With Gronk likely to start season on PUP, here is the Pats depth chart at TE

Rob0729 · Jun 3, 2013

Ive_Killed_People said:
I think he's being quite presumptuous about Gronk's health and the PUP

Nothing like ESPN's endless speculation that Gronk's career may be done or at least he might only have 2-3 good years left in him.

supafly · Jun 3, 2013

Rob0729 said:
Nothing like ESPN's endless speculation that Gronk's career may be done or at least he might only have 2-3 good years left in him.

Funny you should bring that up. I was outside of Cleveland over the weekend and I ran into a guy wearing a NEP t-shirt.

Since I'm desperate for any and all Pats talk from any place I can get it, I approached him and we started talking about some current issues.

When I asked him about his opinion on the Gronk situation, he instantly looked at me and deadpanned "he's still got a couple of good yrs left...."

Needless to say, I was speechless.

Joker · Jun 3, 2013

you should have asked him if there was anything new on the "Pats taped the Rams walkthrough" YESPN blockbuster

PatsFanStnfrd · Jun 4, 2013

Zach Sudfeld is having a good camp -- emerging as a player to watch.

Zach Sudfeld stands out during Tuesday's OTA, and other observations | masslive.com

"Undrafed rookie tight end Zach Sudfeld had another solid day of practice. Though it’s too early to know how things will come together, Sudfeld is beginning to appear as a player to watch moving forward. He made several nice catches during team drills and spent part of the session working off to the side with quarterback Tom Brady."

Now that Moe is on IR, Sudfeld and last year's practice WR Kamar Aiken are emerging in the offense.

captain stone · Jun 5, 2013

Sudfield definiely has a legit chance to make the Opening Day 53, as Hernandez' Flex backup,
though I wonder why no one has signed ex-Pat TE & damn good burger-maker David Thomas.

It also wouldn't surprise if only 2 of Ballard, Fells & HooHah make the team, in an attempt to replace
the irreplaceable Gronk.

supafly · Jun 6, 2013

captain stone said:
It also wouldn't surprise if only 2 of Ballard, Fells & HooHah make the team, in an attempt to replace
the irreplaceable Gronk.

Personally, that's kind of what I'm expecting--4 total TE's for the 53 man roster with the probability of Sudfeld ("Sunshine" is what I hear the teammates are calling him, due to his longer hair + ponytail) going to the practice squad.

Of course the practice squad isn't always a sure thing as we've seen in the past, not to mention the fact that you're definitely correct in thinking that Sudfeld has a chance to make the 53 man roster with a good showing in TC.

I suppose there's always the possibility of 5 TE's, although I would think that would be a lower percentage of chances myself. Either way, we're sure to have at least 4 TE's that should offer great competition and pretty good talent.

satz · Jun 6, 2013

Ballard is my selection for cannot miss player who is cut player pick for this year.

JoeSixPat · Jun 6, 2013

satz said:
Ballard is my selection for cannot miss player who is cut player pick for this year.

Boy, I'll give you credit for picking one of the least likely names... But of course that's the nature of your prediction... A can't miss guy who is cut.

Unless he's just physically unable to perform as when he was a starter I can't see that happening though - some quality depth at TE gives them the luxury of not being forced to start Gronk before he's healthy.

Taking a risk with Gronk and his 8 year contract doesn't strike me as smart football when you have two starting TEs available - and better to have Gronk at the end of the season than the beginning

(but don't tell that to Andy Johnson, who has staked his reputation on guaranteeing that Gronk will start the season opener!)

jmt57 · Jun 9, 2013

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski can return from back surgery, but will he be same dominant player? - Patriots - Boston.com

Many medical experts believe that Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski can be ready to take the field about 12 weeks after he undergoes surgery to repair a herniated disk this month.

But there’s a difference in being ready to play and having full confidence restored. Ross Tucker was cut by the Bills at the end of camp in ’05, and never started another NFL game.

“The truth is, it was a full year before I really felt good, and I never felt 100 percent again,” said Tucker.

The good news for Gronkowski, who is having the surgery performed by noted surgeon Robert Watkins: Most empirical evidence suggests that he can return to his elite level of performance, even in the 2013 season.

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski can return from back surgery, but will he be same dominant player? - Sports - The Boston Globe

“It’s a very, very common procedure,” said Dr. Christopher Bono, chief of spine service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “The chance of return to play is actually quite good, and there’s a 90-95 percent chance he’ll go back to playing at full capacity.”

