Opening day countdowns are great. So are player profiles. Here at Musket Fire, we decided to combine them and create a Week 1 countdown-oriented, jersey number-dictated player profile series. Yesterday, we looked at No. 68 Caylin Hauptmann, and the day before that it was No. 69 Shaq Mason. Because today marks 67 days until the New England Patriots open 2015, we are profiling No. 67, offensive guard Josh Kline.
Earlier this week, Musket Fire’s Hal Bent penned a nice piece about Kline, wondering if he will be the surprise starter on the offensive line this year. Give it a look.
Kline joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2013, playing seven games and starting one as a rookie. He took on a larger role this past season, earning four starts in the 12 contests he appeared in.
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As noted by Rich Hill of Pats Pulpit, Kline faced a bunch of All-Pros last year, and it made for an up-and-down campaign. But Hill also pegged Kline as the MVP of the AFC Championship Game in January, citing the fact that the Colts’ couldn’t get through Kline. LeGarrette Blount wouldn’t have had such a great outing if it weren’t for the contributions of Kline.
Kline’s big night against the Colts proved to be his final snaps of the season. In Super Bowl XLIX, Jimmy Garoppolo and Kline were the only active Patriots that didn’t grace the field.
But don’t expect Kline to be on the bench very often in 2015. With Dan Connolly’s days in New England likely over, Kline will be one of the returners contending for the starting right guard role. Although he’s had his struggles in two NFL seasons, Kline is a valuable component of the Patriots’ offensive line entering training camp.
In case you missed them, here are the profiles for No. 71 Cameron Fleming, No. 72 Joe Vellano, No. 74 Trey Flowers, No. 76 Sebastian Vollmer, No. 77 Nate Solder, No. 80 Danny Amendola, No. 82 Josh Boyce, No. 84 Brian Tyms, No. 85 Jake Bequette, No. 86 A.J. Derby, No. 87 Rob Gronkowski and No. 88 Scott Chandler.
Be sure to check back on Musket Fire tomorrow morning as we celebrate 66 days until Week 1 by profiling No. 66, center Bryan Stork.