Gronk on IR officially

[Delicate Genius]

Sign one of his brothers and then sneak Rob onto the field for the Super Bowl.

 

[Betterthanmost]

you can't play football playing scared or defensive. I think they know what they are doing with 4 SBs and 6 SB appearances

He is not advocating for playing scared, he is saying we should use him intelligently. Watch Dallas and how they use Witten, Gronk also needs to play smarter. As far I am concern, Brady has not protected Gronk at all. It was Brady's strength growing up, but he lately has develop the case of just looking for certain individuals. I guess it is a remnant of the predilection he developed for Moss.

 

[Kontradiction]

The guy is one of my favorite Patriots but you simply cannot count on him to be there and healthy when you need him the most. What a shame. The offense is otherworldly when he's in. Get well soon and, hopefully, the team can get 19 healthy games out of him next season.

 

[heavyde050]

He is not advocating for playing scared, he is saying we should use him intelligently. Watch Dallas and how they use Witten, Gronk also needs to play smarter. As far I am concern, Brady has not protected Gronk at all. It was Brady's strength growing up, but he lately has develop the case of just looking for certain individuals. I guess it is a remnant of the predilection he developed for Moss.

I am not sure how Brady hasn't protected Gronk. Gronk is just a unique player that provides such a big target for defensive players to hit. And Gronk never shies away from contact.
People make it sound like Brady leads his guys over the middle and leaves them as "defenseless receivers".
From what I have read, they are attributing the beginning of this injury to the hit by Earl Thomas, and then laying out for the catches.
I mean what is Brady supposed to do? Should he under throw every deep ball and just hope DBs don't intercept it?
I think Gronk getting hurt like this is mostly from him just being a force of nature. He is so big, so fast, and initiates contact. He may get hurt.
I just hope Gronk comes back healthy next year. Not just as a Pats' fan, it would be sad if Gronk wasn't Gronk for any fan of football.

 

[Betterthanmost]

I am not sure how Brady hasn't protected Gronk. Gronk is just a unique player that provides such a big target for defensive players to hit. And Gronk never shies away from contact.
People make it sound like Brady leads his guys over the middle and leaves them as "defenseless receivers".
From what I have read, they are attributing the beginning of this injury to the hit by Earl Thomas, and then laying out for the catches.
I mean what is Brady supposed to do? Should he under throw every deep ball and just hope DBs don't intercept it?
I think Gronk getting hurt like this is mostly from him just being a force of nature. He is so big, so fast, and initiates contact. He may get hurt.
I just hope Gronk comes back healthy next year. Not just as a Pats' fan, it would be sad if Gronk wasn't Gronk for any fan of football.

I have held the Ward hit on Brady for so long. I fell in love with Brady for his ability to protect his receivers. He just has not being doing a good job of that in recent years. I can understand Brady also, his protection has not been great so he does not get the time to do the calculations he use to do. It is what it is.
In saying that, Gronk should study Witten and how he protects himself or he should retire. He can not come back and try and initiate contact like he has been doing.

 

[scott99]

I've seen the next Gronk, hopefully Pats draft him, Mike Gasicki of Penn State.

 

[FCB02062]

Any routes where he doesn't have to lay his body out in dramatic fashion would be in the best interest for all parties involved.

I'm sure he and Belichick can come up with some reasonable alternatives to flying through the air or limiting his exposure to injury on some level.

They did, it was on display Vs Miami on the road last year

 

[heavyde050]

I have held the Ward hit on Brady for so long. I fell in love with Brady for his ability to protect his receivers. He just has not being doing a good job of that in recent years. I can understand Brady also, his protection has not been great so he does not get the time to do the calculations he use to do. It is what it is.
In saying that, Gronk should study Witten and how he protects himself or he should retire. He can not come back and try and initiate contact like he has been doing.

I held the Ward hit on Gronk on Ward. He went low and has done the same types of hits several times since.
I think TB12 does a good job of putting the ball (most of the time) where only his guy can catch it (if it isn't complete).
TB12 has also done a great job this year not forcing the ball too much; I do agree that he seemed to force the throws to Gronk for some reason.
One of the passes would have been completed if Gronk wasn't interfered with, so it would be just as fair to blame the DB for the injury for slowing Gronk down.
But I do see your point.

 

[part-timer]

What was the corresponding move....who was moved to the 53...

 

[SalemPats]

I love how people just point to the rings and pretty much say well they know what they are doing.

Did BB know what he was doing we he traded branch and had brady roll with Caldwell and Gabriel? Was it a good idea to do that stupid pooch drop kick agaist Philly last year or to have Jackson run the ball 600 times in the first half againt Miami? **** like that cost the pats at the very least a couple of SB appearances.

BB is a great coach but that doesn't mean we should never be criticized for his choices. The defense sucks and that is 100% on him.

and yet we're still 9-2 with a crappy defense.

what I respect about BB is that he has created a team where ever player is treated the same. He knows that players don't win championships, teams do.

 

[ensoul]

and yet we're still 9-2 with a crappy defense.

what I respect about BB is that he has created a team where ever player is treated the same. He knows that players don't win championships, teams do.

