Let's just say I never appreciated linemen in the past.  I admit it and I'm coming clean.  I went for the easy mark, the high flying wide receivers, pulling down impossible passes and dancing between defensive backs for yet another TD.  Practically perfect in every way (Julie Andrews would be proud).  And then, the Super Bowl.  Stellar throughout the 2007 season, the OL had a bad day.  And if the OL has a bad day, Tom Brady has a bad day.  And the ball doesn't get into the air.  Or worse, Tom eats fertilizer.  The relentless rushing attack of the Giants' defense taught me that the OL is there to snuff out the hopes and dreams of those wily defensive dudes.  Stay away from my quarterback or I'll hurt you.  He's buying me a car.

I was too busy watching the sideline running gazelles until...I went to JHR University.  A few most excellent stories on the OL and I was hooked.  I now pay attention to the goings on, but I am but a grasshopper.  Far from tattooing my arms with a heated kettle, I will only touch on the most basic of concepts and leave the tricky stuff to our O-line PhD.

This is a VERY busy weekend for coaches and player personnel, specifically Scott Pioli.  The 53 man roster should never be considered carved in stone, but penciled in.  Sure, guys like Tom, Randy, Wes, et al are traced over with an indelible sharpie, but I digress.  The most recent moves show a need to shore up the 300 pounders, the guys keeping Tom Brady standing on both feet, albeit one of them a little shaky.

Success is a funny thing.  Because of our 16-0 regular season record, we are dead last in line for waiver wire priority.  We can put in our claim for a player, but 31 other teams have to pass before we can get the guy.  We most recently picked up OT Mark LeVoir from the Rams, but that's not the weakest spot.  Guard is in issue for us with top backups Russ Hochstein and Dan Connolly sidelined due to injuries.  Let's not forget Stephen Neal on the PUP list.  This leaves no support for starters Logan Mankins and Billy Yates.  There's still a plethora of unclaimed 300 pounders, so don't despair.

Scott Pioli?  Get me some big ones.  6-5 and 300 pounds will do.  Preferably with some brains, too.  Can you do that for me, pretty please?  Brady's tired of eating this:

Greetings Patriots fans, from your designated trenchman. Seems I've assumed default oversight of the pig-pen, where the big boys battle, so in an effort to continue to uphold that role I bring you the latest in the ongoing saga of the Patriots' offensive line.

After bringing him in for a workout yesterday, the Patriots have signed Massachusetts homeboy Mike Flynn to a one year contract. The former standout at Springfield's Cathedral High and the University of Maine has played in the big leagues for 10 seasons, all of them for the Baltimore Ravens.

Flynn is the latest signing in a bewildering array of free-agents old and new that the Pioli/Belichick team has brought in to shore up the front wall. Spurred by a merry-go-round of injuries all along the front five, the Patriots now enter officially desperate waters. To bring in an o-lineman this late in camp is beyond cause for concern--it's indicative of a serious issue. That issue is depth.

More on Flynn and the rest of the fat guys over the jump.

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The Globe's Mike Reiss shifts his concern from the defensive backfield to the offensive line.

There have been some "stop-the-bleeding" signings up front in the last couple of days.  In addition to first-year free agent Pete McMahon, two long in the tooth vets were brought in.  McMahon, who played his college ball in Iowa under the tutelage of Kirk Ferentz and OC Ken O'Keefe, was drafted in 2005 by the Raiders, but has never played a down in anger and was out of the game completely for the last two seasons.

Joining him are Barry Stokes and John Welbourn.  You can read Reiss' article here, and I'll leave it for him to put this in perspective.  Needless to say, this kind of juggling on the front does not bode well for the early season.  With Matt Light out this entire time and perennial back-ups O'Callaghan and Oliver Ross recently joining him, things are even more uncertain than I thought them to be earlier.  Here's a run-down on Stokes and Welbourn:

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