent shot at a first round bye.

Mail Call - Talking Running Game, Play Calling And The State Of The Offensive Line

Most football fans would take a running back who has averaged 4.6 yards per carry and has rushed for 4,000 yards during a six year career. Those numbers are not elite nor ground-breaking in any way, but they are solid.

Would a back with those kinds of numbers be welcome in New England?

How about a guy who also has doubled as a kick returner, compiling an elite 27.1 average on 22 career touches in that capacity?  How about the fact that this back gets better the more critical the situation, averaging 4.8 yards per carry on 76 career playoff carries and has found paydirt 38 times in his career?

Admit it, you'd love to have this running back in the Patriots backfield.

Well, you already do, and his name is LeGarrette Blount.

Many questions sent in for this particular mail call have been of the knee-jerk variety regarding the running back position and who the Patriots are going to bring in to replace the injured Dion Lewis and, not surprisingly, statements regarding their lack of confidence in Blount.

All anyone has to do who doesn't believe that Blount is vital to the success of the Patriots' offense is just look at what happened to said offense when Blount went down for the year in the Texans game.  For the season, the Patriots averaged a pathetic 3.7 yards per carry, but were averaging 4.0 before Blount went down and an even 3.0 after he was finished for the season...

...and in the playoffs that dipped to an abysmal 2.6 yards per carry.  Needless to say, the Patriots' running game didn't scare anyone after Blount went on the shelf, particularly in the playoffs, when both the Chiefs and Broncos sent their pass rushers without prejudice, overwhelming an offensive line who didn't have time to anchor in their stances, leaving quarterback Tom Brady a human piñata.

Could another back do the same job as Blount, or better?  Sure, but how many of those backs could step right into the Patriots' complex concept-based scheme and be as effective?

The answer is, not many.

Let's give some love to Blount.  He's proven that he can carry the load, and the opposing defenses respect the Patriots' running game when he's in the lineup.

Now on to this week's questions:


Given the reported injury statuses of Vollmer and Mason, what sort of early season performance can we expect from the offensive line?  How do these injuries change how the Pats scheme in the run/pass game? - Darel (Utah via Foxborough Free Press)

There is no denying that the injuries are disappointing from the standpoint of cohesion and technique in pass protection, but not all is lost.

The Patriots run a "slide protection" scheme, meaning that on one side of the line, the tackle, guard and center will move in unison in the same direction, with a power step directly lateral (with no ground given), slide his other foot to match the first step , then thrust forward with the third step, delivering the initial punch to rock the defensive lineman.  The linemen on the other side, usually the strong side, will take on rushing defenders man-to-man, with a back stepping up into the gap created by the two concepts, taking on blitzers.

It is far too complicated for the space we have here, but it goes without saying that it takes chemistry between all of the linemen to pull this off - and it is exactly why Cannon taking over for Vollmer makes the most sense, for he knows the scheme inside and out.  What helps the cohesion of the linemen is having capable tight ends or a tight end and a sixth offensive lineman, usually on the weak side.

Now, you may hear throughout Patriots' games the referee announce "Number 71 is eligible", which means that swing tackle Cam Fleming is lined up on the weak side, leaving the strong side to one or more tight ends, and Fleming's job is to help the left tackle control speed rushers, while one or both tight ends release into the pattern, one of them chipping the edge rusher back into the path of the strong side tackle.

What all of this means is that the way that the Patriots use their tight ends and swing tackles takes a lot of pressure off of the linemen - kind of like a cornerback having safety help over the top - leaving them free to play with raw power and technique, so the state of the line as it is isn't as dire a situation as it would be with most teams.

The same goes for the running game, where one of the tight ends or the eligible lineman will pull into the gap to lead the back through.

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If Lewis does, indeed, start the regular season on PUP, does White have the chops to be productive enough in the running game to be more than just a receiving threat? - Darel (Utah via Foxborough Free Press)

You know, White definitely has the ability in the running game.  We saw it in college and we've seen just a smattering of it this preseason.  The thing is with White is that in college, he had Wisconsin's massive wall blocking scheme to run behind and in the pros, it's been the zone blocking scheme that relies on backs cutting against the grain into holes created by pulling guards and by tight ends with wham blocks.

We've seen his subtle style in space, so it's entirely possible that he could do the same thing between the tackles.

More than anyone else, White could use a better blocking cast than the one we saw last season.  The players were capable, but when the team had to use 26 different line combinations, including 13 different starting lineups, continuity and precision in the running game is tough to accomplish.  If the Patriots can find the right line combination - hell, just stick with one - White can be productive in the running game.

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We all know we get one of each, so who do you think is the surprise keeper and who is the surprise cut? - Ken (New Jersey via Pats Fans Pre-Belichick)

In all honesty, I had Bryan Stork listed as a cut, but upon waking on Wednesday morning, I discovered that Belichick had beat me to the punch.  Again.

I don't know how much of a surprise it's going to be, but three-tech tackle Anthony Johnson has played his way into a roster spot on the defensive line and I also believe that Elandon Roberts has shown well enough to create a niche for himself along side Kamu Grugier-Hill among the linebackers.  Cornerback Jonathan Jones could make the team as well.

