New England Patriots: Is the offensive line good enough?

Through three games, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been sacked 10 times. Is the offensive line good enough in 2017?

The New England Patriots have an elite offense. Despite the injuries they’ve suffered — and the ones yet to come — there’s no denying the Patriots have a top-tier offensive attack.

That being said, there are still apparent flaws with New England’s offensive unit. Specifically, the offensive line.

Tom Brady has been sacked 10 times, so far, this season. Three versus the Chiefs, two versus the Saints, and five more against the Texans.

Last year, he was sacked 15 times in twelve games.

Ahead of the season, Musket Fire highlighted offensive tackles Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon as two players who will decide the Patriots’ season.

With pass rushers like Justin Houston, Cameron Jordan, J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, Von Miller, Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, Vic Beasley, and Cameron Wake on the schedule, strong play from the two linemen was considered a must.

This hasn’t been the case, thus far. According to NESN’s Doug Kyed, through three games, Solder has allowed three sacks, five quarterback hits, and one forced fumble. Meanwhile, Cannon’s been responsible for two sacks and one hit.

On Sunday, versus the Texans, Solder gave up two sacks — one leading to Brady’s fumble, one quarterback hit, and two hurries. Cannon was inactive, recovering from a concussion and a knee injury.

The quality of play from New England’s interior offensive line hasn’t been spectacular either. Left guard Joe Thuney and center David Andrews gave up a sack each versus Houston, and right guard Shaq Mason allowed three hurries.

It’s highly unlikely that the Patriots will trade for another offensive linemen. Solder, Thuney, Andrews, and Mason have played every one of New England’s offensive snaps this season. Cannon also played every offensive snap until missing Week 3.

This sort of consistency in snap counts is an indicator that New England doesn’t view their offensive line woes as a personnel problem. Instead, they see it as a failure of completing their assignments on a week-to-week basis.

New England Patriots

New England is fielding the same starting offensive line in 2017 as they did last season. They know their group of offensive linemen is capable of doing their job, they just haven’t done it well enough.

We know the Patriots’ offensive line is good enough to get them to the Super Bowl. They did it last year and they’re still talented enough to do it again. What remains unclear is how long it will take until they’re back to last season’s form.

New England’s offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia is a veteran of the trade and someone who can, has, and will get the group to where they need to be.

Without quality play from the offensive line, New England’s offense will have a difficult time moving the ball. Deep threats like Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, and Phillip Dorsett need time to get down the field before Brady can throw to them. While running back Mike Gillislee needs the offensive line to create running lanes and open gaps so he can find the end zone.

Although the performance of New England’s offensive line hasn’t been encouraging to this point, they’re a unit that is capable of playing on par with the rest of the offense. The group is a work in progress but they have the talent and coaching staff to make adjustments and fix their weaknesses.

Next: The Patriots look a lot like the 2011 team this season

The Patriots’ offensive line isn’t bad. Some might even argue it’s among the better units in the league. It just needs some time to make adjustments and figure itself out.

Hopefully, that doesn’t take too long.