Patriots 53-man roster projection: Can o-line protect Brissett or Maye? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
LANDOVER, Md. — The Patriots have an offensive line problem on their hands and two weeks to try to fix it.
Good luck.
After a rocky summer of stuffed runs, unblocked pass-rushers waltzing across the line of scrimmage and “sacks” where their quarterbacks were pressured but untouched in practice, the Patriots o-line had arguably its worst day of the summer during a 20-10 preseason finale loss on Sunday night.
Starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett absorbed a sack that knocked him from the game with an injured throwing shoulder. It featured two linemen — guards Sidy Sow and Layden Robinson — bumping into each other as they tried to set up an apparent screen for tight end Jaheim Bell. Sow was unable to get to the edge to block, and Washington’s KJ Henry drilled Brissett.
That wasn’t the lone gaffe of the night for the New England line, though. Tackles were flagged four times for illegal formation, including three called on left tackle Chuks Okorafor. The starting line was twice called for holding and once for a false start.
Backup center Nick Leverett (starting Sunday with David Andrews resting) was in the middle of things on two fumbled snaps. Maye was stepped on by a lineman once and jostled on another play when one of his linemen was overpowered prior to a hand-off. Sow later had to leave the game with an ankle injury.
That all came in one half of football. Against Commanders backups. And now personnel chief Eliot Wolf, head coach Jerod Mayo, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and offensive line coach Scott Peters have to try to figure out a solution.
Try as they might, the reality is this unit won’t be fixed in the next week or two. And there are myriad questions for them to answer if they are to acknowledge the problems that exist in the trenches:
Are they ready to play Drake Maye if Brissett gets hurt behind this line? Would Maye’s health (not to…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-53-man-roster-projection-035832752.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-08-26 03:58:32
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