Pats 8-0, but thin O-line may be flaw

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- And then there were five.

When Patriots tackle Sebastian Vollmer left early in the second quarter of his team's 27-10 win over the Washington Redskins with what was later announced as a head injury, it weakened a New England offensive line that was already perilously thin.

The Patriots thought they were getting a reinforcement back before the game in Bryan Stork, who has been out all season with a head/neck injury. But they are still without offensive tackle Marcus Cannon and guard Tre' Jackson. Left guard Shaq Mason is not at full health, with an ailing knee.

The Pats went into the game against Washington with Vollmer, Stork, Mason, Cameron Fleming, and interior linemen Josh Kline and David Andrews.

Vollmer moved from right tackle to left tackle when Nate Solder was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a torn biceps on Oct. 14 after suffering the injury in New England's win over the Cowboys on Oct. 11.

So, yeah, they could use some help.

New England's depleted O-line may have had little reason for worry against the hapless Washington Redskins, who fell to 3-5 as the Pats improved to 8-0. But that may change in the next few weeks -- the Patriots travel to face the NFC East-leading Giants next week before hosting division opponent Buffalo and then traveling to Denver to face the Broncos on Nov. 29. Expect Denver's potent defense to give the Pats fits if New England doesn't bolster its offensive line before then.

In the first half against Washington, quarterback Tom Brady went 15-for-22, throwing for 166 yards and one touchdown. In the second half, with the offensive line in need of repair, he went 11-for-17 for 133 yards.

The Pats' offense had 245 total yards in the first half -- 79 rushing and 166 receiving -- taking a 17-3 lead into halftime against the Redskins. They also had two turnovers in the half, after entering the game with three total for the season. In the second half, the Pats had 216 total yards. New England's 27 points against the Redskins are a season low. (Yeah, we know that's still really good.)

"[The offensive linemen], they play so hard," said Brady. "I mean, we went into the game with six offensive linemen. So you just hope for the best, and then obviously with 'Seabass' [Sebastian Vollmer] going down, it puts a lot of strain on those guys. And a lot of guys scrambled to figure out exactly what we're going to do. And they played really hard, so I'm proud of them. I mean, for Bryan [Stork] to play right tackle, he hadn't played center this year and he goes in and plays right tackle. It's like unbelievable, and then Flem [Fleming] to go to left tackle, which ... I don't know when we thought about doing that, but that's what happens when you're a little bit under pressure."

Which can force a quarterback to simplify his game plan.

"It's always a little bit challenging when you kind of put multiple variables into play," Brady said. "And obviously without those guys practicing at all at those positions, it's not like you want to run a bunch of things that ... I mean, I guess we've never practiced anything with those guys in there, so anything we call would be new."

The Patriots had a lot of moving parts on the offensive line in the game. To start the second half against Washington, the Pats had Fleming at left tackle with Stork at right. Fleming was promoted from the practice squad before the Pats' Week 6 (Oct. 16) win over the Colts. Tight end Michael Williams also saw some time at tackle against Washington.

"They competed hard," Belichick said of Stork and Flemings' performances. "We were able to move the ball and get some first downs and score there in the second half. You've got to give them credit for that. They did a good job competing. They were ready to go."

In his first game of the season, Stork saw time at center, left guard, left tackle and right tackle.

For Fleming, who had never played left tackle in a game before, it was satisfying to be able to take on multiple assignments.

"It means a lot," Fleming said. "We're all prepared to play. We're already to contribute to the team and it means a lot that we were able to keep Tom clean because that's the name of the game."

Fleming and his linemates will likely be getting plenty of practice at multiple positions over the next few weeks. They better, or else the Pats' perfect season could be in jeopardy.

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Maureen Mullen is the sports editor of the Daily Item in Lynn, Mass. She is also the author of Diary of a Red Sox Season, 2007 with the legendary Johnny Pesky, and Yogi Was Up with a Guy on Third, conversations with 53 of the 64 living Hall of Famers.

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