Sunday, March 24, 2013

New England Patriots re-sign Sebatian Vollmer

An offensive line in the NFL are always striving to achieve the three "C"s.

The longer the players on an offensive line practice and play together, the better their coordination, continuity and chemistry - and now that the New England Patriots have re-signed right tackle Sebatian Vollmer, you can add "Complete" to that list.

Last season, the New England Patriots fielded one of the best offensive lines in football, and now that Vollmer is back in the fold, he rejoins Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell, Logan Mankins and Nate Solder to again form a spectacularly underrated piece of the Patriots potential championship puzzle.

Easily one of the top right tackles in all of football, Vollmer is considered such despite dealing with chronic back issues and a knee injury which caused him to miss one game in 2012 - and it was these medical issues that likely caused the free agent market dry for the German born behemoth.

The other 31 team's loss is the Patriots' gain.

The 6' 8" 320 pound Vollmer teams with equally massive left tackle Nate Solder as the best set of bookends in the league - and where Solder, a former tight end, is athletic and light on his feet in protecting quarterback Tom Brady's blind side, Vollmer's nasty disposition on the field and sheer mass makes him an intrepid road grader in the running game...

Which is not to say that Vollmer isn't key in the passing game, but when he teams with tight end Rob Gronkowski and guard Dan Connolly, the right side of the Patriots offensive line becomes a tandem bulldozer, clearing the way for running backs Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen.

Terms of the contract have not been disclosed, but it is believed to be for a period of four years and for much less than even the Patriots thought they'd have to cough up to retain him.

It is possible that the Patriots were the only team really in the mix for the Univcersity of Houston product, but that the team was waiting to see the numbers on the deal that Jake Long and the St. Louis Rams agreed to on Friday as a means of setting the market on tackles.

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