Rob Gronkowski injury: torn ACL, MCL

Re: Report: Rob Gronkowski tore his ACL

And that's really what life is all about: being right on an internet forum about the exact recovery time for an athlete whose leg was recently mangled.

It's amazing when you look at Tony G and Witten and think of when the last time they missed a game or were out like gronk is.

Gronk has GOAT TE potential if healthy. Not only is he a great run blocker he's unguardable as a Reciever. He's too fast for linebackers and too big/strong for corners

Pats should request that league review how opponents defend and tackle Gronkowski…

TJ Ward’s hit on Gronkowski is big conversations obviously and with good reason it was in my opinion dirty and unnecessary, but that in my opinion is one of many, ever since Pollard injured Gronkowski in the AFC Championship game in 2011 I feel that has been a common theme, grabbing Gronkowski or hitting Gronkowski low and brining him down awkwardly. I get that he is a monster and hard to bring down but on a weekly basis I cringe when I see the way he is taken down, to be honest I was surprised he was able to come back so quickly after the hit on him the Texans game.

I encourage you all to take a look back at some game tape, I did this today on the DVR and I watched hits in every game this year that were borderline and certainly not done with Gronkowski’s health and safety in mind. In my opinion the Patriots or Gronkowski’s representatives should compile a video of these hit and send it over to the league office for review, I am not trying to exaggerate a situation if you watch the tape you’ll see that teams have employed a “Hack a Shaq” defense technique to defend Gronkowski.

Anyone who uses the word glass, fragile or any other phrase implied to highlight Gronkowski having durability issues should watch the game tape more than once, Gronkowski was gang tackled on the arm he had 4 surgeries on in the offseason the first time he touched the football vs. the Jets and he has taken more than a dozen hits that could have resulted in a catastrophic injury in the last 8 games. He is not fragile he is a wilder beast that teams grab from any angle and hold on for dare life hoping to tackle and unfortunately this causes him to take horrific hits and get tangled up in ways unlike anyone else in the NFL.

Thoughts :idea2:

Re: Pats should request that league review how opponents defend and tackle Gronkowski

This sounds quite stupid... but with this ACL tear and the scrutiny behind it, players are going to think twice about going near Gronk's knee when he comes back

Re: Pats should request that league review how opponents defend and tackle Gronkowski

I'm sorry to be a pain but was it necessary to start another thread on this considering we have Da Bruinz's. I'm not trying to be a thread starting snob (hate those guys ), but it's just easier to have the discussions in one thread.

But in answer to your question, I say no. I think the Pats would become a laughing stock if they asked for one of their players to be protected. And quite rightly.

Re: Pats should request that league review how opponents defend and tackle Gronkowski

The problem is not just the way people tackle Gronk it's how players tackle in general they try to be heroes. Instead of trying to wrap up slow the play down and get help they got foe the head or the knees to be the hero and make it on the highlight reels.

Pats should request that league review how opponents defend and tackle Gronko...

manxman2601 said:

I'm sorry to be a pain but was it necessary to start another thread on this considering we have Da Bruinz's. I'm not trying to be a thread starting snob (hate those guys ), but it's just easier to have the discussions in one thread.

But in answer to your question, I say no. I think the Pats would become a laughing stock if they asked for one of their players to be protected. And quite rightly.

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I didn't see the other thread or I wouldn't have duplicated it. If a moderator can merge this into his I would appreciate it.

I apologize for the additional work.

Re: Pats should request that league review how opponents defend and tackle Gronkowski

omfg are you guys serious

I refuse to believe adults are capable of such whining.

Pats should request that league review how opponents defend and tackle Gronko...

CelticPatriot said:

This sounds quite stupid... but with this ACL tear and the scrutiny behind it, players are going to think twice about going near Gronk's knee when he comes back

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They probably won't think twice, they will probably go for it. They know he will not want to be hit there for sure.

I'm hearing somewhat conflicting reports. Its posted everywhere that Gronk has torn both ACL and MCL but Tom Curran reported tonight that the MCL was not 'fully torn' or as badly damaged which is good news and suggests a recovery time of 8-9 months. He said the plan is to let the MCL heal up and then go in and repair the ACL. Not sure if anyone has a better understanding for these types of injuries?

