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Yes, the New England Patriots have an excuse. None of their four returning starters from 2014 (Nate Solder, Ryan Wendell, Bryan Stork, or Sebastian Vollmer) played against the Packers. The two rookie projected-starting guards (Tre Jackson and Shaq Mason) were easily the best Patriots offensive linemen.
The rest of the offensive line left so much to be desired and it became difficult to even gauge the rest of the offense because of how poorly the line played.
Looked like Tre Jackson missed an assignment on that sack.
— Ethan Hammerman (@Ethanhamm) August 14, 2015
Shaq Mason gets overwhelmed on 2nd down there. Garoppolo sacked
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) August 14, 2015
Cameron Fleming nearly got Jimmy killed.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyedNESN) August 14, 2015
Cam Fleming got crapped on at the line of scrimmage, held and still got beat badly. Garoppolo sacked by any one of 3 rushers...
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) August 14, 2015
Josh Kline, David Andrews and James White were all on the turf following that sack. This OL...
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyedNESN) August 14, 2015
First play of the Garoppolo Era is a false start erroneously credited to No. 55 (not on offense). Probably Jordan Devey (65)
— Sun Chronicle Sports (@SunChronSports) August 14, 2015
Chris Barker whiffed and nearly got Jimmy Garoppolo decapitated.
— Erik Frenz (@ErikFrenz) August 14, 2015
I'm not sure about Chris Barker's future at left tackle, guys.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyedNESN) August 14, 2015
Through three quarters, every Patriots offensive lineman who took the field left plenty to be desired. Some were just outright abysmal.
The preseason is still young, but the health of the starters needs to improve so the depth of the roster will get a chance to play with a quarterback with enough time to stand in the pocket. This offensive line made the Week 1-4 2014 Patriots offensive line look reasonable.