The Patriots Best Offensive Line Option; Includes Marcus Cannon and Dan Connolly

The Patriots offensive line was in shambles in week 1 against the Dolphins. The Vikings, with new head coach Mike Zimmer, does not provide the line with any room to catch their breath.

Across the board, every player struggled. Tackles Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer didn't play well, but they have had enough historical success to quell most fears- especially with Vollmer in his first game back since a broken leg. Hopefully they'll be back to their peak form on Sunday.

Former tackle, now left guard, Marcus Cannon was arguably the best player on the line, which isn't saying much. He seemed to hold his ground in pass protection and made some solid dents in the run game. There are some concerns about his quickness, as speedier defensive tackles gave him some troubles on the inside. It's possible that this is just part of his adjustment period, but is definitely something to watch.

Dan Connolly, historically the weak link on the line, was the glue that held the team together during the first game as he rotated between center and right guard. The team was best with Ryan Wendell on the field at center, pushing Connolly to right guard, but he was lost to an injury early in the second half.

The weak link was Jordan Devey at right guard, who was unable to provide a consistent level of protection. The only reason he should start on Sunday is if the rest of the players are plagued with injury- and that means that Wendell and Bryan Stork wouldn't be able to play.

Bill Belichick has said that players who haven't been able to practice shouldn't be considered starters. That's why Aaron Dobson wasn't available for week 1, why Joe Vellano received so much playing time as the only fully healthy defensive lineman, and why Bryan Stork wasn't part of the interior rotation. With Wendell sidelined, Stork has been able to see more starting time at practice and should hopefully be available for the first time.

To put it bluntly, there is no way for the offensive line to be worse than how it played against Miami. That's why it would make the most sense for the team to play Stork at center as soon as he is ready to be active.

The center position is the most difficult to handle on the line as they're responsible for calling out line adjustments; to put that much weight on a rookie would be asking a lot. Still, if he is healthy, then being active and on the line would be the most useful place to learn.

In my opinion, the most successful offensive line would be as follows: LT Nate Solder, LG Dan Connolly, C Bryan Stork, RG Marcus Cannon, RT Sebastian Vollmer

I propose flipping Connolly and Cannon to match-up with opposing players. While the "blindside" argument is overblown, teams will put their faster players on the offensive line's left side. Connolly is quicker and should be better able to handle linemen with speedier skill sets.

What line do you think would be the most successful?