Patriot fans melting down over the loss of their perennial Pro Bowl LG and the current status of their interior O-line

[gettlemanjack]

Patriots' 3 biggest question marks were C, RG and SS. And now they just shipped out their perennial Pro Bowl LG Logan Mankins. Patriots fans react to the news:

-I would be totally fine with this... if we had a proven C and/or RG. Mankins is in the decline, and but he's still very good. Making this trade now just makes the weakest unit on the team even worse.

-I'm just mildly terrified that this interior OL is going to get Brady killed. If we were taking odds on "if the Pats lose another playoff heartbreaker, what will be the main culprit?" I'm putting my life's savings on "consistent interior pressure"

-I don't like this at all. This O-Line was scary while he was here and now, IT'S EVEN MORE SCARY. I hate this move.

-I'm really concerned about the O-line.

-This sucks, great player, exactly the mentality you want in every player. I get the move them early mentality but if it means brady is going to get intense pressure up the middle then it's simply not a good idea. The interior OL was already my greatest concern going into the season and that concern only grows with this move. i hope this is for a 2nd at a minimum, you don't give up a HOF caliber player for donuts.

-Don't like the move, especially without a suitable backup. Problem with recent playoff losses were at the lines. OL got trashed last year in Denver, Baltimore the previous year. The new OL may be good enough for the regular season, but once playoffs come around, I don't see how it won't struggle again

-Man, that's a downer.

-Wow, can't say I'm excited about this. I guess I'll just have to say "In Bill We Trust" and see how this develops.

-Another WTF vet trade by BB.

-Wait - is this confirmed? Doesn't sound right at all.

-I was worried about the Oline before the trade . Loss of a good team player and leader ....Didnt see this coming.

-I don't like this trade..That better be a 2nd round pick they got.

-Question is what is the pick we got, and what is our plan for fielding a decent interior line

-Good lord. Not happy about this AT ALL.

-Interior Oline is going to be scary bad this year. I hope the pick is decent...

-unless dante comes back itll probably be the same old o line collapsing again in the playoffs. hope BB has something up his sleeve.

-I'd have never figured this.

-Well.. BB is good for a stunner almost every year. I confess I didn't see this coming at all

-For everyone who claimed cutting tommy Kelly was shocking, THIS is what shocking really looks like.

-A 4th rounder is bullsh.t. Bad deal Bill.

-I am oficially mad about this

-Mankins play has certainly declined, but trading him away before an adequate replacement is found doesn't sit well with me. And we only got a 4th in return which I believe is way too low. I was expecting a 2nd or at the very least a 3rd since the Bucs were desperate for help at O-line.

[gettlemanjack]

-What in the hell?..........................

-un ****ing believable. I'm floored by this.lets hope BB knows whats he's doing to keep Tommy upright.

-Oh my god... this can't be happening

-holy #$%@.

-ok..what?? The interior Oline was already terrible, mow we just have the worst in the league. I have no idea how Brady will survive an entire season with that. Good luck Tom.

-This news has floored me. Gobsmacked. I trust BB inherently - but this is going to hurt, very badly, at least short term. I'd get some injury insurance Tom, if you don't have any already.

-Interior pass protection was the team's major weakness in 2012 and 2013. Naturally, BB responds by trading away the best interior OL (and best OL altogether) on the roster? This, on the surface, appears to be a move that hurts the team needlessly. Not high on the compensation, either. I just don't see the point.

-I'm so distraught I could just...eat five pints of Rocky Road...

-the interior line is even more worrisome than it was before. And it was the biggest worry I had on the team besides the second safety.

-i hate the 4th rounder, that is simply not enough for Mankins, even with the TE. I am also really concerned about the interior OL

-The question is not whether the return could have been better, it's whether the return was worth going into this season plugging someone unproven into an interior line that was already shaky on a good day.

-Who is bb going to get to replace mankins is the question? Pipe dream Boone?

-a weak interior O-line just got weaker.

-we're going to be worse at LG this year. Hopefully interior line play doesn't end up being this team's achilles heel yet again.

-If Cannon can be a capable RG, and Vollmer stays healthy, this line would be about on par with last year's, IMO. The problem is that on par might not be good enough. Every poster here went into the offseason figuring that an upgrade was necessary.

-It's worth waiting to evaluate the trade - Marcus Cannon could turn out to be a revelation at OG or the Patriots interior line could be a complete catastrophe. We'll see.

-Wow. I was tied up all day, and just saw this news. If true, I'm speechless. Never saw this one coming.

-Dang. Saw this on a yahoo headline and had to come here to see if it was true. Never imagined he would be traded.

-Im not thrilled about this move either. ... But the whole Brady's gonna get killed crowd, just remember. Mankins almost got Brady killed a couple of times last year himself, including the AFC championship game. However, I really don't see anyone on our interior line right now that is close to Mankins. I'm not thrilled about what we have in his place right now.

