Gronkowski is the best ever

[RIpats88]

Are teams even trying to double Gronk? You would think that they would. Also, if he is doubled, that should leave someone else open.

I think teams are afraid of Cooks and the home-run ball so they have been giving Gronk one on one coverage. If they start to double gronk, I think we could see a big cooks game burning some guys deep

 

[dafoe2016]

Still prefer Coates. But yeah, Gronk is better. Not by a ton though. Ben was very underrated.

 

[Biffins]

Well, the fans, players, and coaches seem to agree...Kelce is better.

(he's the Pro Bowl starter, Gronk is backup)

Gronk will get All-Pro and get his $5m bonus (one criteria is to get All-Pro) and he's worth it.

 

[Jackson 2]

Still prefer Coates. But yeah, Gronk is better. Not by a ton though. Ben was very underrated.

Coates was a terrific tight end. I don't recall him being underrated. In fact, at the peak of his career from 1994-98 he made first team pro-bowl 5 straight years and was named all-pro 2 of those years. Even so, it's unfair to compare him, or anyone else, to Gronkowski.

 

[Kato]

Ive been watching the NFL since the early 60's. Seen em all.
There is NO one, repeat NO ONE, even close to Gronk.
He is handsdown, head and shoulders better than any te in history. And it's not close.

At quick glance I thought you said, “He is handsome, head and shoulders...”

 

[ScottishPatriots]

Gronk is unstoppable right now but he better have his head on a swivel on Sunday and if the game gets out of hand get him out of the game.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

hope Brady stays around for Rob’s 100 td’s!

 

[bormio]

Gronk is simply the most difficult matchup problem in the history of the NFL. He is Lawrence Taylor on offense.

Alright my day is made. Yesterday I compared Gronk to LT. Today Bill did.

 

[Pats1989]

He's a top five tight end of all time. I just don't know how to rank Gronk, Winslow, Gonzalez, Gates, and Sharpe.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

Today Bill did.

Not sure if this has been posted - definitely worth a read:

All about adaptability: Belichick on Gronkowski, Slater, Taylor similarities

 

[AtomicDawg]

Well, the fans, players, and coaches seem to agree...Kelce is better.

(he's the Pro Bowl starter, Gronk is backup)

Unfortunately I think that hit and subsequent suspension cost him some votes.

 

[Nikolai]

Unfortunately I think that hit and subsequent suspension cost him some votes.

As we've seen in MVP and Coach of the Year voting, people prefer the flavor of the day over consistent greatness when it comes to these sorts of things. In 2011-2012, it was Jimmy Graham, then it was Greg Olsen, then it was Tyler Eifert in 2015, and now Kelce is the new flavor of the day. Don't get me wrong, those other guys are terrific tight ends, but they aren't Gronk and won't ever be.

 

[luuked]

Unfortunately I think that hit and subsequent suspension cost him some votes.

Gronk will end up the first team AP TE with a huge margin. The game against the Steelers alone guaranteed that.

 

[dafoe2016]

Coates was a terrific tight end. I don't recall him being underrated. In fact, at the peak of his career from 1994-98 he made first team pro-bowl 5 straight years and was named all-pro 2 of those years. Even so, it's unfair to compare him, or anyone else, to Gronkowski.

A lot of people claimed Shannon Sharpe was better. And he wasn't. That's what I meant by underrated. He was the best in the game when he played, but rarely acknowledged as such.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Gronk is the GOAT. Period.

Next up is TGon, Casper, Mackey and Ditka.

All other lasted less years (Bavaro) or were allergic to blocking

 

[Ring 6]

Gronk is the GOAT. Period.

Next up is TGon, Casper, Mackey and Ditka.

All other lasted less years (Bavaro) or were allergic to blocking

Ozzie newsime deserves a mention. He was a willing blocker but just a very small TE.

 

[Ring 6]

A lot of people claimed Shannon Sharpe was better. And he wasn't. That's what I meant by underrated. He was the best in the game when he played, but rarely acknowledged as such.

It’s not unreasonable to think sharpe was better.
Sharpe has a better career, Coates was probably better at his peak. It’s a good argument between 2 comparable players. Coates short career as a top player plus time hanging around and poor numbers in the post season don’t help him.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Ozzie newsime deserves a mention. He was a willing blocker but just a very small TE.

A mention yes but he's out of the Final 4.

 

[EMpats]

It seems that much of the general public and even football analysts just completely ignore blocking when ranking tight ends. It's a huge part of their impact on a game, and when you factor it in Gronk is the best all around tight end of all time and its not even reasonably close.

The "greatest of all time" has different meanings to different people (some factor in career stat accumulation) but to me it means if your life depended on winning one game, who would you pick as your tight end for that game. To me its Gronk

 

[Ring 6]

It seems that much of the general public and even football analysts just completely ignore blocking when ranking tight ends. It's a huge part of their impact on a game, and when you factor it in Gronk is the best all around tight end of all time and its not even reasonably close.

The "greatest of all time" has different meanings to different people (some factor in career stat accumulation) but to me it means if your life depended on winning one game, who would you pick as your tight end for that game. To me its Gronk

9o% of the arguments over x is better than y stem from using different definitions of “better”. Yours is clear and given that it’s hard to argue with your current conclusion.
If best is defined as “who had the best career” it’s a different discussion.