Weighing the Pros and Cons of New England Patriots' Offensive Line Shuffling

In his book, The Essential Smart Football, author Chris B. Brown wrote, "New ideas in football tend to arise as potential solutions to specific problems." 

The New England Patriots began the 2014 season with a lot of uncertainty on their offensive line. As a result, there were a lot of moving pieces until Week 5, when center Bryan Stork, left guard Dan Connolly and right guard Ryan Wendell were the galvanizing trio of the line. 

The 2015 season is off to a similar start in the Patriots' approach, but the reasoning behind it is in question. Obviously, the Patriots offense is in midseason form (39.6 points per game ranks second in the NFL), so whatever uncertainty they have on the offensive line hasn't bogged them down quite as badly as it did last year at this time.

So, last year's desperation tactic might be this year's innovative strategy.

Player	Total	Run block	Pass block
David Andrews	228	79	149
Nate Solder	205	74	131
Josh Kline	194	66	128
Sebastian Vollmer	164	55	109
Shaq Mason	154	59	95
Tre' Jackson	108	35	73
Marcus Cannon	103	41	62

Every snap, the offensive line must identify the defenders, where they are lined up and assign the protection responsibilities accordingly. Typically, the defense doesn't have this problem because most teams roll with five offensive linemen that play every down. The Patriots, however, don't appear to be letting their opponents off the hook that easy.

On one hand, the shuffling of linemen threatens communication between them. That group must work as a true unit to open holes in the running game and form a perfect pocket for quarterback Tom Brady. On the other hand, it forces extra communication and player identification on defense. Some players might spend the whole week studying how to beat one specific lineman; instead, they have to devote their time to learning the Patriots' offensive line as a depth chart, not as an individual. 

"I think it's one of the smartest things I've ever seen," legendary Florida State offensive line coach Rick Trickett told Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. "It's genius."

Howe has more specifics on the Patriots' usage of different combinations on the offensive line:

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The Patriots have used nine different line combinations to start 30 possessions this season, excluding kneel-downs. They’ve also implemented a 10th combination with Marcus Cannon at right guard on the goal-line package that resulted in all three of LeGarrette Blount's touchdowns Sunday against the Jaguars.

"

The strategy doesn't seem to be hurting the Patriots offense at all. The Patriots currently rank second in scoring, Tom Brady has yet to throw an interception and leads the NFL in passing yards. He's only been sacked six times and he's been under pressure just 25.2 percent of the time he's dropped back to throw, the fifth-lowest percentage of any starting NFL quarterback, according to Pro Football Focus. 

It's no surprise, then, that Brady isn't worried about the offensive line.

"You know, truthfully, I never worry about the offensive line much," he said on Wednesday. "I've never, we've just been so well coached over the years. I think those guys have done such a great job. I don't think I've ever put a lot of concern into whether those guys were capable of doing what they're asked to do, and I think we've had a lot of confidence in the guys who have been in there this year."

What will be most interesting to see is whether the shuffling continues when key veterans return from injury. Stork is on short-term injured reserve while dealing with neck and concussion issues; Wendell missed all of camp on the physically unable to perform list and is now dealing with an unspecified illness; Connolly retired after not being picked up by the Patriots as a free agent and right tackle Sebastian Vollmer spent his offseason recovering from shoulder surgery that limited his participation this summer.

But make no mistake; shuffling personnel is not the same as scrambling for answers.

"It's not done just randomly. There's a specific reason why we rotate guys when we do, where we rotate them," offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo said. "There's a rhyme and reason to everything."

As long as it stays successful, why should the Patriots stray from their new strategy? Whether it was borne out of desperation or innovation, there's no reason to fix what isn't broken. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.