-At least 5 of the "sacks allowed" by Mankins last season were because he was trying to cover for Wendell's screw-ups last year. Wendell fails to pick up twists, stunts, and MLB delayed blitzes by the on a regular basis. It's how Brady got plastered by Ray Lewis 2 years ago in the AFCCG.

-I will reserve judgment on whether the interior o-line holds up. One thing I will say is that against a very good Carolina front, the o-line held up great without Logan playing. Small sample size for sure, but it gives me some encouragement.

-I hope an upgrade at OLine is in the works

-I like getting another weapon for brady in the passing game, and getting another move TE..BUT will it be worth it if Brady cant stay standing with the OL?? I guess time will tell whether the line as is can keep brady upright. If they do this will be a solid trade.

[gettlemanjack]

Belichick issued a statement on the trade of guard Logan Mankins:

"Logan Mankins is everything we would ever want in a football player. It is hard to imagine a better player at his position, a tougher competitor or a person to represent our program. He is one of the all-time great Patriots and the best guard I ever coached. Logan brought a quiet but unmistakable presence and leadership that will be impossible to duplicate.

Unfortunately, this is the time of year when difficult decisions have to be made - and this is one of the most difficult we will ever make - but like every other decision it was made for what we feel is in the best interests of the team."

[footballisasport]

Amazing how concerned those Pats fans are about they QB. 

[gettlemanjack]

Boston Herald:

"In a completely shocking move, the Patriots have shipped out their most established and respected offensive lineman... Mankins has been a captain since 2011 and leaves an offensive line that already has question marks at center and right guard."

The Sports Network, yesterday:

"The Patriots' offensive line is led by left guard Logan Mankins and a pair of solid tackles in Sebastian Vollmer and Nate Solder. The interior was the weak link in 2013 (center Ryan Wendell and right guard Dan Connolly) ... New England used mid-round draft choices on Florida State center Bryan Stork, Stanford tackle Cameron Fleming and Florida guard Jon Halapio as insurance."

Boston Globe:

"The Patriots traded Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins...The news is another summer surprise from Belichick... The New England offensive line was already facing question marks, ...at center...at right guard... It is unclear who will now play left guard...Mankins started every game he every played for the team...He was the third-longest-tenured player on the team after Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork... one of the most decorated players in team history. He also had been chosen as a team captain in each of the last three years."

[PandaPancake]

I wish my team played in the pedestrian conference. Then I too could feel entitled to win every game

[stirs]

Not to mention that it won't do us any favors week 1

[thefuzz]

Always tweaking the roster, even with good players and fan favorites.

 

 

I love it.

[gettlemanjack]

Patriots.com:

"But really, with Mankins gone, the three interior line spots are a major question mark heading into September."

Washington Post:

"This week’s trade of six-time Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins from the New England Patriots to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could have a significant impact ... The Patriots clearly were a leading playoff contender in the AFC prior to the deal being completed Tuesday. That remains the case. But now they become a little bit more of a work in progress, with new questions about their offensive line... It makes for a major transition for the offensive line that will protect quarterback Tom Brady"

Former San Francisco 49ers guard Randy Cross, now a football analyst for the CBS Sports Network, on the Patriots trading Mankins:

"I was definitely surprised."

93.7 FM Boston:

"In the space of 10 months, the Patriots have lost their longtime offensive line coach to retirement and their heart-and-soul offensive line captain to NFL economics. The question now is, what will the Patriots do without Dante Scarnecchia and Logan Mankins?"

Mike Reiss, ESPN beat writer for the Patriots:

"The Patriots' pressing questions, as have been chronicled throughout training camp and now have drawn even more attention following the Logan Mankins trade, are at the interior OL spots."

CBS Boston:

"It’s safe to say that nobody outside of Bill Belichick could honestly say that prior to Tuesday afternoon, a trade of Logan Mankins would be a real possibility for the Patriots this preseason. Alas, the deal was most certainly real, and when the news broke around 1:30 p.m., we were all subjected to a half-day of full blown Patriots pandemonium. Logan Mankins — gone. ... He is, in the truest sense of the word, a badass. He is the ultimate badass. He is a sheriff on the field, doling out justice wherever he sees fit, and sometimes applying excessive force. ... it will be impossible for the Patriots to replace what Mankins gave them."

Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit:

"Deep breath. Step away from whatever ledge you're near. Bill Belichick has blind sided us with yet another heart breaking transaction and the season starts in a couple weeks... There's no way for any one player to fill the vacancy that Mankins is about to leave."

[gettlemanjack]

Concord (N.H) Monitor:

"Hard to make sense of Pats trade of Mankins...The initial reaction after hearing the Patriots traded guard Logan Mankins yesterday:

When things seem too good to be true, they usually are. Before the swap, which sent Mankins to Tampa Bay and brought tight end Tim Wright and a fourth-round pick to New England, the New England preseason was a bubble bath of optimism.

The defense looked ready to dominate like it did in the Super Bowl-winning years. Tom Brady was connecting with a multitude of receivers. Rob Gronkowski was on his way to health.