9-2 and the pats best win was probably againt the cards on the road. They have had a cakewalk schedule mostly against teams with lousy QBs.(who put up better than normal numbers against the pats d)

At some point the Pats are going to run into a quarterback that knows what he is doing. I suspect that team will drop 50 points on this defense.

With no Gronk and no defense the Pats aren't winning the Super Bowl, or even getting there.

 

[fnordcircle]

A healthy, a healthy Martellus and an improving Malcolm Mitchell will go a long ways towards helping us overcome this.

 

[SalemPats]

9-2 and the pats best win was probably againt the cards on the road. They have had a cakewalk schedule mostly against teams with lousy QBs.(who put up better than normal numbers against the pats d)

At some point the Pats are going to run into a quarterback that knows what he is doing. I suspect that team will drop 50 points on this defense.

With no Gronk and no defense the Pats aren't winning the Super Bowl, or even getting there.

50 points on us? you forget that we have TB and we added Bennett, hogan and mitchell is looking better every gane. I love Gronk and he's a HOFer and unreplaceable, but it takes a team to win not a player

 

[supafly]

While your approach is reasonable, it is not practical or realistic.

I think it's both practical and realistic to think that someone would consider changing their approach or habits (again--in some capacity) due to such an extensive injury history. I don't really think he has much choice, does he? As a matter of fact, I think it's insanely impractical and unrealistic to believe that he's going to come back with the same reckless abandon. He would almost certainly not be able to return from one more (4th) herniation, and I'm not trying to be negative or pessimistic. His career is pretty much in jeopardy if he needs a fourth surgery on his back. We may find out down the road that it was in jeopardy at other points in his career too, possibly now, depending on how he heals from this one.

If you go through THREE intensely painful surgeries and recoveries (amongst many others), it's likely going to be natural to start to think twice about sprawling out for overthrown balls in the first quarter of regular season games. I know this will be an extremely unpopular line of thought, but there are some elements of smart situational football along with injury management that will permanently need to be taken under consideration. It's just the way that it is with this specific player, particularly now. Belichick is surely smart enough to realize that. No, you can't totally remove the risk of injury, but you can help to reduce the odds.

I asked this before and I don't know if anyone can answer this or not, but has there ever been another NFL player who has come back and been successful from a 3rd diskectomy? I highly doubt it. I think the list is rather short for those who have come back from a 2nd one and still had success, and if you take James Harrison and PEDs out of the equation, that list becomes even shorter.

 

[supafly]

They did, it was on display Vs Miami on the road last year

Really? Because Gronkowski led the entire team in targets that game (7).

The next closest players were Amendola (4) and James White (4).

 

[RobertWeathers]

I think it's both practical and realistic to think that someone would consider changing their approach or habits (again--in some capacity) due to such an extensive injury history. I don't really think he has much choice, does he? As a matter of fact, I think it's insanely impractical and unrealistic to believe that he's going to come back with the same reckless abandon. He would almost certainly not be able to return from one more (4th) herniation, and I'm not trying to be negative or pessimistic. His career is pretty much in jeopardy if he needs a fourth surgery on his back. We may find out down the road that it was in jeopardy at other points in his career too, possibly now, depending on how he heals from this one.

If you go through THREE intensely painful surgeries and recoveries (amongst many others), it's likely going to be natural to start to think twice about sprawling out for overthrown balls in the first quarter of regular season games. I know this will be an extremely unpopular line of thought, but there are some elements of smart situational football along with injury management that will permanently need to be taken under consideration. It's just the way that it is with this specific player, particularly now. Belichick is surely smart enough to realize that. No, you can't totally remove the risk of injury, but you can help to reduce the odds.

I asked this before and I don't know if anyone can answer this or not, but has there ever been another NFL player who has come back and been successful from a 3rd diskectomy? I highly doubt it. I think the list is rather short for those who have come back from a 2nd one and still had success, and if you take James Harrison and PEDs out of the equation, that list becomes even shorter.

Supafly you are by no means crazy with your logic or rationalization on how Gronk can increase his chances of staying healthier. In the world of professional football and with his proneness to injury, I am very, very skeptical any change in playing style or how he is used in the offense would prevent the ultimate outcome.

 

[Galeb]

Averages 11 games a year....That really boosts his per game compensation...Gronk inc. is doing real well...

When FCB02062 is the only one who agrees with your post, it may be a good time to reconsider your position.

 

[mihap]

Recover well

 

[Uptown]

What was the corresponding move....who was moved to the 53...

DJ Foster

 

[zydecochris]

People are genuinely concerned about his ability to play in the future and rightfully so. I'd be curious to know if anyone has ever returned from a third diskectomy, at least successfully.

I think you pose a good question. Some of the other injuries to his arm and knee were worrisome for his health, but not necessarily a chronic condition that you really necessarily expect to re-occur, particularly for a young healthy guy. The back injuries might be different, I feel for the guy. This is his third back surgery, it is sounding like a chronic problem. I found this article by a former Patriot Doctor, and he said that they downgraded any player with a disk surgery because it was likely to re-occur. He also said (as you did) that he had never heard of any player still in the league having three disk surgeries done. One can only hope that Gronk will be the exception (as he is in so many other ways).

Former Pats doctor hints Rob Gronkowski's back injury could be career-ending