Do you think Gronkowski will ever be as good as he was in 2011?

[Deus Irae]

Could he be? Sure, if the ACL heals the way one would hope. He's still young, strong and talented.

Will he be? It will be interesting to see how it shakes out.

 

[Rob0729]

Freak injuries?? I am leaning towards his physical being in decline and he will keep
getting injured because he doesn't take care of his body. Too much good life is not
very good for the Gronk's health. I'll be very surprised if he make it though a season
without missing games.

Did you read the Sports Illustrated article on him a few years ago. When he gets bored, the guy will do a half hour of Insanity workout to pass the time.

There are plenty of player who drink and do drugs more than Gronk. They are just not as much of a frat boy as Gronk and aren't caught on camera doing it

By all accounts, Gronk is a fitness nut and eats clean. He does like alcohol, but just because when he parties he goes full force doesn't mean he is drinking all the time though.

 

[Rob0729]

With today's image manipulation tools, you can look that way too.
Looks are one thing ... but muscle and flesh is not the only things that makes a
strong body. Too much alcohol and too much protein can reduce bone density.
Depending on genetics these effects can be more pronounced. We've all seen Gronk's
life style. We'll see but I'll be surprised if he plays this season without missing games.

Just because when Gronk parties he turns into a frat boy idiot doesn't mean he is drinking alcohol every day or more than once a week or every couple of weeks. You are making a lot of assumptions about Gronk's lifestyle based on small sample sizes that are made public.

I wish that Gronk would grow up, but there is not enough evidence that Gronk has an alcohol problem.

 

[joepatsfan]

Like someone earlier in this thread stated, Gronk was on a tear in the games he did play last year.

This isn't a question of whether or not he can be as good as 2011 Gronk, it's a question of injuries.

Can Gronk play a full 16? If the answer is yes, then he will put up the same numbers as 2011 (maybe less TDs). He's a force when healthy and still only 25.

 

[joepatsfan]

With today's image manipulation tools, you can look that way too.
Looks are one thing ... but muscle and flesh is not the only things that makes a
strong body. Too much alcohol and too much protein can reduce bone density.
Depending on genetics these effects can be more pronounced. We've all seen Gronk's
life style. We'll see but I'll be surprised if he plays this season without missing games.

Too much alcohol? Look the guy isn't an alcoholic. He's not drinking everyday. He parties on the weekends.. cool.

All this kid does is workout and chill. I have no problem with it. His injuries are not because of his 'bone density'. He took a shot to the knee, horrible hit. and the back has been a problem FOREVER and the arm was an honest freak injury.

If he learns to run and protect his body from hits by being more compact then he will be ok. He's so big that he takes 3-4 hits on any given catch he makes

 

[Christiancat]

If his ACL heals like we all hope for than he'll will be just as good as he was in 2011 if not better. If his ACL doesn't heal properly than he most likely will not be as good as he was in 2011. Personally I wish Gronk nothing but the best and hope his ACL heals properly. Nonetheless, he has my support but the situation is ultimately in God's hands.

 

[strngplyr]

Gronk will be better then 2011 IMO. He just needs to get better luck to avoid these freak injuries. If gronk stays healthy this year, I think he could break his 2011 TD record

I don't know if he can ever PLAY that good again, that was an incredible season, however, I think he will surpass those numbers if he stays healthy due to Brady keying in on only Gronk and Edelman, both can have 100+ catches and Gronk will be reads 1, 2, and 3 in the redzone.

Gronk, if healthy, will have the new best season ever for a tight end, surpassing his 2011 numbers. He's honestly so good inside the 20 that Randy Moss' record will be in jeopardy every season Gronk stays healthy.

 

[PatsBoy12]

I have found myself pondering this question many many times myself. I really find myself legitimately worrying that he never will be. That's not what I believe deep down, but it is a feeling that has crept on me from time-to-time. But as someone wrote in another post, ACL surgery has become so good and we're seeing more and more players regaining form with relative ease. Welker, AP are just two guys who successfully did it. It isn't nearly the game-changing injury as far as recovery as it used to be even ten years ago.

If Gronk can return to form, and he's one of the few players that I feel never really loses confidence, then the NE offense is going to be scary once again. I believe the WR position will be better by leaps and bounds. I'm not basing that on stats or metrics or anything but a gut feeling. I really think the young kids will play with more confidence and, provided that groin is good to go, Amendola will be far better, even if not statistically. I think that he'll have a better command of the route concepts, opening things up for other players to make plays. The more players you have performing at a high level, the pressure you put on the opposing team.

