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The O-Line, Are they the real issue?


Deadpulse

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With all the talk of how bad the defense had been through the first 4 weeks, the offense struggled against the Bucs week 5 and a lot of it had to do with the lack of protection afforded to Brady. Going into week 5, he was already one of the most hit QBs in the league. 

 

Is this on the O-line? Is this on Josh's lack of quick hit passing? Did they miss Gronk's blocking more than his pass catching?

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Considering they're returning the same guys as last year, it makes you think it's more of a scheme thing. I mean I guess there could be poor conditioning or general decline, but it's a relatively young line and returns the same coach as last year too. Definitely is something which has stood out this year though. Hopefully it's something else we can work on!

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Brady is holding on the ball well over two seconds this season. Last season it was around about 2. We are letting plays develop, and hitting targets deep (Cooks has by FAR the longest YPC average). So, the line is fine to hold for a quick passing game but not a deep one.

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The OL has always been a rhythm/chemistry line rather than raw talents -  unfortunately that means they can have bad days when they're just in-sync. Plus, of course, Brady's quick release and the fast-read nature of the offense means they don't usually have to hold a clean pocket for more than 2/3 seconds, the longer developing routes being used this year are part of the reason Brady is getting hit so much.

Plus I think Solder is hurt. Maybe carrying a knee injury. He doesn't look mobile or quick on his feet at all.

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Tampa came in with a league low 1 sack all year and they sacked Tom like 3 times and hit/pressured him on numerous occasions. That spells trouble moving forward when playing teams that rush the passer well e.g. Steelers & Broncos in their venues.

The new passing game probably has a lot to do with it but I guess they don't learn their lesson b/c all the trophies they've won is when utilizing the short to intermediate routes as opposed to the deeper stuff. The deeper stuff eventually backfires in the playoffs at some point and unless they change I don't see it any different this year.

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1 hour ago, tonyto36 said:

I thought going into the season Mason/Andrews were being a overrated, but they've still been okay.

I still believe Solder was okay in the Texans game, and was meh-okay in the Panthers game, but he was absolutely horrible last night.

 

I also believe that in years past the OL was overrated just because Brady got the ball out so quickly it made life a lot easier for them.  Now we have a more average length of holding the ball (maybe even above average?), and the OL is asked to pass protect like other teams have to and it's becoming too much at times.   Years like 2014/2015 the OL was a dumpster fire but Brady was so good it didn't matter (until the end of 2015 when everyone was hurt and he had no one to throw to).

I think the offensive line got better after the KC beatdown in 2014 as the issues weren't as bad later in the season. I think this year is more like the latter stages of 2015 where they are gonna try to live & die by Toms arm and ability to get the ball out before or just as he's being hit. That my friend is a recipe for disaster.

Oh and what about the run blocking issues as well b/c that's almost as worrisome as their pass blocking issues.

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1 hour ago, NFL Network said:

I think the offensive line got better after the KC beatdown in 2014 as the issues weren't as bad later in the season. I think this year is more like the latter stages of 2015 where they are gonna try to live & die by Toms arm and ability to get the ball out before or just as he's being hit. That my friend is a recipe for disaster.

Oh and what about the run blocking issues as well b/c that's almost as worrisome as their pass blocking issues.

The run blocking was fine yesterday

The pass blocking is failing mostly because

- Cannon was out and struggled last week coming back from his ankle issue. He looks hobbled

- Something's not right with Solder. For the first few weeks, it seemed like he just got tough matchups (and that could still explain a lot of his struggles). But yesterday, he looked off. He had a non-injury day off of practice recently. One has to wonder if he is mentally struggling with something outside of football. He's getting beat off the snap way too often and is never listed on the injury report

- Thuney hasn't taken a step forward, if anything he's worse than last year. Not sure/can't tell how much of that is him and how much of that is Solder struggling next to him

- Andrews and Mason both have issues in pass protection generally

Getting Cannon healthy and Solder on track would solidify things. I'm beginning to think Solder's struggles could be a year long issue though.

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33 minutes ago, mcmurtry86 said:

I'm beginning to think Solder's struggles could be a year long issue though.

Could this be his last season in NE? There have been rumblings in the past and his lackluster play thus far isnt doing him any favors. On the other hand, he may be torpedoing his market to make him too affordable not to re-up. 

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8 minutes ago, Deadpulse said:

Could this be his last season in NE? There have been rumblings in the past and his lackluster play thus far isnt doing him any favors. On the other hand, he may be torpedoing his market to make him too affordable not to re-up. 

It will be tough to let him go without an internal option to replace him. With Garcia's season seemingly being a lost cause, they would be taking a huge risk in just giving Garcia the job in 2018 with no plan B. They'll have to spend one of their first picks on a legitimate LT prospect.

Ideally, they could sign him for another year or two and draft someone to compete with Garcia. As much as Solder has struggled, I don't like the idea of going to a total unknown.

That said, if Solder doesn't rebound at all then I don't know how much worse they'd be with one of Fleming/Waddle/Cannon/Garcia at LT next year.

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On 2017. 10. 06. at 8:23 PM, mcmurtry86 said:

- Something's not right with Solder. For the first few weeks, it seemed like he just got tough matchups (and that could still explain a lot of his struggles). But yesterday, he looked off. He had a non-injury day off of practice recently. One has to wonder if he is mentally struggling with something outside of football. He's getting beat off the snap way too often and is never listed on the injury report

No news about how he's doing now, but few years ago his son was diagonsed with cancer. The lastest article I could find about this (http://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/31/nate-solder-survived-cancer-his-son-battling/) said he's under constant monitoring. But if the cancer came back, I can imagine it messes up Solder's head real good, even to the point that he has concentration issues on the field.

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Apparently Garcia looks like franchise player material from what (random pats blog writer) said about him in camp, but how he can tell, I don't know. 

Do we draft LT with our first pick next year? I always advocate taking OLers in draft. Get our next Taylor Lewan, if we can. 

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