The surprise cuts shouldn't be all that surprising either, as Aaron Dobson should get a pink slip along with a plethora of other receivers.  Clay Harbor is going to have to have a huge couple of weeks to make the team, and at this point I wouldn't be surprised to see Jonathan Cooper get the axe.

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Is Cannon the answer? - Todd (Connecticut via Pats Fans Pre-Belichick)

This is the season when Cannon finally grasps the right tackle position and owns it.  Read more here.

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With Vollmer and Mason out, what do you project the starting lineup to look like and do you expect Scar to go with a set unit or are they destined to rotate this season? - Rick (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada via Pats Fans Pre-Belichick)

Nate Solder, Joe Thuney, David Andrews, Josh Kline and Marcus Cannon.  Of course, the right side is a question mark, especially at guard where Mason was set to dominate, and for them to go with the undersized Josh Kline would be a major step down in the running game - but the alternatives are limited. Ted Karras is a mauler and an interior street fighter, but doesn't handle speed rushers all that well.

Jonathan Cooper is an elite talent that would easily be considered the starter, but he is a china shop on a field full of bulls.  Tre Jackson would need to come off the PUP in the next couple of days to have any shot of regaining his right guard spot from last season.

That leaves Kline and Karras as the available guards.  Look for Karras to wedge his way into the lineup at some point, as the guy is potent in the slide protection scheme.

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Do the Patriots have any plans on returning to the UK anytime soon? - Keith (Belfast, Northern Ireland via Pats Fans Pre-Belichick)

Unfortunately, the NFL doesn't have a rotating schedule or anything that might give us an idea of when the Patriots might return to the land of Fish and Chips, no set formula, per se.  About the best I can do for you on that front is to forward information regarding this year's international series games, for which there are three contests in the United Kingdom.

Week 4 - Colts vs. Jaguars at Wembley Stadium
Week 7 - Giants vs Rams at Twickenham Stadium
Week 8 - Redskins vs Bengals at Wembley Stadium

Patriots' owner Robert Kraft is a huge proponent for putting a team in London, and it has been a dream of many at NFL headquarters for a long time, so there's that...

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Will Bill trade with the Browns for Josh Gordon? - James (Canada via Pats Fans Pre-Belichick)

Very doubtful, James.  The Patriot Way cuts him off at the pass.

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Is there any area that concerns you about this team? - Daniel (Maryland via The Belichickians)

Honestly, no - at least not on the field.  Allow me to elaborate:

"There were two main issues that plagued the running back corps last season, and both needed to be addressed in the offseason.  The first being addressing the lack of tangible depth, as New England had no one to carry the load after they lost both scatback Dion Lewis and power back LeGarrette Blount, rendering the offense one-dimensional.

No one needs to tell Patriots' fans how ugly that was, nor how frustrating it was to watch the offensive line being overwhelmed like a earthen levee trying to hold back a tsunami, the lack of a running game allowing Patriots' opponents to load up their pass rush, knowing that Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had next-to-nothing to attack the middle of the defense with.

The second issue was that McDaniels has a bad habit of ignoring the tenets of the offensive philosophy by passing to score, then passing to try and win - as evidenced by the Patriots logging the lowest number of running plays in the history of the franchise.

Some of that had to do with the injuries, but the pace was already set way before Blount went down with three games remaining on the Patriots' schedule - and that can't happen again if New England hopes to ascend to the pinnacle of professional football." - Foxborough Free Press, August 7, 2016

Those who follow this blog already know that I have a pretty big problem with the way that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels handles the running game.  I could go on and on about his track record in the second halves of games, relying on the short passing game to eat the clock when they have a running game for that very purpose.

My concern is for balance on offense, and the answer to that rests solely on the narrow shoulders of McDaniels.

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How many guys look to start the season on PUP?  There are many banged up players who need time to recover, and none bigger than Danny Amendola. - Daniel (Maryland via The Belichickians)

Well, the number can't be any more than what they started camp with, per NFL rules, as a player has to be on the preseason PUP in order to be eligible for the regular season PUP.  That said, there are only four players still on the Patriots' PUP: Amendola, Tre Jackson, Sebastian Vollmer and Dion Lewis - the latter two shelved for at least the time period that the PUP runs for, which is until after week six of the season.

Jackson is recovering from a knee procedure and has been seen infrequently around Patriots' Place, so his status appears to be in doubt, while Amendola has been a participant in conditioning drills separate from the rest of the team, but appears to be running well and is likely the only player remaining on the PUP that could be activated by the team prior to the regular season.

But should they activate him, or save him until eligible to be activated to ensure full health?  The answer to that is found in the depth chart, where he would be buried and no better than the fourth receiving option behind Gronkowski, Bennett, Edelman and maybe even James White, so it may be that Belichick plays it safe with him and keeps him on the PUP.

Let's call it money in the bank.

