New England Patriots offensive line in 2008: Starters, backups and reserves

Here’s a look at New England Patriots offensive linemen and the different combinations of starting offensive lines that the team is using in the 2008 season. I’ll update this post as the season chugs along.

New England Patriots starting offensive linemen by game in 2008

Week	Left Tackle	Left Guard	Center	Right Guard	Right Tackle
1 vs Kansas City	Matt Light	Logan Mankins	Dan Koppen	Billy Yates	Nick Kaczur
2 @ New York Jets
3 vs Miami Dolphins
5 @ San Francisco 49ers
6 @ San Diego Chargers
7 vs Denver Broncos					Mark LeVoir
8 vs St. Louis Rams
9 @ Indianapolis Colts				Stephen Neal	Nick Kaczur
10 vs Buffalo Bills
11 vs New York Jets
12 @ Miami Dolphins
13 vs Pittsburgh Steelers
14 @ Seattle Seahawks
15 @ Oakland Raiders
16 vs Arizona Cardinals
17 @ Buffalo Bills

Offensive linemen on New England Patriots 53-man roster (position, jersey number, height, weight, number of starts in 2008):

Matt Light (T, #72, 6′4″, 305, 16)
Logan Mankins (G, #70, 6′4″, 310, 16)
Dan Koppen (C, #67, 6′2″, 296, 16)
Nick Kaczur (T, #77, 6′4″, 315, 16)
Russ Hochstein (G/C, #71, 6′4″, 305, 0)
Billy Yates (G/C, #74, 6′2″, 305, 7)
Wesley Britt (T, #65, 6′8″, 320, 0)
Mark LeVoir (T, #64, 6′7″,306, 2)
Stephen Neal (G, #61, 6′4″, 305, 9)
Dan Connolly (G, #63, 6′4″,313,0)

Mark LeVoir was signed by the Patriots on September 1 from the waivers (cut by Saint Louis Rams) .

Offensive linemen on New England Patriots 8-man Practice Squad (position, jersey number, height, weight):
Jacob Bender (OL, #60, 6′6″, 315)
Ryan Wendell (C,#62, 6′2″,275) added on September 24.

Connolly was cut from the 53-man roster on October (to make room for Stephen Neal, who was activated from the PUP list the same day) then added to the Practice Squad on October 22. He was signed to the 53-man roster on December 13.

Bender was signed to the practice squad on September 3.
Gone from last year’s line up are right guard Stephen Neal, who starts the 2008 season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and right tackle Ryan O’Callaghan, who will spend the season on injured reserve. Neal started eleven games last year, O’Callaghan one.

Last year the Patriots carried four offensive tackles on the roster but this year they’re going with just three. I assume Britt is going to be the back up tackle and if something happens to him Hochstein - a versatile, dependable and experienced interior offensive linemen - will play emergency back up. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick mentioned in passing this off season that it probably wouldn’t be a big deal for Mankins to play guard, so depending on what the situation was, it’s possible Mankins would slide to tackle, especially left tackle, while Hochstein would take his spot.

Pictures of New England Patriots offensive linemen

Left to right: “The angry little elf” offensive line coach and assistant head coach for the New England Patriots Dante Scarnecchia, right tackle Nick Kaczur, center/guard Russ Hochstein (#71), guard Dan Connolly, and tackle Wesley Britt during the 2008 pre-season training camp.

Left to right: Guard/center Billy Yates, tackle Wesley Britt, and center Dan Koppen:

Right tackle Nick Kaczur (#77) and left guard Logan Mankins (#70) along with Dante Scarnecchia:

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 30th, 2008 in Football. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.