SoCal Pmen said:

I'm hearing somewhat conflicting reports. Its posted everywhere that Gronk has torn both ACL and MCL but Tom Curran reported tonight that the MCL was not 'fully torn' or as badly damaged which is good news and suggests a recovery time of 8-9 months. He said the plan is to let the MCL heal up and then go in and repair the ACL. Not sure if anyone has a better understanding for these types of injuries?

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They won't wait 8-9 months for the MCL to heal and then go repair the ACL taking another 8+ months on top of that

All we know for sure is he is going to be out a while. Would love for him to pull a AP and heal from a ACL like nothing. But i really want him to take his time for this one. If he has to sit out a year to be 100%? So be it

Brady_to_Moss said:

They won't wait 8-9 months for the MCL to heal and then go repair the ACL taking another 8+ months on top of that

All we know for sure is he is going to be out a while. Would love for him to pull a AP and heal from a ACL like nothing. But i really want him to take his time for this one. If he has to sit out a year to be 100%? So be it

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Why would you think that it'd take 8-9 months to allow the MCL to heal?

It shouldn't be any more than a month--maybe mid Janurary tops.

I'm not understanding the thinking here.

supafly said:

Why would you think that it'd take 8-9 months to allow the MCL to heal?

It shouldn't be any more than a month--maybe mid Janurary tops.

I'm not understanding the thinking here.

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Yep. If its a sprained mcl that's better than a tore mcl. Just hope this dude can stop getting these unlucky hits.

A man named Brady said:

Gronk has GOAT TE potential if healthy. Not only is he a great run blocker he's unguardable as a Reciever. He's too fast for linebackers and too big/strong for corners

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I think you're spot on in your assessment, but the key phrase is "if healthy," and unfortunately that hasn't been able to happen.

With a big bonus due on his contract within the next couple of years, his future here isn't nearly as cemented as some may think. I'm not suggesting or predicting that the team won't pick up the option bonus for the second half of his contract, but it's much more uncertain than it was 36 hrs ago.

Hopefully he will return to health after being put on PUP (possibly) or missing the first handful of games again, have a great 2014 season, stay healthy, and we can put all of this behind us once and for all.

Archeryaddict12 said:

Yep. If its a sprained mcl that's better than a tore mcl. Just hope this dude can stop getting these unlucky hits.

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Let's just take the cautious approach and pretend that it's totally torn for the sake of the discussion. It definitely makes a ton of sense to consider the possibility of waiting several weeks or a month for the MCL to heal more properly before the ACL surgery. That said, it likely all depends on the severity and overall plan for specific cases, but I'm not understanding why anyone would think that it'd take 8-9 months.

According to the Cedars-Sinai website:

Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) Tears

"The medial collateral ligament has a good blood supply and usually responds well to non-surgical treatment. Depending on how bad the injury is, it may be enough to rest the knee, wear a brace, take over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen and have physical therapy.

To keep the knee from moving, your doctor may recommend a lightweight cast or brace that allows your knee to move backward and forward but limits side-to-side motion. This usually is recommended for 72 hours. Depending on how well your pain and swelling get better, you may be able to start a rehabilitative program in a few days.

Once pain and swelling have gone down, you should be able to start exercises to restore strength and normal range of motion to your knee. If you are still sore while doing exercises, you should proceed slowly to prevent further irritation. It may take a week to eight weeks to completely recover, depending on the seriousness of your injury.

A torn medial collateral ligament is rarely treated with surgery."

Archeryaddict12 said:

Yep. If its a sprained mcl that's better than a tore mcl. Just hope this dude can stop getting these unlucky hits.

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sprains are tears fwiw...

deters said:

sprains are tears fwiw...

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Yes I know that. A sprain is a partial tear and a tear is a tear.

Archeryaddict12 said:

Yes I know that. A sprain is a partial tear and a tear is a tear.

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sorta. Sprains go by grades. Grade 1 is small fiber tissue injury, Grade 2 is a partial tear, Grade 3 is a complete tear.

I think gronk will be back and the same when he returns With the advent of modern medicine it seems players return from acl tears to likely the same player. Welker and Peterson were able to be back for the following season

Problem is usually it takes 2years until the player is 100% the same...will gronk be like welker? Who had a good but down year for him(only 800 yards) or a Peterson like recovery?

One thing to keep in mind as well is that gronk is younger than those 2 when they had that injury