A Clare Perspective: Is the Patriots Offensive Line the NEW Boogeymen?

The Patriots have added a few pieces on the offensive line this year, setting them up to be a formidable opponent. I mean, how would you feel lining up against this, left to right:

Isaiah Wynn
Michael Onwenu
David Andrews
Shaq Mason
Trent Brown

And that’s just one option!

Many of these guys have played different positions so much that you could change them around depending upon which side of the bed they fancied getting out of that day!

Let’s think about it like this, you’re a linebacker heading towards six feet five inches of quarterback in Cam Newton past 310 pounds of talented Isaiah Wynn – or if they shuffle the lineup and put Trent Brown on the quarterback’s blindside you’ve got to contend with the small house-sized man thing that is six feet eight inches, and 380 pounds to get to the quarterback, whoever it may be. My body hurts just THINKING about hitting that!

Defences may be getting smaller and quicker, but holy heck, the Patriots’ offensive line is getting bigger and I make the wild sweeping assumption of stronger too. I mean come on 6 feet 8 inches!!! Wherever he lines up, Trent Brown brings the average height of that offensive line up up up!

Let’s take a closer look, shall we? I mean, they are so large that we can probably stand the social distancing two meters away and see perfectly well.

All hail the legend David Andrews, returning for his seventh season with New England. This guy was severely missed in 2019 when he was out with blood clots in the lungs. Playing 72 games as a Patriot, he is the glue to knit an offence together, and I for one was beyond relieved when the Patriots re-signed him and his strength to the offensive line.

Hows about a piece of the Shaq-attack? The Patriots picked up the fifth-year option on his contract. Why? Well, because if/when he stays healthy, Mason is one of the best offensive guards out there. Just ask PFF and its positional grades, Mason comes in 3rd!

Now all this versatility and flexibility, does this water down skillset? Not if Mike Onwenu is anything to go by! In 2020 he took 616 snaps at right tackle, 185 snaps at right guard, and 112 snaps at left guard. Putting him at number 5 on the PFF positional grade statistics!

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How’s about depth? That list of five guys aren’t the only ones they can line up! Obviously, cuts are a-coming but at the time of writing, these guys are the top line up contenders along with steady Teddy Karras, Justin Herron, Yodny Cadjuste, Korey Cunningham, the rookie Will Sherman, Marcus Martin, and James Ferentz bringing up the rear.

And we haven’t even touched upon the fact that these guys are familiar with each other. They have been in the system together, albeit some off and on, but there’s a continuity there that you can’t manufacture solely in training camp, and this is why I am pondering, is this O-line The Boogeymen 2.0!?

Like a lot of things at the moment, it is a little too early to tell. But we can tell one thing. There’s some gosh darn talent on that offensive line!

Go Pats!

 

Clare L Cooper is a special contributor and columnist for Full Press Coverage Patriots and a writer for Pats Propoganda(.com). Her podcast ‘A Clare Perspective’ can be found on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker and most places from which you download your podcasts as can ‘One Patriots Place’ where she shares the mic with her two co-hosts each and every week!