O-line takes hit
Crucial for group to keep Brady upright
For three weeks now, the mounting hits on Tom Brady have been costly on multiple levels.
First, there was the Achilles injury from the Patriots quarterback getting twisted up underneath Oakland Raiders pass rusher Khalil Mack. And then, the Miami Dolphins gashed up his arm, banged up his hand and who knows what else as they appeared to try to hurt him as much as hit him. On Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, three sacks cost the Patriots upward of 12 points, and Brady was also picked off for the second consecutive week due to a pressurized pocket.
The Pats pulled themselves out of a similar stretch once this season, and there isn’t much time for them to figure out how to do it again. Brady’s offense will encounter the dirty Dolphins again on Monday Night Football before a short-week turnaround to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in a matchup in which mistakes will matter and home-field advantage should be at stake.
From there, the Patriots will again face the Bills, who admitted they will be out for revenge after tight end Rob Gronkowski’s cheap shot on cornerback Tre’Davious White, and conclude the regular season against the rival New York Jets, who hit Brady five times in Week 6.
The hits aren’t an epidemic, but they are the chief concern for a Patriots team that has so few vulnerabilities as it gears up for a potentially historic playoff push. The Pats could become the first franchise to twice win three Super Bowls in a four-year span.
The obvious worst-case scenario would involve an injury that disrupts Brady’s playoff rhythm, such as the sprained ankle that he suffered in the 2015 regular-season finale. Who knows if that would be enough to sabotage the postseason, as Brady has both won and lost Super Bowls with high-ankle sprains.
But in a tightly contested playoff game, an illtimed interception — the result of a direct shot or accumulation of hits — can ruin a day. Such a mistake could have been the difference in Super Bowl LI but, you know, the Atlanta Falcons blew a 28-3 lead.
There is also the matter of red-zone issues. The Patriots kicked three first-half field goals, including two in the red zone, in Buffalo. All three were preceded by drive-stalling sacks, which took as many as a dozen points off the board. That didn’t matter in a 23-3 wipeout of the inept Bills, but what if the Pats meet an elite offense like the Philadelphia Eagles or Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl? The Patriots routinely dismantle opponents who answer touchdowns with field goals. If they’re on the wrong end of those exchanges in the playoffs, owner Robert Kraft won’t have a chance to go jewelry shopping for the sixth time.
The problem against the Bills was primarily on the left side of the line, where tackle Nate Solder allowed three disruptions (two quarterback hits, pressure) for just the second time in his last nine games. Guard Joe Thuney surrendered his first pair of sacks this season, which wasn’t entirely unpredictable because he gave up five quarterback hits and a pressure in his previous four games. It’s possible Thuney is wearing down, as he didn’t allow Brady to get sacked last season until Week 15, then yielded three sacks, three hits and three pressures in six games.
Third-string right tackle Cameron Fleming allowed the other sack Sunday, though Brady was partly culpable for holding the ball a bit too long. Center David Andrews and right guard Shaq Mason were perfect in pass-blocking.
It wasn’t all bad as a group, as all five linemen had at least one standout block in the running game.
The line was maligned in the opening month and a half of the season, then had a pretty good stretch from Weeks 7-11, save for a few challenging spurts against the Los Angeles Chargers. Over that period, the linemen were responsible for three sacks, 10 hits and 10 pressures, though 14 of those 23 disruptions occurred in the Chargers game. Still, position coach Dante Scarnecchia, who doesn’t lob empty praise, acknowledged the line’s effort against the Chargers.
The effort figures to improve again now that Andrews is over his illness and Marcus Cannon and LaAdrian Waddle are working their way back from ankle issues.
Perfection might be impossible, as the Raiders proved one of their two shots on Brady was the one that cost him a Wednesday practice in back-to-back weeks. The wear and tear is probably inevitable, but the Patriots have to eliminate the shots to Brady that cost them points as the stakes heighten.