Rob Gronkowski = Jason Witten Clone

They are almost idential in size...Discuss!

He has the potential to have similar success but Gronk has a better name, therefore he wins.

Reminds me more of a young Todd Heap.

No disrespect to Witten, but I think Gronkowski is more athletic. The eye test says he's more fluid. But I've been wrong before.

Gronk is a better blocker than Heap or Witten hope to be.

I see a reincarnation of Mark Bavaro. Great blocker. Great pass catcher. Tough as nails.

Brettlax3434 said:

Reminds me more of a young Todd Heap.

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Yep, same here

Witten can't score TDs either!!! At least that's how it played out in FF last year!

robertweathers said:

Gronk is a better blocker than Heap or Witten hope to be.

I see a reincarnation of Mark Bavaro. Great blocker. Great pass catcher. Tough as nails.

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Bavaro! Yes, that's probably the best comparison I can think of. He had some great hands!

With the way Gronkowski has been progressing, his ceiling looks to be higher than Witten's ever was. The Bavaro comparison is the best in here.

Brady2Welker said:

No disrespect to Witten, but I think Gronkowski is more athletic. The eye test says he's more fluid. But I've been wrong before.

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I believe you're right in your assessment. I also think Gronk will be one of the best TEs in the league, he is a all around solid TE, blocking and catching, and looks fast for his size. mismatch for defenses.

Bavaro's knees and shoulders just couldn't last. Tuna brought in Howard Cross to ease the blocking burden as Bavaro's body was already shredded after 4 outstanding seasons.

I love the TE talk. With all due respect the great careers T-Gon, Sharpe and the other pure pass catchers had, I have a greater level of appreciation for the the guys that can run & pass block. Thats where Rambo gets my votes. Ben Coats was like that too earlier in his career as well. Ozzie Newsome was an above ave blocker as well. The guy almost never missed a game

Even though he didn't evolve into the perfect 3-tool TE, I loved Danny Graham. Inconsistient pass catcher but he absolutely mauled LBs in the running/pass blocking game and more than held his own vs quicker DEs.

It's early but I see the potential to excel at a high-level in all 3 phases for Gronk.

I think he has the chance to be really special.

How can you not like the Gronk ? Great name, great enthusiasm, and great potential. Him and Hernandez are gonna be an amazing pair of young TE's

Gronk has an impressive strike zone. 6'6" with 34+ in. arms (good for an OT). He is also broad enough that it is difficult to get around him to defend a pass. When the ball does get into his area, he has huge mitts (almost 11" across) to secure the ball. Basically Gronk is open even when he isn't.

The best part is that he has the reach and functional strength to run block and pass protect when he is left on his own. As long as the Pats stay in reasonable down/distance, Gronk makes it difficult for the defense to put specialists on the field. If Hernandez can improve his blocking to the level of a serviceable fullback, the Pats should be able to generate mismatches in the passing and running game for years to come.

pretty amazing how we went from Watson and Baker to Gronk, Hernandez and Crumpelr.

I think BB compared him to Kyle Brady when he was drafted. I'd say Gronk is a better athlete, but Brady was known as almost a 3rd tackle when he played for the Jags.

The TE position is really loaded in the NFL right now. It's almost like every team has a good one. If your looking for pure pass catching then it's Gates and there's a big gap between him and everyone else, he's a better pass catcher than 90% of the WRs in the league. For overall blocking and catching, then I'd say it's between Vernon Davies and Witten.

Gronk will do well to be as good as those 2, but he looks to be a solid TE that has consistent hands, something we've needed for years.

CheeseMonkeys said:

He has the potential to have similar success but Gronk has a better name, therefore he wins.

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And his name is a verb

To be Gronked!

To be Witted doesn't sound as good

BradyBranch39 said:

pretty amazing how we went from Watson and Baker to Gronk, Hernandez and Crumpelr.

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Yeah I'd say that's a HUGE upgrade. Our tight ends find ways to make impacts in the passing game and the blocking game. This is a far cry from last year. And that is why I didn't shed a tear when stone-hands Watson finally hit the road. I knew that we could do better. Didn't predict we'd do THIS MUCH better, but still.

He was my favourite pick in the draft. I was disappointed at first at the few touches he got at the beginning of the season but it seems like Brady is beginning to trust him. With his size, speed and amazingly soft hands, the sky is the limit for him.

bruschi keeps sayjng that BB has been looking for the next mark bavaro forever on the pats and may have found one with gronk

No comparison with Gronk to Coates?.....even a little?