When Will the Gronkmonster Return?

[Ring 6]

I am. Too much smoke to ignore.

I don't see it. I see too many people guessing at things and then people ultimately believing the guesses are fact.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

With all due respect to your "professional" career but you are as qualified to compare your experience to a professional football player as any part time runner is. We are talking about bodies that are on the verge of what ligaments and muscles can support when cutting quickly, accelerating and most importantly absorbing hits. Again, I am not trying to be personal here but the requirements for professional muscle mountains like him are different than anything else.

I have nothing against Gronk. I love that he's on the team, and I wish him all the best. I was just commenting that muscle strains, particularly hamstring injuries, are extremely prevalent among football players, which is strange to me. I wasn't ragging on Gronk, or attempting to feed into the narrative that he's injury-prone or not worth the money. Sheesh. I want him to be a Patriot for life, and I don't fault him at all for the game he's missed.

I simply find it strange that so many football players hurt their hamstrings in particular. Generally speaking, hamstring injuries can be avoided through proper conditioning and preparation, so it's odd to me that football players (who clearly work out quite a bit and are very strong) seem to routinely fall prey to a condition that is usually circumvented by proper warm up and a regular stretching routine.

And really, you are trying to be personal by putting "professional" in quotations. I performed internationally for a couple of years with a professional company. That's a fact. You have no idea how much stress and strain a circus acrobat puts on his or her body; we also can't fail when performing, because that often means injury or even death. So while football might have special considerations due to the impact players take, don't try to devalue someone's career just because it fits your argument.

I also ran a gym for a number of years, and I've worked with some of the best athletes from around the world -- I'd put their level of fitness and conditioning against a football player's any day of the week. So, yes, I've been around elite level athletes from a variety of disciplines, and I do feel more qualified than the average fan to comment on fitness-related topics. Denigrating my experience is completely unnecessary; it's unrelated to making your point, which is actually one that I mostly agree with anyway. Disappointing to be attacked in that manner.

 

[luuked]

I didn't say he did.

You didn't say it out loud but from my point of view you at the very least implied it by suggesting that a) Gronk was rushed back and then b) also forwarding a "theory" that Gill was rubber stamping players.

I was just putting a + b together..

 

[luuked]

And really, you are trying to be personal by putting "professional" in quotations. I performed internationally for a couple of years with a professional company. That's a fact. You have no idea how much stress and strain a circus acrobat puts on his or her body; we also can't fail when performing, because that often means injury or even death. So while football might have special considerations due to the impact players take, don't try to devalue someone's career just because it fits your argument.

I also ran a gym for a number of years, and I've worked with some of the best athletes from around the world -- I'd put their level of fitness and conditioning against a football player's any day of the week. So, yes, I've been around elite level athletes from a variety of disciplines, and I do feel more qualified than the average fan to comment on fitness-related topics. Denigrating my experience is completely unnecessary; it's unrelated to making your point, which is actually one that I mostly agree with anyway. Disappointing to be attacked in that manner.

Sorry if the double quotes upset you I didn't mean to question or belittle your accomplishments/experience. So I definitely deserve your first paragraph because it was uncalled for. You got compounded into the hodge podge of frustration that I get everytime we have to go through the stupid Gronk narratives.

That being said, while I can see that being an acrobat (or a professional athlete/dancer/whatever) puts a lot of strain on your body and mind it still doesn't compare to what NFL players have to go through. Let me emphasize.. I am not belittling acrobats et al but trying to emphasize the brutality and power that is inherent in the game of football.

In terms of your experience in the gym I'd still say that working with the freaks of the freaks of nature - what football players like Gronk are - is a different level than supporting other elite athletes in their training. My point here was not to say that you have no more relevant experience than an average person but that the requirements to deal with the 1% of the 1% in the NFL are imho different than in many other sports.

A hamstring injury for a normal athlete is in the majority of cases preventable with better conditioning/strengthening. For an athlete that routinely gets hit by other professional athletes and stresses his joints by quick cutting ect. it could be a e.g. symptom of some instability because of something else that happened when he got tackled.

There are just a multitude more reasons for the most innocent looking injuries when you play a brutal contact sport like football.

 

[RobertWeathers]

You didn't say it out loud but from my point of view you at the very least implied it by suggesting that a) Gronk was rushed back and then b) also forwarding a "theory" that Gill was rubber stamping players.

I was just putting a + b together..

Ok you are calling me out.

First of all, I am not accusing BB of pushing Gronk back on the field.

Second of all, I am not accusing Gill of clearing Gronk to play when he should not have.

I think Gronk and his family read the same stuff we do and when a guy has 15+ surgeries before the age of 28 and has maybe $100m in potential earnings in salary and endorsements on the line, he is going to do all he can to take control of his health.

Former Patriots doctor Thomas Gill denies siding with team over player - The Boston Globe

Former Patriots Defensive Star Files Medical Malpractice Lawsuit - Abramson, Brown & Dugan

I am not saying Gill is a ****ty doctor but lets be honest here, to some players team doctors represent a person who is not 100% interested in the player's long-term health and all they care about is getting that player back out there with minimal impact to the team's investment.

 

[VJCPatriot]

100% healthy gronk is better than trying to bring him back early and risk an injury.
especially since this team usually peaks late season/playoffs time.