I think most people on this board, if not nationwide, see the Pats' OLine as their biggest question mark right now, and maybe their biggest weakness, at least on the offensive side of the ball. This is especially odd and disconcerting as it certainly appeared to be a rock-solid strength heading into the year. So I thought a thread to discuss it specifically would be valuable. I'm really hoping that our O-Line gurus can weigh in on the nuts and bolts.
My initial takeaway from the pre-season is that the first thing BB should do is tell Patricia that he has one job: the offensive line. Take any play-calling responsibilities off his lap. I read an interview with Matt Cassell about the Pats' struggles this pre-season, and in addition to him saying that the offense looks pretty similar, barring some possible terminology changes, to the one that he was running 14 years ago. But what I found particularly enlightening was his comment about play calling. He said that when he was there, it was never solely the de facto play-caller making all the decisions, that Bill would chime in or that (and this is the pertinent point) that Josh would often ask Scar for his thoughts, since Scar's focus was purely on the o-line. In addition to that, I feel like we've seen thru the years many examples of the O-Line coach talking to the O-Line on the sideline while the OC talks to the QB or maybe to the QB and receivers. Bottom line, I think they need to give Patricia just the one focus and tell him "DO YOUR JOB."
My other personal sense from this offseason is that the Pats have to settle on their starting 5 and hammer on reps. These 5 guys need to know exactly how each of the unit will act and react in every situation. I fear that is it still not clear to anyone, either on the team or the rest of us, who is playing RG or RT. And that is assuming (and I think it's fairly safe to assume) that the starters will include Brown at LT, Strange at LG, and Andrews at C. But I wouldn't bet my kids' lives on those either.
Finally, I think the depth guys are fairly uncertain as well. Cajuste, Herron, Ferentz, Sherman, Hambright, Murray, Durant, et al. Who makes the 53? Who is active on gamedays?
My initial takeaway from the pre-season is that the first thing BB should do is tell Patricia that he has one job: the offensive line. Take any play-calling responsibilities off his lap. I read an interview with Matt Cassell about the Pats' struggles this pre-season, and in addition to him saying that the offense looks pretty similar, barring some possible terminology changes, to the one that he was running 14 years ago. But what I found particularly enlightening was his comment about play calling. He said that when he was there, it was never solely the de facto play-caller making all the decisions, that Bill would chime in or that (and this is the pertinent point) that Josh would often ask Scar for his thoughts, since Scar's focus was purely on the o-line. In addition to that, I feel like we've seen thru the years many examples of the O-Line coach talking to the O-Line on the sideline while the OC talks to the QB or maybe to the QB and receivers. Bottom line, I think they need to give Patricia just the one focus and tell him "DO YOUR JOB."
My other personal sense from this offseason is that the Pats have to settle on their starting 5 and hammer on reps. These 5 guys need to know exactly how each of the unit will act and react in every situation. I fear that is it still not clear to anyone, either on the team or the rest of us, who is playing RG or RT. And that is assuming (and I think it's fairly safe to assume) that the starters will include Brown at LT, Strange at LG, and Andrews at C. But I wouldn't bet my kids' lives on those either.
Finally, I think the depth guys are fairly uncertain as well. Cajuste, Herron, Ferentz, Sherman, Hambright, Murray, Durant, et al. Who makes the 53? Who is active on gamedays?
