Wheelman
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2012
- Messages
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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.You spelled Tony Gonzalez wrong.
I am really amazed the amount of people that look to the offense and say "Gronk". Did you watch the Super Bowl? Seattle's D completely dominated. Denver dismantled the Pats, and then in turn was outclassed by Seattle's D. The answer has to be a defensive player. With Wilfork, Mayo, Kelley, Spikes, Talib all missing key time, and Adrian Wilson spending the season on IR, any one of those guys could have been a difference maker.
My answer: if the defense were healthy....
12-4, pick 'em against the Broncos and Seattle. So about the same. Maybe they don't beat Seattle, but maybe they don't turn the ball over 5 times, maybe they don't give up a kick return, maybe they actually keep it close (as they tend to do) and force Seattle's offense to make more plays rather than just play not blow a big lead. But maybe Lynch would run for 500 yards on them too.How do you all think we would have done this year if Gronk were healthy for all our games, and Talib didn't play any of them?
Yes. Really the fate of the Pats over the past 3 postseasons has turned on Gronkowski not being healthy. 2011 Super Bowl he was essentially a part-time decoy due to the ankle, full-strength Gronk and I think you get another score, or a timely first down, whatever it is and it doesn't matter that Welker didn't catch the ball or that Eli made an amazing sideline throw from inside his own 10 to start that last drive. Last 2 years he's been out for the AFC title game, they didn't get blown out in either (at the same time it never felt like they were "in" the game), but '12 Ravens and '13 Broncos were both teams that the Pats beat or at least were competitive with (that was the questionable game-winning Ravens FG game) in prior games. "If only" doesn't count for anything of course, but if only he were healthy it's not totally ridiculous to think they could have won the last 3 Super Bowls.Gronkowski. It's not close. Other than a few QB's and maybe that one guy who has an out-of-his-mind year (JJ Watt last year), there isn't a bigger difference maker in the league. He is un-coverable. The defense gets better when he steps onto the field because the chains move more often and the scoreboard lights up.
We beat the Broncos with Gronk and scored 34 points..,
Without him we lost only scoring 16, and looked dreadful in offense.
Defense was bad AFC championship but they held Denver to FG's many times. Our offense couldn't produce touchdowns. That was the difference.
Which players would have made the most difference if they were healthy in 2013?
Curiously, for me, Gronkowski and Dobson aren't even in the top 5.
Talib
Wilfork
Kelly
Mayo
Arrington
The offense was truly amazing. Obviously, they could have produced more with all the receivers and TE's healthy all year. But offense is not what we were missing.