YDKF: And Superman Wept (Gronkowski Article)

nyjet17 · Dec 14, 2011

In April 2010, Bill Belichick sent a clear signal that his offense was changing direction. With six picks in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft, the New England Patriots selected a pair of tight ends: in the second round, Rob Gronkowski; in the fourth, Aaron Hernandez. Gronkowski was the all-around tight end, an excellent pass catcher and hard working blocker; injuries aside, he was the safe pick. Hernandez was all upside, a potential gamebreaker catching the ball who struggled with blockers but could dominate with the ball in his hands.

Read more: And Superman Wept - youdontknowfootball.com

Good article on the emergence of Gronkowski. Hate to say it, but you guys got an absolute steal. Didn't realize he's also only 22 years old.

CheeseMonkeys · Dec 14, 2011

If people knew of the monster that Gronk would become, he would have been a top 5 pick.

Patspsycho · Dec 14, 2011

CheeseMonkeys said:
If people knew of the monster that Gronk would become, he would have been a top 5 pick.

Oh they knew, but missing an entire year due to back injury at ASU was what dropped him so far down the draft ranks. If he hadn't had that injury, he would easily have been a first round pick.

Krugman · Dec 14, 2011

Thanks for the link,NY jet.Great article on Gronk.

DarrylS · Dec 14, 2011

I was under the impression that BB did not know jack shyt about drafting???

OTOH thought he was 23, no wonder he is such a "kid"....

With the new TV deal, we can easily sign him as the salary cap is gonna go through the roof..

BradyFTW! · Dec 14, 2011

CheeseMonkeys said:
If people knew of the monster that Gronk would become, he would have been a top 5 pick.

When Gronk was drafted, I think I remember hearing him referred to as "Does everything that Brandon Pettigrew does just as well, and is also faster and more athletic". Pettigrew went #20 overall the year before, and was 3 years older than Gronk.

Based on that alone, you can safely say that, if not for the injury, he would have easily been a top 10 pick in 2010.

Even Kyle Rudolph, whose scouting report was basically "a homeless man's Rob Gronkowski", went early in the 2nd round this year.

shmessy · Dec 14, 2011

nyjet17 said:
Good article on the emergence of Gronkowski. Hate to say it, but you guys got an absolute steal. Didn't realize he's also only 22 years old.

....and he's the OLDER of our 2 TE's!!!!!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Hernandez

BTW, that's a pretty good article for a Jets blog. My respects!

ctpatsfan77 · Dec 14, 2011

shmessy said:
....and he's the OLDER of our 2 TE's!!!!!!!!

Aaron Hernandez - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BTW, that's a pretty good article for a Jets blog. My respects!

GRONK and Hernandez are *still* among the 50 youngest players in the NFL.

IllegalContact · Dec 14, 2011

DarrylS said:
I was under the impression that BB did not know jack shyt about drafting???

OTOH thought he was 23, no wonder he is such a "kid"....

With the new TV deal, we can easily sign him as the salary cap is gonna go through the roof..

Tough to miss drafting a TE that year..... There are plenty of choices that lend credence to the alternative

Uncle Rico · Dec 14, 2011

IllegalContact said:
Tough to miss drafting a TE that year..... There are plenty of choices that lend credence to the alternative

Yeah, lots of good TEs the last couple of years, especially in '10. I remember NFP having Hernandez and Gronk rated 1-2, ahead of Gresham, the consensus top TE. Easy to forget now how big a risk both these picks were at the time. (Baltimore, whom BB traded ahead of to snag Gronk, had even ruled him out, according to a Breer report.)

Like it or not, the success with both these guys will reaffirm BB's gambling spirit, and can help explain how he'll take a risk on guys like Dowling who have a history with injuries.

cmasspatsfan · Dec 14, 2011

Uncle Rico said:
Yeah, lots of good TEs the last couple of years, especially in '10. I remember NFP having Hernandez and Gronk rated 1-2, ahead of Gresham, the consensus top TE. Easy to forget now how big a risk both these picks were at the time. (Baltimore, whom BB traded ahead of to snag Gronk, had even ruled him out, according to a Breer report.)

Like it or not, the success with both these guys will reaffirm BB's gambling spirit, and can help explain how he'll take a risk on guys like Dowling who have a history with injuries.

