Socci: Patriots Have Work Cut Out For Them Over Next Month
BOSTON (CBS) -- The New England Patriots improved to 2-1 with their 16-9 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, but there are plenty of questions surrounding the team.
It all starts with the offensive line, who struggled again on Sunday. Tom Brady was sacked twice and hit four other times. He's been sacked seven times through three games this season, and to compound those issues, the Patriots only ran for 76 yards on Sunday -- against a defense that had given up 200 rushing yards per game over the first two weeks.
Can the offensive line come together? 98.5 The Sports Hub's Patriots play-by-play man Bob Socci joined Toucher & Rich on Monday morning, and said the group will have to pull it together quickly with New England's upcoming slate of opponents.
"They're going to have to. The hope now rests with the rookie, Bryan Stork, taking over at center and allowing Dan Connolly to play guard or Ryan Wendell [when he gets back from a knee injury]," said Socci. "They are obviously big picture concerns for the offensive line. It's not just the young guys trying to fit in at guard, but the tackles. Yesterday, Nate Solder got beat a couple of times exposing Tom Brady to some vicious hits.
"Someone analyzing the game said you used to see that every three or four games but this season it seems to happen every game, where the tackles are flat-out beat. There are great concerns, especially with what's on the horizon," said Socci. "Going to Kansas City where it's a very loud environment and tough to communicate as an offense. Then you play the Bengals, who may very well be the best team in the AFC right now and has an opposing defense. Then Buffalo with its pass-rush on the road. This team has their work cut out for them, to say the least."
Socci also discusses Aaron Dobson's role with the team, and gave his player of the game award for Sunday's win:
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