Gronk to retire

[mgteich]

He finished in the best way possible. I was of the opinion that it was time for him and his health. Thanks for everything Gronk!!!

he would have finished better, if he finished two weeks ago

 

[Tunescribe]

Couldn’t agree more. Just a shame that we couldn’t seen him do it longer. Feels like a Barry Sanders kind of career.

I thought he had two good years left in him, all things considered including the injuries and punishment he has suffered. I find myself wondering how much of his decision boils down to the physical toll he's endured vs. capitalizing on his celebrity through other pursuits. We'll probably find out where he's headed fairly soon.

 

[IcyPatriot]

 

[primetime]

I thought he had two good years left in him, all things considered including the injuries and punishment he has suffered. I find myself wondering how much of his decision boils down to the physical toll he's endured vs. capitalizing on his celebrity through other pursuits. We'll probably find out where he's headed fairly soon.

I think he's changed his life quite a bit over the last few years. Knew someone who attended a wedding he was at last year and I guess he wasn't drinking and wasn't interested in the spotlight. Compare that to the days of the Gronl Booze Cruise which wasn't that long ago. I think he's onto the next thing and Gronk will always be Gronk (it's not a character) but I suspect some of the rougher edges have been sanded off.

 

[Nehalem]

Gronk is the Randy Moss of TEs in terms of being clearly the best talent to ever play, but he doesn't have the negatives that keep Moss at #2 behind Rice instead of #1 overall.

Unlike Moss, Gronk also has 3 SB rings.

 

[primetime]

Casper was great, but not on Gronk's level. And Gonzalez was a terrible blocker.

I'm not sure I agree that Gonzalez was a terrible blocker, but he also played for a good part of his career next to one of the five or so best tackles in history, and that early 2000s Chiefs offensive line was one of the best ever assembled, so he might have benefited from context.

 

[gitgronked82]

Will remember peak gronk forever. He will always be a part of my favorite pats teams and memories. 10 years from now I'll look back and think how amazing it was that a guy like that was actually on my favorite team and I got to watch him (most) every Sunday.

I guess my username is interesting now

 

[primetime]

Unlike Moss, Gronk also has 3 SB rings.

Weird thing to bring up as a Patriots fan. It certainly isn't Moss's fault he never had a ring. He came within a play of two of them with the Patriots and Niners, and could have won one with the Vikings in 1998 if Gary Anderson didn't shank a field goal.

 

[Tb12goesinya]

He'll be back by Thanksgiving

 

[Bledsoehasaring]

Thanks for the memories Gronk. You brought joy, fun, talent, and hard work to the pats.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

No, Brandt did that. But Supa has to see that and immediately disqualify that list from consideration. Whenever you look for "best ever" lists, you always look for the insane. If the list doesn't have one, it's worth looking at. If it's there (Manning > Brady, for example), you laugh at the list, realize that you should never take the list maker seriously on that subject, and move on.

Do you have a legit list of all-time great QBs then? Because every list I find has Manning over Unitas, Starr, and Graham, which immediately disqualifies it to me in the way you’re saying. Some even have Manning over Montana (lol). And it isn’t just Manning...on almost every list you’ll find guys like Roethlisberger and Brees somewhere above or close to those all-century QBs I listed. “Super Bowl Era” rankings are usually not as bad but still overlook that a lot players statistics were great for their eras but look bad in comparison to today’s passing game norms.

 

[Uptown]

 

[SHOWTIME15]

I think he's changed his life quite a bit over the last few years. Knew someone who attended a wedding he was at last year and I guess he wasn't drinking and wasn't interested in the spotlight. Compare that to the days of the Gronl Booze Cruise which wasn't that long ago. I think he's onto the next thing and Gronk will always be Gronk (it's not a character) but I suspect some of the rougher edges have been sanded off.

He just grew up, that’s all.

 

[Deus Irae]

Do you have a legit list of all-time great QBs then? Because every list I find has Manning over Unitas, Starr, and Graham, which immediately disqualifies it to me in the way you’re saying. Some even have Manning over Montana (lol). And it isn’t just Manning...on almost every list you’ll find guys like Roethlisberger and Brees somewhere above or close to those all-century QBs I listed. “Super Bowl Era” rankings are usually not as bad but still overlook that a lot players statistics were great for their eras but look bad in comparison to today’s passing game norms.

Cold Hard Football Facts used to have one available, and it broke things down very nicely, but that site's gone both downhill and behind a paywall, so that article isn't accessible anymore. The top 8 were (no particular order. The listed order here is from another site with the same top 8 players, but from 2008):

1. Bart Starr
   
2. Joe Montana
   
3. Sammy Baugh
   
4. Otto Graham
   
5. Tom Brady
   
6. Johnny Unitas
   
7. Roger Staubach
   
8. Steve Young

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Gonzalez redefined the position of Tight End. In a bad way.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Why do you crack up when people say that the greatest TE to ever play the game was the greatest TE to ever play the game?

I ask because Gronk was, without question, the greatest TE to ever play the game.

In his prime, Gronk was absolutely better than any TE (and perhaps better than any non-QB offensive player) ever. However, he only played 115 regular season games (and 131 games overall).

By contrast, Gonzales played 270 regular season games (and 277 games overall) and Gates played 236 games (and 248 games overall).

Measured by games, Gates and Gonzales played about twice as long as Gronk did. A player, no matter how great he is, can't help the team if he's not on the field.

So I don't think it's an easy call to say Gronk is the GOAT. Prime vs. prime, absolutely, without question he is. But the shortness of his career relative to the other great TEs makes the GOAT title a much closer thing.

 

[Ring 6]

Interesting article from Curran. Suspects lack of help for Gronk so far this offseason played a role in this decision.
Curran: Gronk had nothing more to give

Very weak article by Curran.

 

[primetime]

Do you have a legit list of all-time great QBs then? Because every list I find has Manning over Unitas, Starr, and Graham, which immediately disqualifies it to me in the way you’re saying. Some even have Manning over Montana (lol). And it isn’t just Manning...on almost every list you’ll find guys like Roethlisberger and Brees somewhere above or close to those all-century QBs I listed. “Super Bowl Era” rankings are usually not as bad but still overlook that a lot players statistics were great for their eras but look bad in comparison to today’s passing game norms.

How do you even judge a Brady or Brees against a guy like Graham who was playing 70 years ago? I mean, this is why these rankings are totally absurd. If you transported Otto Graham to 2019 amd threw him into a football game, he'd probably look like Christian Hackenberg under center. That doesn't mean he wasn't great, even an all-time great, but it's just not comparable. There were teams who wouldn't employ black players when he played!

 

[VectorPrime]

I’m legit depressed about this. I mean it wasn’t unexpected but just a couple years ago it seemed like Gronk should be with the Pats until his mid 30s.

 

[Ring 6]

Cold Hard Football Facts used to have one available, and it broke things down very nicely, but that site's gone both downhill and behind a paywall, so that article isn't accessible anymore. The top 8 were (no particular order. The listed order here is from another site with the same top 8 players, but from 2008):

1. Bart Starr
   
2. Joe Montana
   
3. Sammy Baugh
   
4. Otto Graham
   
5. Tom Brady
   
6. Johnny Unitas
   
7. Roger Staubach
   
8. Steve Young

Manning earned his way onto that list with 2 rings.