Future Of Gronk

[WinstonSmith]

Gronk's future: 2 more rings, NFL retirement, HOF induction, Porn star, Senator from MA, President of the United States, Celebrity Apprentice, Death, Resurrection, More porn, Ascension.

 

[thecore762]

If he misses significant time this season I think he has to to get his contract redone. But I am more concerned about him as an individual, these injuries will eventually catch up to him as he ages, he still young and all, but at some point he needs to think about his future, back problems are no joke.

I do hope he starts getting a better fitness coach to help him. Maybe Brady can help him.

 

[DarrylS]

I can't think of any injury he had had that was due to conditioning.

Any player on the NFL would have blown out his knee on that hit.
Breaking an arm is not a conditioning issue nor is a back injury.

IN 2012 he broke his forearm while blocking during the 10th game, then he came back for the playoffs and broke it again.. then there was the subsequent infection..

Agree it is not a conditioning injury..

The knee stuff and back stuff is unavoidable.. not matter what he does.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I think there was legitimate concern about Gronk before they redid his contract as he was clearly unhappy with it, now that they addressed it and created the incentives for big production I think they will get the best they can out of him. There's clearly nothing they can do about his injuries, that's just the price of playing football.

 

[Tunescribe]

I can't think of any injury he had had that was due to conditioning. Any player on the NFL would have blown out his knee on that hit.Breaking an arm is not a conditioning issue nor is a back injury.

Hamstring most definitely, possibly ankle, possibly back.

 

[Ring 6]

Hamstring most definitely, possibly ankle, possibly back.

Definitely not back or ankle.
Hamstring injury was minor.

 

[203Pat]

When it comes to my favorite Patriots of all time Gronk is probably number 2 behind Brady (edging out David Givens) so I hope he finishes his (long) career as a Patriot. That being said I think he's more likely than not to wear another uniform at some point.

 

[Pats1989]

Why are you "pending he missed significant time in 2017"?

My motive for the thread was more to ask what the team does IF Gronk gets injured. Could've worded it better.

 

[Bruins29]

My motive for the thread was more to ask what the team does IF Gronk gets injured. Could've worded it better.

But why ask this? Its not like they haven't been in this situation many times. And they just won without him anyway. And its pretty obvious that they are loading up in other offensive areas.

Its a stupid thread because its just more negative ******** and the answer is obvious and there is nothing you can do to prevent it.

 

[Pats1989]

But why ask this? Its not like they haven't been in this situation many times. And they just won without him anyway. And its pretty obvious that they are loading up in other offensive areas.

Its a stupid thread because its just more negative ******** and the answer is obvious and there is nothing you can do to prevent it.

This is a message board. If you don't like the topic, or think it's " Stupid", feel free to not contribute.

 

[Bruins29]

This is a message board. If you don't like the topic, or think it's " Stupid", feel free to not contribute.

 

[Simpelton]

IN 2012 he broke his forearm while blocking during the 10th game, then he came back for the playoffs and broke it again.. then there was the subsequent infection..

Agree it is not a conditioning injury..

The knee stuff and back stuff is unavoidable.. not matter what he does.

That's really not true. There's a lot of athletes that swear by fitness and flexibility training to strenghten joints and mitigate injuries. The theory goes that if you strengthen the ligaments around joints, you harden them to an extent and injuries are either avoided entirely or less bad than they are.

Now if the back problem is a back problem, as in a problem with his spinal structure, you're right, not much can avoid that, but if it's that he should seriously consider retiring. However, if it's a muscle-in-the-back problem (and if it's not chronic, it probably is a muscle-in-the-back problem) flexibility and endurance training can ABSOLUTELY help there.

The fact that two older athletes, Tim Thomas and Tom Brady, were able to take their games to an absurdly high level despite their advanced ages (38 and 39 at the time respectively) pretty much makes that obvious to me. Both athletes used a specific flexibility regime to achieve the awards they achieved and lead their teams to titles at ages where no one outside their respective fanbases thought that was likely, or even possible..

if it worked on just Brady, that would be one thing, an outlier, Brady is exceptional in so many other ways -- but people forget that Tim Thomas used those techniques too, or at least something similar, to help rescue his career from complete oblivion, and at almost exactly the same age. Once might be an outlier, but twice makes it worth a good hard look.

 

[Tunescribe]

Definitely not back or ankle.
Hamstring injury was minor.

The hamstring injury was an unnecessary multi-week headache and there is no way you can assess the back and ankle problems in a vacuum unrelated to his overall prep (body composition and structural balance/flexibility, etc.). He has been criticized for alleged lack of attention to this in the past. I'm not saying the ankle and back problems definitely could have been prevented via greater off-season care on his part, but they possibly could have been mitigated.

 

[patfanken]

Enough already. People here talk like Gronk is Glass. The fact is that he's played in almost 80% of the possible regular season games over his 7 year career. (88/112) In four of those years, he missed only 2 games. I wonder what the rate of other top TE are in missing games. I know Witten is kind of indestructable but others like Graham, or Kelcey have missed a number of games over their careers too, yet they are not talked about in the same way. Here's why.

