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2010 Offensive Line Analysis - New England Patriots

2010 Projected Starters:
Left Tackle: Matt Light
Left Guard: Nick Kaczur
Center: Dan Koppen
Right Guard: Stephen Neal
Right Tackle: Sebastian Vollmer

2009 Injuries:
T Nick Kaczur: Weeks 15-16
T Matt Light: Weeks 6-11
G Stephen Neal: Weeks 11, 13-15

2009 Statistics:

Overview:
The New England Patriots have won at least ten games for seven straight years and have had a top ten offense in the last six years. Of course, a lot of the credit for that success goes to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady but this offensive line has also been very good for a number of years.

At left tackle, the Patriots can count on the 32-year old two-time Pro Bowler Matt Light. He is a strong tackle who does very well against physical defensive linemen despite being only 6’4” and 305 lbs. He unfortunately doesn’t have the footwork to keep up with speedy defensive ends anymore but still does a pretty good job in pass protection. Light had somewhat of a down year in 2009, in part because of a knee injury that kept him out for five games. Light is better in run blocking because of his strength and could make the move to right tackle in the next few years in order to extend his career. This year, we expect Light to be an average starting left tackle as he was in 2009 but he could surprise us: it depends if it’s his knee or his age that slowed him down last year. Sebastian Vollmer will likely become the starting right tackle after starting eight games in place of Light and Kaczur in his rookie year. Vollmer was supposed to return to his backup role this year but since Logan Mankins will likely hold out or be traded, last year’s starting right tackle Nick Kaczur will move inside to guard to replace Mankins. Vollmer was a second round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft and was extremely impressive in his rookie year. He allowed only one sack in his eight starts and was above average as a run blocker. At 6’8” and 315 lbs, he has the ideal size for a tackle and he will likely replace Light on the left side of the line within a year or two. 6’7” and 310 lbs Mark Levoir is the top backup at tackle and he has looked pretty good in limited action over the last two years.

As we said earlier, Nick Kaczur is likely to be the starting left guard in place of Logan Mankins in 2010. Kaczur will enter his sixth NFL season at 31 years old but he hasn’t managed to play all 16 regular season games a single time in his career. He was a slightly below average starting tackle and we don’t expect him to improve at guard but he’s the best man to replace Mankins. The right guard position is however in much better hands with Stephen Neal. Despite being 33 years old and never being selected to a Pro Bowl team, Neal is one of the five best right guards in the NFL. The problem with Neal is that he hasn’t played more than 13 games in any of the past four seasons and he’s not a very good bet to start doing so at his age. 6’4” and 315 lbs Dan Connolly is the top backup at guard and is very likely to see some action this season. He started his first four NFL games last year in his fourth season and looked okay but he will never be much better than an average starter. Fourth round pick in 2009, Rich Ohrnberger adds depth.

At center, the Patriots will once again be able to count on the veteran Dan Koppen. Koppen is a leader for this line and is a master at recognizing defensive schemes in order to adjust the line. He is not the strongest lineman and will get overpowered by big nose tackles at times but he knows how to use his position well and gets the job done. He also has excellent footwork and good quickness that allows him to pull to the outside if required to do so. In terms of skills, Koppen is probably an average center but he adds a lot to this team and has only missed one start in his last four years. The Patriots selected Ted Larsen in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft but guard Dan Connolly will still be the top backup at center.

2010 Outlook:
The Patriots offensive line had to deal with injuries to three of their starters last year but it’s something they’ll have to continue dealing with because of the age of their offensive linemen. Four of their five starters will be at least 31 years old in September and the two guards, Kaczur and Neal, miss a couple of games every year. As good a Logan Mankins is, the loss won’t affect the Patriots much because if Sebastian Vollmer continues to improve, he’ll be a well-above average starter in 2010. However, we also can’t expect them to be a whole lot better than last year because, despite the injuries, Vollmer was just as good as Light and Kaczur and Neal misses a couple of games every year. The backups don’t have a whole lot of experience but it seems that every young backup that steps in year after year surpasses our expectations. Dan Connolly and Mark LeVoir have looked pretty good in limited action and should be ready to play when their time comes. Overall, this line should be very similar to last year but they could be improved if Stephen Neal somehow manages to stay healthy for all 16 games.

See all of our 2010 Offensive Line Analysis Articles