A 14-2 record and another trip to the Super Bowl felt like reasonable expectations. A 12-4 mark and a loss in the AFC title game was a prediction for pessimists. There was little to worry about with this team.

Until now. Even before the trade, the biggest questions marks for the Patriots were on the interior of the offensive line. There were doubts about the center and right guard spots. Now there are doubts about all three interior positions.

Plus, there’s a new offensive line coach, Dave DeGuglielmo, who now has to fix these problems. Mankins was the..leader of the New England offensive line. ... When the Patriots absolutely needed a yard, they would run behind Mankins. When a defender took a cheap shot at anyone in a New England uniform, Mankins was always ready to respond.

Now that reliability and toughness are gone. Now a team that was poised to have a monster year has the potential for a major weakness.

So, why did the Patriots trade him? Chances are real good it was about money.

...

But why now? Why not overpay the heart and soul of your offensive line for one more year when it looks that year can bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Foxborough?

...

News of the trade came as a shock, but maybe it shouldn’t have. Belichick has set a precedent for these kinds of decisions. (Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't. Examples of it not working out are:)

-The Patriots have been looking for a pass rush ever since they dealt Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour before the 2009 season.

-The team didn’t want to pay Asante Samuel, so he left in 2008 and the secondary has never been the same, a decline that probably started back in 2005 when the Patriots released Ty Law because they didn’t want to pay him, either.

-Last, but not least, are Deion Branch and David Givens. The team didn’t want to pay them, so Branch left for Seattle and Givens for Tennessee in 2006. If either had still been with the team, maybe they would have converted the third-and-4 that wound up costing the Patriots the AFC title game that season. But they were gone, over money, and Brady had to throw, unsuccessfully, to a 36 year-old Troy Brown on that fateful third down

...

(if the loss of Mankins ends up costing the Patriots the Super Bowl), Patriots fans will be cursing the day he was traded."

[gettlemanjack]

four Patriot players react to losing Mankins:

Pro Bowl/2nd Team All-Pro free safety Devin McCourty (age 27):

"We came in here and were shocked (by the news Mankins is gone)... You don’t know if you’ll get that type of teammate ever again...he’s a guy you look up to... one helluva player, and guy...It’s tough, it’s tough...this is a tough time for everybody."

3-time Pro Bowl special teams ace Matthew Slater (age 28):

"With a guy like that who many of us lean on for leadership and for toughness, it’s obviously a tough thing (to lose Mankins)... Logan brought a lot in the department of leadership, a lot in the department in toughness. He brought a lot in a lot of departments...that makes it tough (to lose him)...It is difficult"

WR Julian Edelman (age 28) said Mankins was "the ultimate teammate...the ultimate team guy...It’s tough (losing him)"

starting left tackle Nate Solder (age 26) said Mankins was an "awesome guy...an awesome player...a tremendous guy...great morals, great ethics, a great work ethic...an extremely genuine person and authentic...Everything about the guy is genuine and authentic...Every play, every down, he’s excited, loves playing. Very physical, very tough...that’s who he was...I can’t say enough good things about him... So honored to play with that guy... For the Patriots, we move on, as sad as that is"

ESPN beat reporter for the Patriots Mike Weiss:

"Solder, Slater, Edelman and McCourty were the four main players speaking about Mankins in the locker room after Tuesday's practice (quarterback Tom Brady wasn't present). Others declined comment, allowing some of the more experienced players to have their voices heard...players were informed of the shocking trade of offensive lineman Logan Mankins while on the field for the start of practice... One player described the initial parts of practice as funeral-like... (LT Nate) Solder still seemed to be coming to grips with the news."

93.7 FM Boston:

"Several offensive linemen declined comment, understandably sensitive to the dramatic change in the locker room."

The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts paper):

"The move (of Mankins) has been a hard one on the Patriots locker room."

[caatfan]

Why in the world would the Pats trade Mankins?

 

Because NFL football is a business.

 

"“I didn’t know it was going to happen the way it did. But it’s not a shocker,” he said. “Once you’ve been around this business long enough, anything is a possibility. It’s a business first and foremost. Guys play it because they love it, but it is a business, and if you don’t understand that it’s a business, you’re lying to yourself. You have to be prepared for whatever happens in this league at any time.”

 

Mankins, due to make a $6.25 million salary this year, said he and the Patriots couldn’t find common ground on a contract restructure, which led to a trade. Mankins had a history of playing hardball with the Patriots, sitting out seven games in 2011 to get a new contract."

[Harris Aballah]

Opened up a huge gap in the oline and traded their best option for a back up qb? I like what the Pats are doing.

[gettlemanjack]

Brady is sad, but "coming to grips with it"

"I love Logan. Logan was a great friend of mine. Nobody stood for Patriots football more than him. ... I dealt with whatever feelings I had last week, but I've moved on. I have to move on, because that's what this team expects me to do. ... I'm a very emotional person. I don't think those things have ever gotten easier for me. I don't think they ever will. But you have to come to grips with it"