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It seems like distant memory, but there was a time in the 2014 season when the offensive line was deplorable. For the first quarter of the season, the Patriots rotated at literally every position. They used Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer, and Marcus Cannon at tackle, depending on the drive. They used Cannon, Cameron Fleming, Josh Kline, and Jordan Devey on the interior. Dan Connolly lined up at all three interior line spots.
The only players who didn't really see the field was Ryan Wendell and the injured rookie Bryan Stork.
They've fixed this issue moving forward, and the top eight offensive linemen are fairly set in stone, with Solder, Stork, Wendell, Vollmer, Cannon, Fleming, and the rookies Tre Jackson and Shaq Mason on the roster. But last season? Yeesh.
It might come as a little bit of a surprise, but quarterback Tom Brady faced below-average pressure when compared to the rest of the league. Pro Football Focus (PFF) has Brady under pressure on 32% of his snaps, versus the 33.4% league average (and it's a fairly negligible difference).
PFF notes that Brady spent 2.36 seconds in the pocket (including playoffs), which was the second quickest in the league behind Peyton Manning. This means that Brady was spending pretty much no time in the pocket, but was still facing pressure.
According to PFF's grading system, they have Brady as the 4th best quarterback when under pressure, behind Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, and Ryan Tannehill. Historically, Brady had struggled in the face of pressure, but he added an ability to scramble to his toolbox and the results speak for themselves.