Depth on the Line

I was surprised with the trade of Offensive Lineman Russ Hochstein to the Denver Broncos. He had been with the team since 2002 and was very versatile at all of the offensive line positions.

In 2007, he started the final eight games of the seasons at center when Dan Koppen was injured. Last year, he stated the last two games at full-back and played the position numerous times in goal line and short yardage situations. He was also used as a 3rd tight end.

During Coach Belichick's press conference on Wednesday,he reiterated how invaluable Hochstein was to the team. There is a logjam on the offensive line with the team likely to carry only eight on the 53 man roster.

Coach Belichick stated that the team has Ryan Wendell, Dan Connolly and Billy Yates in the back-up role as center. The team was able to get a 7th round draft pick for a player they might have cut.