New England Patriots: Five Takeaways From Final Preseason Contest

Aug 28, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) looks to pass against the New York Giants during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

3. Offensive line shuffle

With Logan Mankins gone, a lot of focus has now been placed on the interior of the Patriots offensive line. Protecting Brady is the number one key to every game the Pats play, and that task got even harder with the departure of Mankins.

But we can’t really take away anything from last night’s game from an offensive line standpoint. Bill Belichick elected to rest the starters, and give the backups a chance at protecting Jimmy Garoppolo. Josh Kline is the only one that I think has a shot at starting next week in Miami, but I doubt even he will get the nod. Kline had an up and down night, but from what I could see from the initial live viewing of the game, he had more bad than good.

So after all of that, what do we know in regards to who will start on the interior for New England? If I had to guess, I would say Marcus Cannon would start at left guard, Ryan Wendell at center, and Dan Connolly at right guard. Rookie Bryan Stork was impressive yesterday, however I think the coaching staff wants to give him a few weeks to acclimate to the NFL game before throwing him into the fire.