The bad news, though: Patriots fans might have to wait a little while to see their star player this fall — perhaps as much as the first half of the regular season.

“Offensive and defensive linemen — and Gronk is included, because he does some blocking — are at the greatest risk for developing a poor outcome after this kind of surgery,” said Dr. Wellington Hsu, associate professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “They play the game in a squatting position, and have a lot of force on their back when they hit 300-pound defenders.”

Watkins, who also performed Gronkowski’s first diskectomy, is also regarded as one of the best in the business. Watkins repaired the herniated disk of Giants star pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul just last week, and the Giants hope to have him back by Week 1.

“He’s the forefather of disk herniation in pro athletes,” said Hsu. “He has done more of these surgeries on pro athletes than anyone in the world.”

The generally accepted recovery period after surgery is 12 weeks — six to let the scar heal, and another six to get back into football shape. Gronkowski likely won’t be allowed to do so much as lift a 5-pound dumbbell until the end of July, at the earliest.

Once the scar is healed, he needs to get back in football shape — which means a lot of work to his core and making sure he can withstand the pounding of football.

“With professional football players you may have to wait a little bit longer because of the intensity that they’ll play, but generally within six weeks, he should be at a level that is probably close to full capacity,” Bono said.

But many players who underwent a similar surgery dispute the notion that they were 100 percent and ready to play after 12 weeks....

primetime · Jun 9, 2013

Yeah, Ross Tucker went from starting a whole 24 games with 3 very bad teams (including a mid-season release) over the 4 years he played to being out of the league because of the surgery, not because he just wasn't very good in the first place. If only they'd give guys like Billy Yates or Quinn Ojinnaka jobs at Sports Illustrated, maybe we can hear from them about why their careers ended.

jmt57 · Jun 9, 2013

primetime said:
Yeah, Ross Tucker went from starting a whole 24 games with 3 very bad teams (including a mid-season release) over the 4 years he played to being out of the league because of the surgery, not because he just wasn't very good in the first place. If only they'd give guys like Billy Yates or Quinn Ojinnaka jobs at Sports Illustrated, maybe we can hear from them about why their careers ended.

Without the Ivy League education that Tucker had, Ojinnaka's career path has taken a different turn.

Ex-Syracuse football player Quinn 'Moose' Ojinnaka vying for career in professional wrestling | syracuse.com

WWA4 Moose vs Axel Ross - YouTube

WWA4 Moose vs Chris Steel - YouTube

WWA4 Moose vs Len Parker - YouTube

NEPettyOfficer72 · Jun 9, 2013

If you ask me.. we still have a top 5 Tightend in Aaron Hernandez back and healthy, that provides explosiveness, the best YAC, and speed/size combo that continues to kick teams butts on defense and Jake Ballard who when healthy, provides deceptive speed, great size, sturdy hands and crisp routes. Eli Manning used him as a more then reliable target when they won the superbowl. Then behind those two are Michael Hoomanawanui who is underrated and can actually block better then most fullbacks and offensive linemen in the NFL but has also shown the ability to run routes and get down field when called upon and Daniel Fells is solid. Not to mention rookie Zach Sudfield, a young guy that's impressing many coaches and players with his size, athleticism and hands. This is still among the best depth at TE in the NFL if you ask me and if we think anything otherwise then again I use the word SPOILED.

primetime · Jun 9, 2013

NEPettyOfficer72 said:
Then behind those two are Michael Hoomanawanui who is underrated and can actually block better then most fullbacks and offensive linemen in the NFL but has also shown the ability to run routes and get down field when called upon and Daniel Fells is solid.

Bwuh? Hoomanawanui had 5 catches last year. Five. He's a decent enough blocker, but 'better than offensive linemen?' You're kidding, right?

And Fells had 4 catches last year. He was a healthy scratch in 3 games last year.

Sudfeld is an undrafted free agent who has looked good with pads off.

Gronk and Hernandez are top-3 tight ends (though Hernandez is really a receiver in all but name), but both have injury questions. Ballard is a good blocker with soft hands who had a great rookie year but missed an entire season with a torn ACL, so he has questions too. The rest of the depth chart is chaff.

Ive_Killed_People · Jun 9, 2013

Final TE Depth Chart:

Gronk
AHern

Ballard/Sudfield/Tebow(TE/FB)

Ballard/Sudfield backing up Gronk
Tebow backing AHern and being our lone FB

supafly · Jun 9, 2013

Ive_Killed_People said:
Final TE Depth Chart:

Gronk
AHern

Ballard/Sudfield/Tebow(TE/FB)

Ballard/Sudfield backing up Gronk
Tebow backing AHern and being our lone FB

Nope........

