It'll be a long season in New England if the Patriots continue this trend

The Patriots' offensive struggles continued against the Raiders on Sunday.

Former Patriots linemen Dan Koppen and Mike Flynn joined Sports Sunday to discuss which area of concern has been the biggest problem for the offense.

"I think the main problem right now is the offensive line and the lack of pass protection he's getting," said Koppen. "When he gets back there he's not looking to throw the ball, he's looking at who's coming at him. I think that is affecting a lot of his throws."

Flynn pointed out some flaws in the underperforming offensive line.

"It's really a lack of physicality from this group," said Flynn. "You thought there was some improvement, but it's across the board. It's the tackles, the veteran guys you've got to lean on that aren't playing well, it's the interior guys. It's going to be a long season for this offense if they play like this."

Michael Holley suggested the offensive line has yet to recover from losing Logan Mankins and wondered if anyone can step into his role.

"Not even close," explained Koppen. "Logan was the guy that set the tone early on and he was a guy who was a leader in that meeting room. When that came out, it didn't matter who the replaced him with, that was a huge loss early on. They are still dealing with those issues."

-- CSN New England