Searching for Super Bowl Contenders? Focus on the Trenches

The Saints offensive line didn't make any news this preseason.

"So?" you might ask. "What offensive line does make news?"

Only an offensive line in trouble. And that's why no news is good news for the Saints.

There were no injuries. No scary illnesses. No defections, holdouts, replacements or transitions. The closest thing to a headline was Andrus Peat's return a few weeks ago from the broken fibula he suffered in the playoffs. "Left Guard Is Healthy" isn't much of a headline, however.

When the Saints faced the Chargers last Saturday, Drew Brees was protected, left to right, by Terron Armstead, Peat, Max Unger, Larry Warford and Ryan Ramczyk. Brees himself looked a little rusty, but who cares? If his protection is fine, he'll be fine.

Focus on quarterbacks and big-name guys all you want in the preseason, even if some of them play just a handful of snaps. But if you really want to spot a Super Bowl contender, you must focus on the trenches and listen for the silence.

Chaos for contenders

While the Saints enjoy stability, many of their rivals in the NFC are coping with turmoil.

In Charlotte, Panthers left tackle Matt Kalil underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee earlier in the month. Right tackle Daryl Williams tore an MCL earlier in camp. Amini Silatolu, the replacement for All-Pro left guard Andrew Norwell (who signed a whopper of a contract with the Jaguars), tore his meniscus earlier in the month.

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

An all-purpose backup named Jeremiah Sirles started at left tackle on Friday night for the Panthers and promptly suffered a pulled hamstring; he's been limited in practice since. If none of the regulars can limp back for the season opener, the Panthers will be forced to start the likes of Blaine Clausell and Greg Van Roten (who sounds like a punk rock drummer) along the offensive line. Cam Newton will be reduced yet again to running for his life.

Elsewhere among the NFC powerhouses, the Vikings just got starters Mike Remmers and Rashod Hill back last weekend after a camp injury epidemic, but center Pat Elflein's status (shoulder, ankle) for the regular season is uncertain. As a result, the Vikings were forced to trade for Brett Jones as Elflein insurance. Jones started for a pair of quality CFL offensive lines: the 2014 Calgary Stampeders and the 2017 New York Giants.

Meanwhile, the NFL's most famous offensive line made the preseason's most troubling news.

Guillain-Barre syndrome is a potentially terrifying illness, but it's encouraging to hear Cowboys center Travis Frederick speak optimistically about playing again soon after being diagnosed with the disease. Frederick is even attending team meetings and watched the Cardinals preseason game from the sideline. But he is likely to miss at least a chunk of the season, and no team is more reliant on top offensive linemen than the ground-and-pound Cowboys, who essentially surrendered when Tyron Smith was hurt last November.

Beyond Frederick, the Cowboys have dodged a lot of bullets on the offensive line this preseason. Frederick's backup, Joe Looney, left Sunday night's Cardinals game with a finger injury, but that turned out to be precautionary. All-Pro right guard Zack Martin (knee) says he will be back for Week 1, according to ESPN's Todd Archer, and while right tackle La'el Collins was seen limping around with a taped-up left ankle in practice last week, he started against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Still, that's a lot to dodge. Teams with playoff aspirations don't want to dodge. They want to be like the Saints and have nothing to talk about.

Young passers in peril

Adrian Kraus/Associated Press

A weak offensive line can do more than derail Super Bowl plans. It can hamper a young quarterback's development, setting an entire franchise back for years.

The Bills, a playoff team last year, lost Eric Wood, Cordy Glenn and Richie Incognito from the offensive line in the offseason and appear to have replaced them with nothing but wishful thinking and "next man up" coaching pep talks. Rookie quarterback Josh Allen ended up throwing for just 34 yards in the first half against the Bengals last weekend while losing 39 yards on five sacks.

The Texans have the front-line talent of a Super Bowl team on defense and at the skill positions, but they are crossing their fingers that their cobbled-together line (Julie'n Davenport, Senio Kelemete, Nick Martin, Zach Fulton, Seantrel Henderson) can protect Deshaun Watson and provide a smidgen of running room for the backs.

So far, that line has allowed just two preseason sacks, so it hasn't embarrassed itself the way the Bills line has. Maybe the quiet preseason is a sign that the no-name unit has jelled. Or maybe the Texans starters just haven't played enough to get exposed.

Powerhouses with plans

Better organizations don't walk blindly into offensive line crises by trading away top talent and crossing their fingers while veterans get old and retire the way the Bills did. They always create a contingency plan.

The Eagles are one of those teams. Many of the bad vibes surrounding Nick Foles and the Super Bowl champs this preseason can be traced back to the struggles of left tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai, who used every buff and power-up he had to keep Foles alive through the Super Bowl last year. Jason Peters will return to replace Big V once the season starts, and the Eagles have other experiments in the works (rugby star Jordan Mailata, converted defender Taylor Hart) if Peters gets hurt again and Big V proves he is the Playoff Flacco of left tackles.

The Patriots, not surprisingly, are also one of those teams. They responded to Nate Solder's free-agent defection by drafting Isaiah Wynn and trading for Trent Brown. Wynn got hurt, but Brown has been a revelation at left tackle, and Bill Belichick maintains a professional bench of LaAdrian Waddle types who know the system to insulate against injuries.

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

The Cowboys, who are not noted for their long-range planning, drafted Connor Williams and signed former Patriots super-sub Cameron Fleming in the offseason, so they won't be totally helpless if they lose Frederick or anyone else for a few weeks. The Cowboys' problem isn't that they lack reserves on the line; it's that they lack starters on the receiving corps, putting all the pressure for success on the line.

Better late than never

When a team does improve on the offensive line, it makes the whole offense look better. Especially if that improvement comes after years of negligence. 

Take the Bengals, who put on an impressive offensive show last Sunday, especially by Bengals standards: 20 points and 246 yards in the first half, with Andy Dalton firing touchdown strikes to A.J. Green and John Ross. No, Dalton hasn't gotten better. His protection has, with Cordy Glenn replacing longtime weak link Cedric Ogbuehi at left tackle and rookie center Billy Price overcoming some early-camp snap blunders to prove he can be a solid pass protector.

No discussion of preseason offensive line play would be complete without noting that the Seahawks line has been playing well. The zany basketball conversion projects and position shifts are gone, as is longtime coach/saboteur Tom Cable, who is now wrecking the Raiders line like a gremlin. Right tackle Germain Ifedi still gets knocked over now and then, but the Seahawks line has gone from five weak links to one. It's not getting a lot of attention, because the Seahawks line was more fun when it was an ensemble comedy.

A model of stability

And now we return to a team that looks very much like it did last season.

The Saints have Brees under center, Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas in the arsenal and various other Super Bowl-caliber pieces in place. Warford is a Pro Bowler, Unger is a former All-Pro, and Ramczyk was one of last season's best rookies. The Saints finished last year with the second-fewest sacks allowed in the NFL and led the league in yards per rush.

Indeed, New Orleans fielded the best offensive line in the NFL last year. All five starters are back. Everyone is healthy and ready to play.

That's not big news. But it's going to make a big difference in the Super Bowl chase.

Mike Tanier covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeTanier.