I love this team

[Deus Irae]

All points that you can get are needed.

Given that BB has often taken the air out of the ball once a lead has been established, it's pretty clear that he needs you to explain this to him.

 

[Triumph]

Well, there's Gronk himself saying that's exactly what happened on Sunday:



Ironically, what there's really no history of is the notion that Gronk was responding to the cheap shot on his teammate.

That's an assumption others made after the game -- Gronk has never even indicated that he saw the attack on Bennett. He was deep in his own separate back-and-forth with Adam Jones, and then Burfict:

Then why did Gronk seek out Burfict and get in his face?

The middle video shows Gronk giving Burfict a message.

Vontaze Burfict’s Cheap Shot On Marty B Lead To Gronk Stomping The Life Out Of Cincinnati

I read some place that Gronk was telling Bennett " I got you Bro" after the Burfict cheap shot. Gronk and Bennett have become family.

 

[Deus Irae]

Well, there's Gronk himself saying that's exactly what happened on Sunday:

Patriots players lie and/or tell half-truths about this sort of stuff with regularity.

 

[patchick]

Sometimes you have just have to square off and be a man. Acting scared like a sissy has no place in pro sports.

Maybe we're talking about different things. Wasn't Gronkowski was penalized for taunting, not unnecessary roughness? He "squared off" and "acted like a man" by making a nyah-nyah face toward the Bengals' bench?

I must have missed the movie where John Wayne proved his grit by singing "I see your hiney, all big and shiny."

 

[Triumph]

Maybe we're talking about different things. Wasn't Gronkowski was penalized for taunting, not unnecessary roughness? He "squared off" and "acted like a man" by making a nyah-nyah face toward the Bengals' bench?

I must have missed the movie where John Wayne proved his grit by singing "I see your hiney, all big and shiny."

Did you not just give us reason for grave concern?

To paraphrase - Gronk threw Sergio out of de club and then had another incident where he threw "Haymakers" last game of the 2014 season. Gronk flew off the handle twice upping the ante with haymakers this time. Explains why the Pats wouldnt give Gronk more money.

Gronk stood his ground and didnt back down when it got physical. I am still proud on how he conducted himself.

We should have been concerned during the 2015 season at all the opposing players waiting to fist fight with Gronk. Everyone in the NFL heard what happened. Since that game I dont recall Gronk involved in a single incident warranting a penalty until last Sunday. 24 games Gronk was on the straight and narrow and now he is off the reservation again.

The Pats are really in a bind here. If we are concerned about Gronk, then go ahead and add Bennett and Blount to the list. Gronk was taking up for Bennett and Blount has a history of having a short fuse too. NFL players know that by hitting Bennett too hard that Gronk will respond.

 

[farn]

I loved last year's team at this point too. Then, after all the injuries that followed Lewis' tough luck- it was easy to love them, but not love their chances to go all the way.

Skill, health, and luck (prob in that order) are all required to win the big one.

 

[zoostation]

Really? He cost the Pats three points on that drive. Dumb move.

Calling Packman a punk azz biatch was worth 10 points

 

[BradyFTW!]

It doesn't get any better than this so cherish these times.

These guys stick up for one another. Gronk should not have taken the bait, but I am glad that he did. I can visualize him saying " F you b1tch"

https://media.giphy.com/media/tStM85CRNJQpq/giphy.gif

It does bring me back to some of those 2009-2012 games, against the Ravens in particular, where they would just take shot after shot at our guys, borderline committing a personal foul on every play to force the refs into calling the game loosely... and our guys would just kinda take it and try to play through it. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I'm all for having discipline, but I also agree that there are some times when a team does well to just say **** that and stop taking **** from anyone. And the end of the Bengals game was the perfect time to do that - the game's already pretty much over, they're taking cheap shots at you, and they're a bunch of known thugs with zero discipline. If there's ever a time when you should stick up for yourself and your teammates, that's it.

 

[ausbacker]

It does bring me back to some of those 2009-2012 games, against the Ravens in particular, where they would just take shot after shot at our guys, borderline committing a personal foul on every play to force the refs into calling the game loosely... and our guys would just kinda take it and try to play through it. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I'm all for having discipline, but I also agree that there are some times when a team does well to just say **** that and stop taking **** from anyone. And the end of the Bengals game was the perfect time to do that - the game's already pretty much over, they're taking cheap shots at you, and they're a bunch of known thugs with zero discipline. If there's ever a time when you should stick up for yourself and your teammates, that's it.

Most, if not all of these guys think of themselves as Alpha males, which is fine. The thing is, the Patriots are, right now, the Alpha team in the AFC, if not the NFL. I have no problem with our players beating down their opponents and reminding them of that fact. Hell, I wouldn't mind a strategically placed penalty to reinforce the fact ala Rodney Harrison laying out punks to remind the opposition who they are playing.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

3 points that weren't needed, and a lot of team building that will mean a lot more in the long run

The first altercation i'm fine with, but the "taunting" was unnecessary though - he was starting to lose focus.

 

[jah]

The first altercation i'm fine with, but the "taunting" was unnecessary though - he was starting to lose focus.

This. At first, I was thinking "I love it, we're totally going to get either Burfict or Jones ejected in a few plays" but then it became clear Gronk was just losing his cool.