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Common wisdom....and most of media keeps telling us what a big loss not having Gronk back this year is going to be. I mean they are literally coming at us with "dire times", and "end of days" scenarios. There talk that his retirement will have the impact of the "once in 500 years flood". In other words, the world as we once knew it will never ever be the same ....or will it?
But here's the thing. I'd like to put out there a DIFFERENT supposition. One that proposes that the Pats offense this season will NOT miss Gronk nearly as much as its been predicted. Remember this is coming from the guy who was literally apoplectic when NONE of the 4 very good TE prospects that were withing our reach was taken. I couldn't IMAGINE why this OBVIOUS omission had occurred. It seemed like no one in that draft room seemed to know that Gronk was gone. And if you read any of the various draft threads I posted on.....well you got my opinion on the matter.
But whenever you think the Pats have acted in a strange way you always have to reset and think, "WHY wasn't TE a big priority for Bill? And here are some the the facts that may have gone into his thought process.
Lets look at three numbers that have been pretty much lost in all the "Gronk is gone" panic.
47- 682-3
These, in order, are the number of passes Gronk caught, his receiving yds, and TD's. Clearly Gronk was diminished for most of last season. But his number are his numbers. So why should we think that our passing offense will suddenly fall apart because Gronk's 2018's production will be gone. Based on last year's TE production the bar wasn't set very high for this year's group.
All our TE's combined for just 3 TD's. That is THREE touchdowns in 19 games. Am I being unreasonable to expect that the TE group as it stands right now should give us more this season. Right, I agree
Last season all our TE's combined for about 750 yards. Is it unreasonable to think that our current group might do as well....if not better. Watson and Lacosse had 650 last season, and ASJ only played 4 games last season (and had an additional 95 yds. So isn't it reasonable to think that in one of the most successful offenses in the league and the GOAT at QB, these guys could at least DUPLICATE what they did last year. BTW- Last season, in fewer games, they managed to have 4 TD's.
I know Gronk add ed greatly to the run game and pass protection. I know his locker room presence will be greatly missed. I am NOT saying that Gronk's retirement isn't going to have an impact on the team. But by the middle of the season, no one was formulating their defense based on where Gronk was any longer. In the end what I am saying is that it's not going to be nearly the impact that its being implied.
Think about it. We didn't lose the guy from 2010-2015. The Pats have been to 3 straight superbowls with Gronk averaging just under 5 TD/yr. That is a NOT a high bar to reach for whatever group the Pats end up putting out there.
The offense will continue to evolve to fit the talent that they wind up with as they build this team. But to think the passing attack is in trouble because we lost 700 odd yards and 3 TDs from last year is simply lazy thinking. Though I admit that I thought "lazily" when I first heard the news and then didn't see the response in the draft I envisioned. And while I will never understand the need to trade UP to draft a punter in the 5th round, I fully understand now why Bill didn't panic, while the rest of us did.
Just sayin'.
But here's the thing. I'd like to put out there a DIFFERENT supposition. One that proposes that the Pats offense this season will NOT miss Gronk nearly as much as its been predicted. Remember this is coming from the guy who was literally apoplectic when NONE of the 4 very good TE prospects that were withing our reach was taken. I couldn't IMAGINE why this OBVIOUS omission had occurred. It seemed like no one in that draft room seemed to know that Gronk was gone. And if you read any of the various draft threads I posted on.....well you got my opinion on the matter.
But whenever you think the Pats have acted in a strange way you always have to reset and think, "WHY wasn't TE a big priority for Bill? And here are some the the facts that may have gone into his thought process.
Lets look at three numbers that have been pretty much lost in all the "Gronk is gone" panic.
47- 682-3
These, in order, are the number of passes Gronk caught, his receiving yds, and TD's. Clearly Gronk was diminished for most of last season. But his number are his numbers. So why should we think that our passing offense will suddenly fall apart because Gronk's 2018's production will be gone. Based on last year's TE production the bar wasn't set very high for this year's group.
All our TE's combined for just 3 TD's. That is THREE touchdowns in 19 games. Am I being unreasonable to expect that the TE group as it stands right now should give us more this season. Right, I agree
Last season all our TE's combined for about 750 yards. Is it unreasonable to think that our current group might do as well....if not better. Watson and Lacosse had 650 last season, and ASJ only played 4 games last season (and had an additional 95 yds. So isn't it reasonable to think that in one of the most successful offenses in the league and the GOAT at QB, these guys could at least DUPLICATE what they did last year. BTW- Last season, in fewer games, they managed to have 4 TD's.
I know Gronk add ed greatly to the run game and pass protection. I know his locker room presence will be greatly missed. I am NOT saying that Gronk's retirement isn't going to have an impact on the team. But by the middle of the season, no one was formulating their defense based on where Gronk was any longer. In the end what I am saying is that it's not going to be nearly the impact that its being implied.
Think about it. We didn't lose the guy from 2010-2015. The Pats have been to 3 straight superbowls with Gronk averaging just under 5 TD/yr. That is a NOT a high bar to reach for whatever group the Pats end up putting out there.
The offense will continue to evolve to fit the talent that they wind up with as they build this team. But to think the passing attack is in trouble because we lost 700 odd yards and 3 TDs from last year is simply lazy thinking. Though I admit that I thought "lazily" when I first heard the news and then didn't see the response in the draft I envisioned. And while I will never understand the need to trade UP to draft a punter in the 5th round, I fully understand now why Bill didn't panic, while the rest of us did.
Just sayin'.