The final chapter of Brady vs. Manning has been written, and it has gone in favor of Peyton Manning. The New England Patriots were unable to defeat the Denver Broncos on the road, and it ended what was a disappointing finish to the season for the Patriots. They will still be one of the most talented team in the AFC next season, but they absolutely need to address their offensive line in the offseason to make their team better.
The truth about this game is that the Patriots would have had a much better chance to win the game if their offensive line had not played so poorly. The unit could not handle the stellar offensive line of the Broncos, and they really suffered as a result. Tom Brady was under siege for almost the entire game. Right tackle Marcus Cannon and center Bryan Stork played particularly poorly, and the team could use some extra help at the guard position, as Josh Kline is just a mediocre talent.
The game plan for the Patriots this offseason should be as follows. First, they need to sign a veteran guard in free agency. The team already has a couple of young guards in rookies Tre’ Jackson and Shaq Mason, but they need more time to develop. The team should show some interest in Alex Boone in free agency and he could come in and start at either guard position. It would be a wise investment.
As for the center position, the team may want to look into adding someone in the mid-rounds of the 2016 NFL draft. Though Stork and undrafted rookie David Andrews were both decent this year, I’m not sure that either projects to be a long-term starter. There are a lot of solid center prospects available in this draft, and the team may show some interest in Alabama‘s Ryan Kelly or Michigan State‘s Jack Allen on day two of the draft.
At tackle, the team should actually be all set. While Cannon played poorly as a starter this season, he is still a decent backup. The team will be getting Nate Solder back from injury so he should be able to fix the issues that they had at the position.
The Patriots were just met with some bad luck this year in terms of injury, but they need to add to their offensive line depth to make sure that they are not decimated again next year. Just adding a quality veteran and some extra depth would go a long way to making the Patriots a more competitive team next season.
