Nate Solder’s gone and he’s not coming back this season. Thanks to the torn biceps he suffered Sunday in Dallas. The Globe’s Jim McBride had the news first. The 6-8 Solder has been durable, dependable and consistent since coming into the league as a rookie in 2011. He’s also been increasingly effective since the summer of 2012 when he looked lost and overwhelmed and line coach Dante Scarnecchia passionately leaped to Solder’s defense. Solder’s a Pro Bowl-level tackle, but he’s solid and was elected a captain before this season. So what are the Patriots faced with?
Who Goes Where?
The team has two obvious options. Go next-man-up with Marcus Cannon stepping in at left tackle as he did last week in Dallas. Move right tackle Sebastian Vollmer over to left tackle and put Cannon at right tackle. Vollmer played left tackle way back in 2009 when the Patriots lost Matt Light and performed well. But the position’s been so well-manned between Solder and Light, the Patriots haven’t had to juggle much on Tom Brady’s blind side. Vollmer’s got greater length and size than Cannon – a benefit at left tackle where a player is up against the league’s most explosive and powerful players screaming off the edge. Gotta reach those fast guys. But Cannon is no slouch athletically and could negate rushers with his speed. He plays with a little more of an edge than most Patriots though and has been prone to lapses in focus.
Impact on Shaq Mason/ Josh Kline
After the Patriots win in Dallas, I asked center David Andrews how he and two fellow rookies – left guard Shaq Mason and right guard Tre Jackson – were able to perform with so much poise so early in their careers. Andrews quickly mentioned both the Patriots coaches and the presence of Vollmer and Solder. Solder is as serene a football player as you’ll find and that kind of calm can have a stabilizing effect on a position group. It seems to with the offensive line. Even when Solder hasn’t been particularly good – like Sunday, for instance – he’s pissed but not hostile. He’s got good fight and is developing the requisite mean streak but the Patriots are businessmen first, maulers second along the line and he’s personified that. The guys immediate next to Solder – Mason most of the time, occasionally Kline – will be impacted by Solder’s not being there.
Solder’s Future
A torn biceps isn’t an injury that will impact the 27-year-old Solder in the future. And, with his signing a two-year, $20M deal that takes him through the 2017 seasonhttp://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/nate-solder/ ($19-plus million of which is guaranteed), Solder is more than safe in terms of his own business situation. It’s a tough blow for the short term in 2015, but the left tackle position will be manned by Solder going forward.
Vollmer’s Future
After being incredibly fortunate on the injury front in 2014, the Patriots have been just pretty lucky so far in 2015. Injuries are inevitable, though, and when they hit critical spots the dominoes start to wobble. Offensive tackle, quarterback, cornerback, safety, middle linebacker – those are the biggies, in my opinion. Now, the tackle spot is minus a good player and Vollmer – a 31-year-old who’s fought through injuries his whole career – is even more important. His versatility allows him to play either side. His presence means the Patriots are still able to use a very experienced backup in Cannon. If Vollmer goes down, though, the Patriots would be dipping down onto their practice squad for players like Cameron Fleming.
Offensive Impact
The best way for the Patriots to offset the impact of losing Solder is to do offensively what they’ve always done. Rely on Tom. Brady’s been in the league since 2000. He’s made his offensive linemen an awful lot of money by understanding defenses and getting rid of the ball before he gets demolished and they get exposed. Not to say it hasn’t been a quid pro quo situation – when the OL has needed to hold up for Brady to go downfield, they’ve usually done that – but Brady makes the offensive line better because he deciphers defenses and gets rid of the ball in two seconds or less most of the time. The loss of Solder will change the 2015 season. It shouldn’t ruin it.