Thats true and Dowling could go the next four years without and injury and be a good player, you never know.

patsfan13 · Dec 14, 2011

Actually drafting Hernandez and Gronk wasn't a change in direction at all. He had been trying to get 2 TE set for years, Witness the early picks used on Graham, Watson and Thomas.

Just took a while to find the 2 right guys.

Uncle Rico · Dec 14, 2011

cmasspatsfan said:
Thats true and Dowling could go the next four years without and injury and be a good player, you never know.

I think many of us here liked we what little we saw of him, so I hope so. A few years of a healthy Dowling and McCourty would change a lot of things on this D.

Stilla · Dec 14, 2011

Gronk and Aaron have been great stories, and now you have to put Solder in that same conversation. He has had a great rookie year and has had an impact on the o-line as well as in at TE. BB might have found his 3rd TE... Solder.

People tell me all the time that Solder will play tackle in time. I am not sold on that just yet. His impact in on the run game has been awesome when he is in at TE. It has been a long while since Solder played TE and BB might be coaching this guy up, to catch up on all the TE play he missed out on in school.

BB has brought in many TEs this year and none of them have stuck around long enough for people to even remember they were in NE. Solder has out shined many experienced TEs, and if someone wants to steal his spot as a starter they have to play better than he is currently.

Nate could even play as an eligible receiving tackle.

Don't be shocked if BB drafts another tackle because he likes Solder in at TE. Solder is fast and very athletic for his size. He has proven he is smart by starting in his rookie year. Its very tough to cover a guy who is 6-8 319 lbs, if Solder can catch the ball, he could be a real force to recon with.

nyjet17 · Dec 14, 2011

shmessy said:
....and he's the OLDER of our 2 TE's!!!!!!!!

Aaron Hernandez - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BTW, that's a pretty good article for a Jets blog. My respects!

It's not really a Jets blog.

More of an opinion/analysis/news site on everything that focuses on NFL and is a little more Jets-centric than other teams. Thanks though, thought people would enjoy it here.

Isaac · Dec 14, 2011

Stilla said:
Gronk and Aaron have been great stories, and now you have to put Solder in that same conversation. He has had a great rookie year and has had an impact on the o-line as well as in at TE. BB might have found his 3rd TE... Solder.

People tell me all the time that Solder will play tackle in time. I am not sold on that just yet. His impact in on the run game has been awesome when he is in at TE. It has been a long while since Solder played TE and BB might be coaching this guy up, to catch up on all the TE play he missed out on in school.

BB has brought in many TEs this year and none of them have stuck around long enough for people to even remember they were in NE. Solder has out shined many experienced TEs, and if someone wants to steal his spot as a starter they have to play better than he is currently.

Nate could even play as an eligible receiving tackle.

Don't be shocked if BB drafts another tackle because he likes Solder in at TE. Solder is fast and very athletic for his size. He has proven he is smart by starting in his rookie year. Its very tough to cover a guy who is 6-8 319 lbs, if Solder can catch the ball, he could be a real force to recon with.

Thumbs up on the enthusiasm. I certainly can see a long-term situation where Solder starts but frequently rotates to tackle eligible, and maybe even catches a few passes if they can get him coached up for it. Why not? You know BB would do it if he liked it.

NinjaZX6R · Dec 14, 2011

Patspsycho said:
Oh they knew, but missing an entire year due to back injury at ASU was what dropped him so far down the draft ranks. If he hadn't had that injury, he would easily have been a first round pick.

Arizona not Arizona State. But I'm glad he was rated as a 2nd round prospect and not a 1st.

nyjet17 · Dec 18, 2011

Patspsycho said:
Oh they knew, but missing an entire year due to back injury at ASU was what dropped him so far down the draft ranks. If he hadn't had that injury, he would easily have been a first round pick.

It's strange though because Jermaine Gresham missed the entire 2009 season with an injury and he was still picked in the 1st round.

PatriotFan77 · Dec 18, 2011

CheeseMonkeys said:
If people knew of the monster that Gronk would become, he would have been a top 5 pick.

If ifs were fifths we'd all be drunk

YDKF: And Superman Wept (Gronkowski Article)

nyjet17

On the Roster

CheeseMonkeys

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Patspsycho

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Krugman

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shmessy

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Uncle Rico

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Stilla

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nyjet17

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Isaac

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nyjet17

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