WWE chasing Gronk?

[Steve102]

Man, there's a lot in this thread to digest.

Maybe it's just me but Gronk does not seem to be a WWE type of personality to me at all. I think it will be a train wreck if he does make the jump there.

Understandable he is assessing his career though after a concussion.

I disagree. I see him with his oversize Gronk persona a perfect fit. I don't think he's the meat head he would present in the WWE. It's a party boy image he's cultivating. I'm sure it's quite fun while he's at it, too, which is bonus.

That brings to mind a recent Jason LaCanfora (yes, I know, grains of salt) piece where he mentioned, almost in passing, that "what everyone lives in fear of" is when the throne passes to Jonathan and that that's when the big exodus will happen.

I missed this. Can you either link or give me a reader's digest version?

But on the serious side, between what Curran, Bedard, and other beat writers were saying both just before the Wickersham piece dropped and in its immediate aftermath, the Globe piece on Guerrero, this Gronk thing, Kraft admitting "tensions" (while denying "dysfunction"), etc., I'm convinced there are some negative things going on that haven't happened before.

How bad it is? Will it blow up in the offseason? Who knows. But I believe it is more than just writers' speculation.

Tom Brady Sr. said, years ago, when this ends, it will end badly. I see nothing on the horizon to allay my fears that you are right. It's got a 2009 feel to it, but everyone is a lot older and a whole lot close to "screw it" than they were in '09. Gronk and Brady are both posturing for post football careers.

Maybe I am too naive but I honestly dont think this is really about money but about Gronk slowly realizing that he is closer to the end than the beginning of his career and reflecting about the toll the injuries have taken already.

Of course I might be wrong and it totally is a leverage play for more money.

Both, IMO. If he plans on walking away before 30, then another payday is in order. Maximize today's dollars while setting up future incomes.

 

[50-yard-line]

Pretty damning:

NFL Rumors: Rob Gronkowski Didn’t Enjoy 2017 Season, Considered ‘Stepping Away’ In Camp

Given McDaniels decision to stick around...I really don't know what to think at this point.

 

[jah]

This has a Deflategate feel to it where I initially didn't think there was a chance in hell anything would come of it, and over months I came to realize how wrong and naive I was.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Pretty damning:

NFL Rumors: Rob Gronkowski Didn’t Enjoy 2017 Season, Considered ‘Stepping Away’ In Camp

Given McDaniels decision to stick around...I really don't know what to think at this point.

Thanks for posting. That is some real information, for better or worse. I hope if Gronk retires, it will be for the physical toll his body has taken, and not over some rough patch with the organization. I'm shocked this team went 13-3 and nearly won the Super Bowl with seemingly a lot of dysfunction. I really wonder what the heck is going on there, and if this is vastly different from any given season, even ones where they end up winning the whole thing.

 

[luuked]

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Assuming this is true, it's not good. I understand that the Patriots are paying these guys a ton of money and investing in their bodies. Their contracts often have restrictions about lifestyle activities, etc., and some have weight clauses. But I think that discouraging players from working out the way they want and eating what they want, that is crossing a line of control freak-ness.

From an optimistic point of view, the less Gronk's concerns have to do with his injuries, the more likely this can get worked out.

 

[luuked]

Assuming this is true, it's not good.

Well I mean it is Curran and then Daniels independently confirming it. No reason to doubt it is true.

 

[TBR]

Pretty ridiculous if true. I'm guessing Belichick was behind the opposition to all of this? I doubt someone like Moses Cabrera would get this much pull alone.

 

[Steve102]

Pretty damning:

NFL Rumors: Rob Gronkowski Didn’t Enjoy 2017 Season, Considered ‘Stepping Away’ In Camp

Given McDaniels decision to stick around...I really don't know what to think at this point.

This whole thing is a "wow" moment for me. I've constantly tried to justify the Guerrero angle and how it's likely much ado abut nothing. Now, I am thinking a couple things : 1) There's definitely something to it and 2) his snake oil chit works. Brady and Gronk played well, and for the most part, healthy.

Now you've got Curran saying Gronk is mentally tired and we've heard rumors of Brady being sick of the negativity. I seem to remember Belichick said in the Two Bills that getting the most out of players isn't always fun. Taylor said they called him "Doom". Both Bills talked about how sensitivity wasn't in play during the Giants run. I can only imagine the level of laser like focus and mental toughness it takes to stay at their level this long. I imagine that sometimes it's not fun. I have a hard time wrapping my head around making gazillions and playing for Super Bowls every GD year isn't fun, but I bet to a 28 year old kid, it's gets tiresome, the mental part of being a Patriot. I would imagine that at some point, you need a break.

Wonder if it blows up. My gut says no, they'll right the ship, they always seem to.

 

[Jackson 2]

I really thought that guys like Brady and Gronk were immune to tough coaching and could handle it. If that's not true, it's extremely disappointing to me.

 

[chasa]

This whole thing is a "wow" moment for me. I've constantly tried to justify the Guerrero angle and how it's likely much ado abut nothing. Now, I am thinking a couple things : 1) There's definitely something to it and 2) his snake oil chit works. Brady and Gronk played well, and for the most part, healthy.

Now you've got Curran saying Gronk is mentally tired and we've heard rumors of Brady being sick of the negativity. I seem to remember Belichick said in the Two Bills that getting the most out of players isn't always fun. Taylor said they called him "Doom". Both Bills talked about how sensitivity wasn't in play during the Giants run. I can only imagine the level of laser like focus and mental toughness it takes to stay at their level this long. I imagine that sometimes it's not fun. I have a hard time wrapping my head around making gazillions and playing for Super Bowls every GD year isn't fun, but I bet to a 28 year old kid, it's gets tiresome, the mental part of being a Patriot. I would imagine that at some point, you need a break.

Wonder if it blows up. My gut says no, they'll right the ship, they always seem to.

Winning offsets all of the "it's not fun" that happens during the season, however when you work your ass off and the coaching staff pulls the butler stunt and is blows up in their face, and suddenly all that hard work gets flushed down the drain because of a "coaches decision" you look back on the season and all the not fun **** amplifies because the coaching staff possibly threw the game.

 

[Steve102]

Winning offsets all of the "it's not fun" that happens during the season, however when you work your ass off and the coaching staff pulls the butler stunt and is blows up in their face, and suddenly all that hard work gets flushed down the drain because of a "coaches decision" you look back on the season and all the not fun **** amplifies because the coaching staff possibly threw the game.

I cannot subscribe to BB throwing a Super Bowl. I do not think he's capable of that whatsoever. I can and do think he made a coaching mistake that cost them the game. But lets not turn this into another Butler Mega Thread.

 

[50-yard-line]

This whole thing is a "wow" moment for me. I've constantly tried to justify the Guerrero angle and how it's likely much ado abut nothing. Now, I am thinking a couple things : 1) There's definitely something to it and 2) his snake oil chit works. Brady and Gronk played well, and for the most part, healthy.

Now you've got Curran saying Gronk is mentally tired and we've heard rumors of Brady being sick of the negativity. I seem to remember Belichick said in the Two Bills that getting the most out of players isn't always fun. Taylor said they called him "Doom". Both Bills talked about how sensitivity wasn't in play during the Giants run. I can only imagine the level of laser like focus and mental toughness it takes to stay at their level this long. I imagine that sometimes it's not fun. I have a hard time wrapping my head around making gazillions and playing for Super Bowls every GD year isn't fun, but I bet to a 28 year old kid, it's gets tiresome, the mental part of being a Patriot. I would imagine that at some point, you need a break.

Wonder if it blows up. My gut says no, they'll right the ship, they always seem to.

Something I really don't get about this: Brady is in terrific shape. He's faster and quicker than he was when he entered the league. His durability is off-the-charts strong.

Looks like he's basically training Akido, or Judo - watch the way he starts moving even before the hit fully strikes.