Rob0729 · Jun 9, 2013

jmt57 said:
Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski can return from back surgery, but will he be same dominant player? - Patriots - Boston.com

Many medical experts believe that Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski can be ready to take the field about 12 weeks after he undergoes surgery to repair a herniated disk this month.

But there’s a difference in being ready to play and having full confidence restored. Ross Tucker was cut by the Bills at the end of camp in ’05, and never started another NFL game.

“The truth is, it was a full year before I really felt good, and I never felt 100 percent again,” said Tucker.

The good news for Gronkowski, who is having the surgery performed by noted surgeon Robert Watkins: Most empirical evidence suggests that he can return to his elite level of performance, even in the 2013 season.

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski can return from back surgery, but will he be same dominant player? - Sports - The Boston Globe

“It’s a very, very common procedure,” said Dr. Christopher Bono, chief of spine service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “The chance of return to play is actually quite good, and there’s a 90-95 percent chance he’ll go back to playing at full capacity.”

The bad news, though: Patriots fans might have to wait a little while to see their star player this fall — perhaps as much as the first half of the regular season.

“Offensive and defensive linemen — and Gronk is included, because he does some blocking — are at the greatest risk for developing a poor outcome after this kind of surgery,” said Dr. Wellington Hsu, associate professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “They play the game in a squatting position, and have a lot of force on their back when they hit 300-pound defenders.”

Watkins, who also performed Gronkowski’s first diskectomy, is also regarded as one of the best in the business. Watkins repaired the herniated disk of Giants star pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul just last week, and the Giants hope to have him back by Week 1.

“He’s the forefather of disk herniation in pro athletes,” said Hsu. “He has done more of these surgeries on pro athletes than anyone in the world.”

The generally accepted recovery period after surgery is 12 weeks — six to let the scar heal, and another six to get back into football shape. Gronkowski likely won’t be allowed to do so much as lift a 5-pound dumbbell until the end of July, at the earliest.

Once the scar is healed, he needs to get back in football shape — which means a lot of work to his core and making sure he can withstand the pounding of football.

“With professional football players you may have to wait a little bit longer because of the intensity that they’ll play, but generally within six weeks, he should be at a level that is probably close to full capacity,” Bono said.

But many players who underwent a similar surgery dispute the notion that they were 100 percent and ready to play after 12 weeks....

A couple of things:

I don't know if Ross Tucker's situation is remotely relevant. Did he has the same exact surgery? How has medical technology changed in eight years since Tucker had the surgery? Comparing a guard who has to push off a 300 LB DT every play really the same as a TE who only blocks part of the time?
If the biggest issue is with Gronk's blocking abilities and stamina doing that, they can easily reduce his role in that area and still get a lot of production out of him.
Every player heals differently. I keep hearing ex-players like Tucker and Mark Schlereth compare their surgeries to Gronk's, but their surgeries were almost a decade ago and far more than a decade ago. But we see with other injuries that some players can come back remarkably quickly. JJ Watts didn't miss a game for an injury that would be a season ender for most players. Terrell Suggs came back from an injury in about six months that would sideline most players for at least a year.

chevss454 · Jun 10, 2013

Count me in as one who thinks Sudfeld makes the 53 man roster. His receiving skills are very good...hands catcher, soft hands, fluid movement and fast enough for a TE. After the good press he got last week I went back over some tape Saturday bc I wanted to assess his blocking skills. I think his blocking is extremely underrated. It’s definitely better than the likes of Jordan Reed, Chris Gragg, Gavin Escobar, and even Zach Ertz – all players who were normally ranked ahead of Sudfeld. I think his inline blocking is as good as Hooman's now and with coaching, it should improve. At Nevada, Sudfeld graded better than 96% for his blocking skills. If health is no longer a question mark, I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a competent reserve for the Pats. At 6'7", he might be valuable as an alternative RZ target.

Here's a bit in the Globe from yesterday.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...-transition/cAYULlok83udYvyXSglWlJ/story.html

Ive_Killed_People · Jun 10, 2013

supafly said:
Nope........

Au Contraire!

supafly · Jun 11, 2013

Ive_Killed_People said:
Au Contraire!

..................

Joker · Jun 11, 2013

French?? WTF...I can't even speak English....

With Gronk likely to start season on PUP, here is the Pats depth chart at TE

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