For Patriots' Marcus Cannon, Vollmer Injury Opens Opportunity

When word surfaced on Sunday that starting right tackle Sebastian Vollmer had undergone shoulder surgery and was done for the season before it even started, the news was met with gloom by New England Patriots' fans, because they saw what happened last season with the offensive line and injuries.

And though many still blame the offensive line for what happened in 2015, the truth of the matter is that injuries to running backs Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount forced the Patriots into a one-dimensional air show that left the offensive line on their heels and at the mercy of opposing pass rushers, as defensive coordinators sent everything they had after Brady, knowing that the Patriots had no running game to counter their aggression.

Of course, there were injuries along the offensive line, but none so debilitating that they couldn't have been overcome, and even if New England would have been healthy along the line, the sheer numbers that opposing defenses sent against them would have dictated similar results.  But that doesn't ease the minds of the fans or the media - and rightfully so, as whatever it was that happened last year wasn't going to cut it in 2016.

But the Vollmer injury impacts the offensive line in ways that the season-ending injury to left tackle Nate Solder didn't last season.  Vollmer filled in for Solder on the left for most of the season, but Solder just doesn't have that kind of versatility - so the onus on the strong side falls on sixth-year swing tackle Marcus Cannon...

...scary stuff to most, as Cannon has suffered the scourge of fans and media alike for nearly his entire career in Foxborough due to what has been seen as ineffective play, but a deeper look inside the player and the scheme eschews the traditional thoughts on Cannon's play.

Hammered by cancer coming out of college, Cannon sat out the bulk of his rookie season on the team's NFI (Non-football Injury) list, returning in week 10 and giving coaches and fans a reason to be optimistic about the gargantuan tackle's prospects as a fill-in for starting right tackle Sebastian Vollmer, who was struggling with back problems.

A first-round talent, Cannon slid down draft boards after irregularities in his blood work during the 2011 NFL combine revealed he was suffering from non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, many feeling that his career was in jeopardy and that he probably wouldn't be drafted at all, despite his glowing scouting reports...

...many of which called him one of the more athletic tackles coming out of college which, when coupled with a massive 6' 5", 356 pound frame had Cannon listed as one of the top offensive linemen in the draft - all of which seemed to make Cannon the steal of the draft when New England General Manager Bill Belichick selected Cannon in the fifth round, and particularly when Cannon made it back to the field after completing treatment for the malady.

Unfortunately for both Cannon and the Patriots, life as a swing tackle saw him filling in at guard and tackle on both sides of the line throughout the following seasons, and never being able to settle in at just one position.  Most saw this as a failure on Cannon's part, but there is a reason why he was always the first player called upon when an injury occurred on the line.

But as a journeyman along the line, Cannon has never really been able to settle in on just one position, and has had to adjust his skill set to fit the need of the team - which is not how Belichick likes to handle players as a coach, as he prefers to add a player's distinctiveness to the collective rather than force a square skill set to fit into a round hole.

For example, at the start of the 2014 Super Bowl season, Cannon started the season at left guard, the thinking being that his massive frame and powerful anchor would help keep opposing pass rushers out of quarterback Tom Brady's face, but he struggled when teams lined up faster three-tech tackles against him, as chronic issues with his right foot wouldn't allow him to plant and drive when the rusher would go to his outside shoulder...

...and after three games of watching Brady getting planted up the middle, Cannon was reverted back to his swing tackle role, as Josh Kline and Ryan Wendell filled in the remainder of the season - this after all of Cannon's pro experience was at the tackle positions.

Many were down on Cannon after that episode, but he had fans in the people who counted the most, in Belichick and offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia.

"Love his physicality, love his passion for the game." Scharnecchia raved of Cannon, adding, "He's a smart kid, a great kid to coach, driven to be very good. I think he's a really good tackle. I like what he's doing, I like how he's doing it.  Every day is a growth for him. He's a special kid, He's a starting quality player."

But 2015 brought more struggles, as a season ending injury to starting left tackle Nate Solder and his primary backup, LaAdrian Waddle, in the same game pressed Cannon into service on Brady's blind side.  Cannon re-injured his right foot in the following game - a nasty case of turf toe - and was out of the lineup for a month before returning on the left against Buffalo and getting beat like he stole something before being replaced by Vollmer.

His struggles on the left upon his return were encapsulated by NBC announcer Cris Collinsworth during the game, who pointed out that Cannon was getting beat around the edge because of the same reason he couldn't handle the left guard spot earlier in his career, the chronic issues with his right foot that wouldn't allow him to plant and anchor properly.

Belichick moved him back to the right, where he stayed the rest of the year and started to grow into the position, gaining praise from Belichick, who said he played his finest game as a Patriot in the divisional playoff win over Kansas City.

So Cannon is a right tackle.  His turf toe is healed and he's looked good-to-very good in the first two preseason games - a lot of it due to concentrating solely on the position mixed in with the return of Scarnecchia after a two-year hiatus, who preaches consistency and isn't a big fan of moving players around.

But one thing is certain: Cannon performing well and finally grasping a position for his own can only help the Patriots' offense.

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.