Is there a Gronk window?

Gronk will be 27 years old in may and there is no question he is the 2nd most important player on the roster right now and has been for years, and making a case to be the most important in certain moments.

Considering his injury history and the beating he took so far in his career and will keep taking as long as he plays like the beast he is, I think Gronk may get into the jason witten territory (which is good enough, but not capable of single handedly win many games like he does and being fundamental in SB runs) sooner than later, like in 2 or 3 years.

Also considering Brady's age, would we have a realistic 2 or 3 (tops) year window before a major rebuild? I also think BB may be on the verge of being done with this corrupt league if they pull another dirty move and the league has all the momentum to do that, in spite of all the technology we have today and thousands of sources of information and social media, the average football fan looks more stupid than ever and journalism apparently has a new area inside the profession that graduates a professional named Sports Troll, and they are the majority on all media outlets. The NFL can create the story they want because they have everyone in their pockets.

With all that said, even though I doubt BB will change his approach, would this be the off season to pull some major moves looking for a win now mode?

I've long feared that Gronk might be on the Mark Bavaro health path. Bavaro, I think, has the same fears.

ctpatsfan77 said:

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Let's get NE a premium O line that allows Brady to sit in the pocket and survey, that allows Lafell to work his deeper routes, that gets Gronk out of the trenches and running post patterns, that opens holes for RBs.
The wretched O line disarmed NE's weapons.

Gronk is such a beast man. I love the guy. You can argue he's the best player on this team right now. Obviously these next 2-3 years are very important. Brady isn't getting any younger and gronk is in the prime of his career. I'm already on record saying tho that the one ring I wanted so desperately has already been won. SB49, however, obviously I want another. I hope belichick really goes to work this offseason and does everything in his power to put together the best team possible.

ctpatsfan77 said:

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Dead

But really though...it's an interesting question and one that i have no clue how to answer.

He will be fine for another good 4-5 years. We just need a good receiving corp and a good O-Line.

Im worried about his knees there only so many knee injuries you can in short period of time

Wow. He's 26

Ivan said:

Wow. He's 26

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GRONK was one of the five youngest players in the NFL when he made his debut.

the greatest tight end ever.

he should run more deeper routes next season. **** it, we don't have an outside threat.
let gronk go deep.

ctpatsfan77 said:

GRONK was one of the five youngest players in the NFL when he made his debut.

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Oh I know that I'm just in shock that now we are talking about the window for a 26 year old. Rather than be excited about the upcoming off-season and the potential next year's team should have people here are completely losing their sh.t.

Gronkowski123 said:

the greatest tight end ever.

he should run more deeper routes next season. **** it, we don't have an outside threat.
let gronk go deep.

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Might not help the offense more, but it would bring more female fans...

Gronkowski123 said:

the greatest tight end ever.

he should run more deeper routes next season. **** it, we don't have an outside threat.
let gronk go deep.

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I was doing this all day on Madden, but then again, the o-line was actually giving Brady time to throw in my game (plus... I had Aaron Hernandez).

I suppose the danger is overuse and over reliance. If they figure a way to have him part of an Offense as opposed to being the Offense we might get more use out of him.
if he is managed wisely, no reason we don't see him until 31/32.

the question for me is. When does he become a lock for Canton. Must be close now. Certainly on TD's.
does he need to get to 10,000 yards?

Is it concerning to worry about what might happen, rather than the obvious issues.

The O Line caused Brady to limit his options..
Injured Scott Chandler, other TE options werecompletely ineffective..
Overreliance on limited receiving options due to injury..

Gronkowski123 said:

the greatest tight end ever.

he should run more deeper routes next season. **** it, we don't have an outside threat.
let gronk go deep.

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He averaged over 16 yards a catch this season. 23 of his 72 catches (32%) were thrown 11+ yards, so he's been a pretty good deep threat. It's similar to a guy like Julio Jones (32%).

There are guys who are much deeper threats like A.J. Green (40%) and DeAndre Hopkins (47%). But neither of those guys averaged more yards per catch than Gronk. So maybe getting him in space and letting him run people over also helps. Gronk was a top 5 YAC guy with 565 yards after the catch along with Jones who had 620. By comparison, Green had 345 and Hopkins had 201.

But I don't think Gronk's strength is outjumping a linebacker for a ball further down the field, but rather catching it with enough room to outrun that guy and run over smaller players. I'd rather see him get the ball 15-20 yards down the field with a chance to make up another 15-20 than jump balls for 25 yards.

This window bull is ridiculous. There is no such thing as a window. A high priced FA can get injured as easily as anyone else and if you are determined to distort your approach that way you could fail this year and the next.

If the Patriots acquire an OL, for example, it sure isn't going to be for one or two years, but as part of a long term, improve talent and depth move.