Dante Scarnecchia defends Solder too
See: An optimistic view of the offensive line and Bill Belichick must be on drugs
Here's another one to throw in there, as today Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia came out in Solder and Cannon's defense. His argument for Solder was much stronger though, as he pointed to recently retired Matt Light's transition to the starting left tackle.
ESPNBoston.com
“I think all young tackles struggle on plays and protections in this league,” Scarnecchia said Wednesday in a rare media interview with reporters. “Just do a little thinking. Who did Matt Light replace?”
When the answer was given by a reporter – Patriots Hall of Famer Bruce Armstrong – Scarnecchia become more passionate about the topic.
“Did any of you think that it was going to be [easy]? Did you think he had any problems with it to start with? Well, hell ya. They all [have] problems,” Scarnecchia said of the Light-to-Armstrong transition in 2001. “It was as painful as it could ever be [with Light]. Just like anything, he got better and became a really good player, ‘one that you can’t replace.’”
Touche Mr. Scarnecchia. I suppose that is a good point. Listen, no one expected Solder to make it to the pro bowl in his first year as a starting left tackle. However, no one expected him to get beaten so easily either.
The good news is that its preseason, and also that Solder has yet to play with the full offensive line. Both Mankins and Vollmer are now back and Brian Waters is expected to report at some point.
The reality is, it hasn't looked pretty, but it actually is too early too panic. The longer this offensive line plays together, the better they will be. Nate Solder isn't the difference between a Super Bowl and a 7-8 season.
Unless we see Tom Brady barking at him in the middle of a regular season game, you can just sit tight and hope for the best.
