David Andrews: Patriots Offensive Line Needs To Be 'On The Same Page' Against Steelers
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots had several problems against the Houston Texans last Saturday night. But arguably at the top of the list was the play of the interior of the offensive line.
Tom Brady got flushed out of the pocket on many plays and got pressured into a handful of bad decisions, including two interceptions. Center David Andrews and left guard Joe Thuney received the brunt of the abuse from the Texans' defensive front, led by Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus. Andrews and Thuney have more high-end talent to deal with on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday's AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium, but it's also important that Andrews and Thuney play better in their own right - and that the offensive line plays better as a unit.
Andrews sounded well-prepared for the Steelers defense when he spoke to reporters in Foxboro on Thursday, but stressed the need for the line to be better as individuals and as a group.
"[The Steelers] are very confident in their system and what they do, and like I said, they do it well," said Andrews. "They run their blitzes, they're good at it. The big thing for us is just everyone being on the same page and getting that coordinated."
Andrews mentioned linebacker Bud Dupree by name when asked about the Steelers defense. The 2015 first-round pick is a large man who has played well in his second season since coming off of injured reserve in Week 11, registering 3.5 sacks in his last four games. Stephon Tuitt is an even larger man and a threat to create pressure up the middle on a consistent basis. James Harrison, at 38 years old, remains a stalwart off the edge.
As you saw in the Houston game, the Texans were able to fluster Brady and disrupt the Patriots offense by attacking Andrews and Thuney up the middle using two players (Clowney and Mercilus) who are typically edge rushers. The Steelers may try the same thing with Harrison and Dupree, but they've never been known as a team to mix things up on defense like Romeo Crennel did with the Texans' scheme - "they do what they do," as Andrews said.
It sounds as if the Patriots are going to be prepared for the Steelers to switch it up on defense. But of course, preparation is only half the battle - they still need to execute well, something they did not do much of on Saturday.
Left tackle Nate Solder acknowledged that the Patriots had plenty to fix from that game and that they needed to apply those fixes when facing the Steelers.
"The things that you didn't do right can sometimes be a gift. If you can get them right, they can help you for the next game," said Solder. "So the things that we didn't do right, we've been working on in accordance to how they're going to help us this week. The whole week has been based on the Steelers, but the things that we didn't do right, if we correct them, they can help us this week."
The Patriots had a lot of things to correct after last Saturday, but the play of the offensive line was arguably the most important. The way they perform against the Steelers could mean the difference between another trip to the Super Bowl and a second straight AFC Championship loss.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
