FOXBOROUGH — Logan Mankins still doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Known as an extraordinary truth-teller when he was a player in New England — it was mandatory to stop by his locker after a game, win or lose — in retirement, he still will give it to you straight. And so when he offers up his opinion about the current New England offensive line, you listen.
The former left guard, who was with the Patriots from 2005 until he was traded just before the start of the 2014 season, says he likes what he sees from the current o-line.
“I haven’t watched a lot of games closely this year, but the ones I have watched, they’ve done a really good job,” he told BostonSportsJournal.com. “What they did last week to the Chargers was pure domination — they were pretty much able to do whatever they wanted to do in that one.
“I like these guys, the way they play. It’s a good group.”
Mankins singles out fellow left guard Joe Thuney.
“I don’t know Joe all that well, but from the few times I’ve really studied him, he does a really good job,” he said of Thuney, who put together a Mankins-esque streak of toughness this season by not missing a single snap. “He’s long and athletic and can he move well — a lot like the guards they love to get in there over the years, guys who can get out and move in the screen game. He’s a perfect guard for the system.”
Mankins isn’t the only ex-Patriots’ offensive lineman who likes where this group is heading into the AFC title game. Rich Ohrnberger, another guard who was a part of the New England offense line a decade ago but is now an analyst in Southern California, uses the same adjectives in describing the current Patriots’ offensive line.
“I spend a lot of time watching the Chargers out here in Southern California, and I know that team pretty well, especially as far as a pass-rushing front,” Ohrnberger said. "What the Patriots’ offensive line did was really impressive. That was really as perfect an offensive line performance as a group can play.”
Of course, Mankins and Ohrnberger aren’t the only ones who have been impressed by the work of Trent Brown, Thuney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason and Marcus Cannon this season. Pro Football Focus acknowledged the work of the line this season, saying Tom Brady was under pressure for 25.8 percent of his dropbacks this year — the third-lowest total in the league for any quarterback with a minimum of 180 dropbacks. (That number dropped to 15.9 percent in the divisional round.)
Tom Brady was hardly under pressure in the regular season – but his offensive line kept him upright even MORE in the Divisional Round. pic.twitter.com/Z2SjT7PTSy
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) January 18, 2019
Part of the success? The Patriots have managed to keep the same group together for much of the season — New England has had just three different groups of starters over 17 games (16 regular-season contests and one playoff game). That sort of continuity has allowed them to gel nicely down the stretch.
“Football’s a physical game, and things happen that guys can’t control. But we’ve been fortunate the years I’ve been here and having guys stay in there and play,” said Andrews. “It’s a big thing, when you need to work together with guys each day in and out, you just kind of form a group and know how each other operates and communicates. It’s just a testament to guys coming in each day and working and staying healthy.”
Moving forward, the group will face a sizable challenge this weekend against the Chiefs, a defensive front that has a lot of movement.
The Patriots' offensive line allowed 134 pressures this season – they'll be tested against Dee Ford, Chris Jones and the Chiefs D-Line. pic.twitter.com/hGm2pqMZoa
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) January 18, 2019
“They have different alignments and different looks, different personnel combinations and some game plan pressures, so they could run a blitz that they haven’t run before,” Bill Belichick said of the Kansas City defensive front. “That wouldn’t be unusual for them or run a coverage that they maybe haven’t run in a month or two months. There’s an element to game planning from them that’s unique to this game that we don’t know.
“So, communication and making sure that we have everything accounted for is going to be important,” he added. “But if they just line up and play straight, that’s a problem too because they have a very disruptive front, a very athletic front. If those guys catch an edge on you or get a step into the gap, they can blow the whole play up. (The offensive line has) to do a good job on all of those guys.”
Ultimately, Mankins and Ohrnberger have faith the New England offensive line will rise to the challenge.
“I’ve gotten an opportunity to watch them play in most of the games this season,” said Ohrnberger, “and the most compelling reason to say they will continue to play well this weekend against the Chiefs because these guys have clearly gotten better over the last few weeks. They’ve been building to this — they are clearly playing with more confidence and a better understanding of each other every month. This is their time.”