Notebook: Asked to evaluate Solder, Belichick shifts to broader conversation

It’s always a dicey proposition to judge offensive line play, but it certainly appears that Patriots left tackle Nate Solder has struggled this season. The 29-year-old veteran, who has protected Tom Brady’s backside for most of his six-plus years in the NFL (he spent a stretch at right tackle) has appeared to have issues with rushers off the edge. Overall, Brady has been sacked 16 times through five games, and while sacks aren’t always the fault of the offensive line, the group, led by Solder, has taken plenty of hits from critics.

On a conference call with the media on Monday, Bill Belichick was asked about Solder’s performance to this point in the season, and the coach downshifted to a broader conversation.

“Overall, as a team, there are things that we all need to do better; coaching, playing, adjustments and so forth," Belichick said of Solder, who is currently in the final year of his contract. "Sometimes we haven’t just executed things the way that we want to do it. There have been a number of reasons for that. Again, all of us can improve and do better. That’s what we’re going to try and do.”

Asked a similar question about Solder, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was a little more specific.

“I think Nate battles a lot of the best players in the league over there at left tackle. He’s done it for a long time,” McDaniels said. “Just like every player, there’s going to be some plays that could you improve on them? Sure, but there’s a lot of good plays, too. It’s a team thing. All our guys, all our coaches, our players, we’re all trying to improve and get better.

“We all understand that the best results that we can get are going to be when 11 guys on every play are working as closely together on the same page as they possibly can through great preparation and understanding of our fundamentals and techniques. Nate does a great job of working at that every single week.”

No more tomato cans?

Five weeks into the regular season, and there are only two divisions where every team is at .500 or better — the AFC East and NFC South. (It makes sense on a few levels, not the least of which is the fact that the two are “partner” divisions when it comes to scheduling.) Lambasted as being one of the weakest divisions in football the last few years, the start of the 2017 season appears to be a different story, as the Patriots, Bills and Jets are all tied for the top spot at 3-2, while the Dolphins are 2-2. Asked for his thoughts on the topic, Belichick said he was only focused on this week’s opponents, the Jets.

“I don’t know if I’m really the expert to be talking about everybody else,” Belichick said. “I just, honestly, have been focused on the teams that we’re playing and not so much on some of the other teams.

“But you’ve got to be impressed with what the Jets have done — they’ve had three weeks in a row that they’ve played well,” he added. “They’ve done a good job offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. They’ve made some big plays in all three areas, don’t turn the ball over, play good defense, play well on special teams. It’s always tough with the Jets. It’ll be tough this week.”

Race between road warriors

The Patriots have now won 10 straight regular-season games on the road. But with their win over the Texans in Houston on Sunday night, the Chiefs are creeping closer. Kansas City has now won nine straight regular-season road contests, tying their franchise mark for longest regular-season win streak away from home. The two teams are now within striking distance of the AFC record of 12 straight, set by the 2006-08 Patriots. If you’re looking ahead, New England could tie the mark with road victories against the Jets (Oct. 15) and Broncos (Nov. 12), and break the mark with a win over the Raiders in Mexico City on Nov. 19. … The Patriots will face Kony Ealy Sunday for the first time since the defensive end was released by New England this summer. Ealy has had a great start to his career in New York, with seven tackles, five passes defensed and an interception his four games with the Jets. “He’s certainly been a productive guy for them. He’s got his hands on some balls at the line of scrimmage. I know he had the one opportunistic interception. He’s created some pressure on the quarterback,” McDaniels said of Ealy. “We (are) certainly are familiar with some of the things with him from being in camp with him, and (he will) be a big part of the challenge that we’ve got to deal with on Sunday afternoon.”