For most of his career Gronk has been a critical IMPACT player. He will always be in the argument as being the most impactful non-QB offensive player in the league. So until very recently every game Gronk DOESN'T play is magnified (to the fan and mediot world), compared to other non-QB injuries. He makes such a great impression when he plays, we miss him when he's gone.

Games lost to his broken arm and knee injuries are perfectly understandable. They would have happened to anyone. The back , however, is a different story. He's had a history of back issues BOTH in college and in the pros (Thank god, btw, if he hadn't missed most of his senior year, there would have been no chance for the Pats to get him) So any questions about his back are legitimate concerns, and the Pats have addressed them with his incentive laden extension. If he plays he's be a top paid TE, if he doesn't it will be less. If the back continues to be a chronic problem, then, if I read the contract correctly, the Pats can cut him anytime over the next 3 years without much of a cap implication.

Not only that, the Pats, over the years, have elevated their overall offensive talent so that they are a lot less Gronk dependent, than they were previously.

BTW- thinking about Gronk reminded me of a similar situation of mine in college. I took political science course in SE Asian government (mostly India). I liked the course, so I was very much involved in class dicussion, etc. I made a great impression on the Prof.

However I later stopped going to the class, (poker, new girlfriend, and lacrosse) so despite a B+ on the midterm, A- on the paper, and B on the final, I got a C- for the course. When I went to the Prof to ask why, he told me that he noticed that I wasn't coming to class, so he knocked down my grade. I was about to complain, when I realized he was right. He had every right to do what his did. It was my fault.

I was reminded of it because it was kind like Gronk. I think the reason it has become common wisdom that "you can't count on Gronk" is because he makes such a big impact whenever he DOES play (which is 80% of the time). And yeah, I know its a stretch of a comparison, but how often does one get a chance to draw a comparison between yourself and the GRONK.

 

[Ring 6]

My motive for the thread was more to ask what the team does IF Gronk gets injured. Could've worded it better.

So now we are predicting injuries and discussing what would happen if that's the case? I'll pass.

 

[Ring 6]

The hamstring injury was an unnecessary multi-week headache and there is no way you can assess the back and ankle problems in a vacuum unrelated to his overall prep (body composition and structural balance/flexibility, etc.). He has been criticized for alleged lack of attention to this in the past. I'm not saying the ankle and back problems definitely could have been prevented via greater off-season care on his part, but they possibly could have been mitigated.

Criticized by who based upon what evidence of a lack of conditioning?
He has one muscle pull in his career and now you want to add an ankle twisted by an opponent and a vertebra injury due to a hard hit into possible lack of conditioning to make an argument?
Isn't there supposed to be real evidence before you start making up things to add to the non evidence?

 

[Tunescribe]

Criticized by who based upon what evidence of a lack of conditioning? He has one muscle pull in his career and now you want to add an ankle twisted by an opponent and a vertebra injury due to a hard hit into possible lack of conditioning to make an argument? Isn't there supposed to be real evidence before you start making up things to add to the non evidence?

I'm not making anything up (you're an ass for suggesting as much) and no, I don't have handy links to provide. I have read observations of Gronk's alleged lack of disciplined approach to maintaining his body specifically to minimize injury -- it might've been in the context of Alex Guerrero's work with other Pats players. Gronk supposedly loves pumping iron to the exclusion of other, equally beneficial training methods/modalities. If you have concluded that things like structural balance and flexibility have no bearing on musculoskeletal injuries, then you're just dopey.

 

[Ring 6]

I'm not making anything up (you're an ass for suggesting as much) and no, I don't have handy links to provide.

I'm an ass because you make things up. Ok

I have read observations of Gronk's alleged lack of disciplined approach to maintaining his body specifically to minimize injury -- it might've been in the context of Alex Guerrero's work with other Pats players. Gronk supposedly loves pumping iron to the exclusion of other, equally beneficial training methods/modalities.

You do not have one credible source of this. I.e. You made it up. (Technically you said you think you remember hearing it, which i consider the same thing)

If you have concluded that things like structural balance and flexibility have no bearing on musculoskeletal injuries, then you're just dopey.

Speaking of dopey you are arguing that you don't know that the injuries had anything to do with conditioning, no nothing about what his regimen is, and are saying maybe they are related.

If you want to say that having his ankle twisted on a tackle and his back injury due to a hit that caused a contusion of the lung and a herniated disc are due to conditioning you are only fooling yourself.

Is conditioning important and helpful in injury prevention? Of course. Does it have anything to do with these injuries. No.

As to your comment about the hamstring causing "unnecessary multi week headache" I'm sorry your feelings were hurt.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Gronk has been one of the most explosive TE's in history.

You've been in the locker room when he's in the stall?

 

[Huckleberry1]

I see 13 touchdowns and 1,000 yards in Gronk's 2017 future.

And another ring.