 

[Jackson 2]

If his ACL heals like we all hope for than he'll will be just as good as he was in 2011 if not better. If his ACL doesn't heal properly than he most likely will not be as good as he was in 2011. Personally I wish Gronk nothing but the best and hope his ACL heals properly. Nonetheless, he has my support but the situation is ultimately in God's hands.

Not wishing to be disrespectful, but the situation is ultimately in Gronk's hands.

 

[chasa]

the real question is, Can gronk find ways to avoid people launching at his knees with the intention of taking him out?

The answer is no. Not with the rulles currently the way they are.

 

[Wheelman]

The question is not whether Gronk will ever be as good as he was in 2011.

The question is, would every single human being suffer the same injury from Bernard Pollard and T.J Ward? The answer is most certainly a yes!

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

The question is, would every single human being suffer the same injury from Bernard Pollard and T.J Ward? The answer is most certainly a yes!

If it were me i would have torn both ACLs

 

[strngplyr]

If it were me i would have torn both ACLs

They'd tear their ACL's if they hit me.

 

[StrawHatPatriot]

Like someone earlier in this thread stated, Gronk was on a tear in the games he did play last year.

This isn't a question of whether or not he can be as good as 2011 Gronk, it's a question of injuries.

Can Gronk play a full 16? If the answer is yes, then he will put up the same numbers as 2011 (maybe less TDs). He's a force when healthy and still only 25.

This. The last 2 years he's been virtually the same as he was in 2011 when he was healthy. So um, yeah, the question is will he be healthy?

Unfortunately, I'm not sure

 

[Archeryaddict12]

I don't know if he can ever PLAY that good again, that was an incredible season, however, I think he will surpass those numbers if he stays healthy due to Brady keying in on only Gronk and Edelman, both can have 100+ catches and Gronk will be reads 1, 2, and 3 in the redzone.

Gronk, if healthy, will have the new best season ever for a tight end, surpassing his 2011 numbers. He's honestly so good inside the 20 that Randy Moss' record will be in jeopardy every season Gronk stays healthy.

When gronk was back last year he completely transformed the offense and was being his normal self. I think that when he plays the full season and post season that he could break randy mosses TD record. He is that good. lol us new acls are stronger then our natural ones, so why should we be worried if it heals correctly? Gronk is just a beast on the field.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

#'s wise I would probably say no, it's hard to top the GOAT season for a TE. Also I don't think we are going to be that high paced/high scoring of an offense for a while. But he can still be every bit as effective in terms of impacting the game, which is really all that matters. Last year Brady who overall had a tough season put together 3 or 4 very very good games once the offense started to hit it's stride with a healthy Gronk. Small sample I know but I wouldn't doubt most of a 16 game season would go the same way.

 

[SmellsLikeGrundle]

I think the real question is can he stay healthy.

I have no doubt he'll return to form if healthy. Again though, the big question is can play a full 16 and into the playoffs?

Doesn't matter if we play 11 or 12 personnel. We need production from that position. For obvious reasons, but it plays into 12's strengths. Among his many are short/intermediate on quick decisions. Off the top of my head I believe he only completed 7 passes to the position before Gronk came back. That's basically half the season without looking in that direction. And some wondered why he struggled at times last year. We need consistent production from the TE for this offense to really get going. Doesn't have to be elite/top tier production, but we do need someone to step up and step in to produce for us.

Here's hoping Jones and Watson can provide that.

 

[james87654]

i hope so but i have no idea....im not as worried about his acl...they seem to do great jobs fixing knee ligaments these days and that was the kind of hit that would have injured most guys.....i think they will be able to manage his disc issues as well....but i always think back to when he broke his arm on that extra point blocking sergio brown and wonder if his bones and the rest of his body just aren't as robust as his muscles are

 

[Raymond]

They'd tear their ACL's if they hit me.

Well OK, you AND Gymrat, due to his workout routine, advanced nutrition methods and his sixpackage.

 

[Christiancat]

Not wishing to be disrespectful, but the situation is ultimately in Gronk's hands.

Well in my view the situation is ultimately in God's hands.