I don't know...if I had a football team in today's NFL, I think I'd put a Yoga studio on the damned grounds. I really don't get why this is controversial.

 

[supafly]

I cannot subscribe to BB throwing a Super Bowl. I do not think he's capable of that whatsoever.

The whole premise is beyond stupid. I’m sad for people who actually share this belief.

 

[lancerman]

I cannot subscribe to BB throwing a Super Bowl. I do not think he's capable of that whatsoever. I can and do think he made a coaching mistake that cost them the game. But lets not turn this into another Butler Mega Thread.

The problem is that the players are people like us and they think the same things only with more stakes. Some probably are like some people and 100% subscribe to the Belichick can’t do wrong philosophy. Some probably seriously question taking out the most played defensive player on a team that just went 15-3 in the most important game of the season and not going back to him when the plan didn’t work. And if you have that mentality and you took pay cuts and killed yourself all year, you are going to have some hard feelings.

 

[supafly]

The problem is that the players are people like us and they think the same things only with more stakes. Some probably are like some people and 100% subscribe to the Belichick can’t do wrong philosophy. Some probably seriously question taking out the most played defensive player on a team that just went 15-3 in the most important game of the season and not going back to him when the plan didn’t work. And if you have that mentality and you took pay cuts and killed yourself all year, you are going to have some hard feelings.

Fair points, but if you’re actually wondering if Bill Belichick (the man who signs his autographs with all of the SB victories and changes the name on his boat) actually decided to purposefully lose one of the biggest games in his career, then you’re simply not thinking things through.

Our coach does not “throw” games. He made a poor decision with Butler by thinking they could replace him with someone else and still win, or Butler forced his hand by doing something that we’ll likely never hear about. Either way, the suggestion that the GOAT coach threw away the game (or pretty much any game, aside maybe from that one that involved seeding and Cassel throwing the 2 pt attempt into the stands—and even that is debatable) is ludicrous.

 

[NormZauchin]

I wonder how much Gronk would enjoy himself on a consistently losing team that never makes the playoffs. Oh, and on a club that is pretty much ignored on national television so that the brilliant performances of one of two of its players never see the light of day. Gronk enjoys the spotlight, both from his play and his off-field antics, made possible by being part of the greatest NFL franchise in the 21st century. If he had spent his career in Cleveland, I doubt that the WWE would be offering him a contract.

 

[lancerman]

I really thought that guys like Brady and Gronk were immune to tough coaching and could handle it. If that's not true, it's extremely disappointing to me.

Why? Brady’s don’t it for 17 years. Gr

Fair points, but if you’re actually wondering if Bill Belichick (the man who signs his autographs with all of the SB victories and changes the name on his boat) actually decided to purposefully lose one of the biggest games in his career, then you’re simply not thinking things through.

Our coach does not “throw” games. He made a poor decision with Butler by thinking they could replace him with someone else and still win, or Butler forced his hand by doing something that we’ll likely never hear about. Either way, the suggestion that the GOAT coach threw away the game (or pretty much any game, aside maybe from that one that involved seeding and Cassel throwing the 2 pt attempt into the stands—and even that is debatable) is ludicrous.

I don’t think anyone believes he threw the game. I think a lot of people think he made a dumb decision and was not flexible enough to move on from it when it clearly didn’t work and that in large part contributed to our defense failing.

 

[chasa]

I cannot subscribe to BB throwing a Super Bowl. I do not think he's capable of that whatsoever. I can and do think he made a coaching mistake that cost them the game. But lets not turn this into another Butler Mega Thread.

Just bringing to light what might go through a players head.

Obviously Bill doesn't want to lose the superbowl, but some really questionable coaching decisions, things that He normally doesn't miss on, he completely whiffed here, and after a tough loss, players start wondering "hey why didnt the coaches do this" or "why did the coaches do that"

Like Seattle throwing it at the goal line, The falcons not running it and killing clock, and of course, the patriots giving zero snaps to their second best corner. Hell i bet some players question andy reids clock management every game, we know the steelers players had issues with todd haleys refusal to run the qb sneak.