Gronk may need back surgery

[NinerSickness]

Rob Gronkowski of New England Patriots may need back surgery - source - ESPN Boston

This guy doesn't seem long for the NFL. 4 sugeries on his forearm, and they're worried about infection in the plate in his arm. If he has a "Chronic infection & non-union," that would end his career.

Now he' might need back surgery. Not lookin' good for him. It's not lookin' great for the Patriots in general either IMO. Everyone was talking about how the Ravens' window is closing because Reed & Lewis are gone, but I think the New England should be in more of a hurry than Baltimore.

I wonder why they haven't signed Richard Seymour. Maybe bad blood from the trade?

 

[Jikkle]

The way the Patriots operate is a bit of a mystery to me.

They constantly build their team to basically be regular season killers and look gaudy against the average and bad teams but when it comes playoff times they run into a good defense and look like garbage out there.

They never make the moves that gives them the talent to put them over the edge and give them a real serious look at winning a Super Bowl.

 

[NinerSickness]

They've definitely emphasized longevity over putting together 1 extremely dominant team. The proof is when they stupidly traded Richard Seymour to the Raiders; I think that move cost Belichick his 4th ring (his first non-cheating ring).

I just hope the Niners don't make the same mistake. Baalke's biggest blunder was not putting more into the WR position over the last 2 years IMO (I also think they neglected DL depth, about which I complained prior to the '12 season). He's done a masterful job, but it could've been a slam dunk if they made a move like signing Mike Wallace when he was a RFA or trading for Steve Smith.

As far as the Patriots go, I think they may have missed their chance. They look like a 2nd tier team to me at this point.

 

[bvanthielriceyoung]

They've definitely emphasized longevity over putting together 1 extremely dominant team. The proof is when they stupidly traded Richard Seymour to the Raiders; I think that move cost Belichick his 4th ring (his first non-cheating ring).

definitely agree with this and was saying it a lot at the time when they traded Seymour. I could see the benefits long term but to get that superbowl ring I think it hurt them.

 

[Jikkle]

Baalke I feel has done a good job of mixing being aggressive while maintaining a plan for long term success.

I mean our nose is practically touching the cap and no way Belichick ever makes a move like trading up to the 18th spot from the 31st spot in the draft.

And speaking of the draft that's actually been the one area that's killed the Patriot's over the years. Sure they hit on some players but it seems like they always bring in those solid starter/contributor kind of guys and not the kind of guys that are ever going to threaten to be All Pro.

I don't think the window has slammed shut on the Pats but it's definitely not big nor is it getting any bigger. The only thing that's really keeping them strong is their offensive line and their ability to keep Brady clean.

 

[threelittleturds]

With all of these surgeries, maybe it is time to start calling him Frankenstein's Monster.

 

[Flyingiguana]

he's gotta lay off on the dance moves

 

[JDM]

The way the Patriots operate is a bit of a mystery to me.

They constantly build their team to basically be regular season killers and look gaudy against the average and bad teams but when it comes playoff times they run into a good defense and look like garbage out there.

They never make the moves that gives them the talent to put them over the edge and give them a real serious look at winning a Super Bowl.

They've been rebuilding since like 06. One or two more years and they can make a real last run with Brady. Making the playoffs and still being contenders while doing so was a bonus.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

They've been rebuilding since like 06. One or two more years and they can make a real last run with Brady. Making the playoffs and still being contenders while doing so was a bonus.

Six years of rebuilding and they need two more? Sorry, not buying it. They've had to make some tough choices based in large part on their success, and they've still maintained about as much success as anyone. But it's not a rebuild. Not close.

 

[Hangman]

 

[Flyingiguana]

They've been rebuilding since like 06. One or two more years and they can make a real last run with Brady. Making the playoffs and still being contenders while doing so was a bonus.

tom brady sux thats why. w/o a top notch d he's trent dilfer with stats

 

[Yoshi]

Rob Gronkowski of New England Patriots may need back surgery - source - ESPN Boston

This guy doesn't seem long for the NFL. 4 sugeries on his forearm, and they're worried about infection in the plate in his arm. If he has a "Chronic infection & non-union," that would end his career.

Now he' might need back surgery. Not lookin' good for him. It's not lookin' great for the Patriots in general either IMO. Everyone was talking about how the Ravens' window is closing because Reed & Lewis are gone, but I think the New England should be in more of a hurry than Baltimore.

I wonder why they haven't signed Richard Seymour. Maybe bad blood from the trade?

Apparently they're not worried about the infection as much although it was missed earlier during his prior surgeries:

Doctors were able to replace the plate that had been keeping the broken bone in place because they were confident enough that the infection that had persisted for months in the forearm had finally cleared.

A dozen cultures and frozen tissue samples were also taken, and results from those tests won’t be known for about a week. So technically, Gronk isn’t completely cleared with respect to the infection, but the fact they opted to switch plates suggests they are expecting the samples to come back clean.

So once Gronkowski officially clears that hurdle, he’ll finally get past this forearm odyssey which began with the first break in Week 11, continued with a second break during the divisional round of the playoffs, and has been a royal pain thanks to an infection that’s gripped the arm since February.

That bolded part right there is what caught my attention. He's on his way to getting his forearm issue resolved, but it's the lingering disc problem in the back that can affect the longevity of his playing career.

 

[Yoshi]

tom brady sux thats why. w/o a top notch d he's trent dilfer with stats

He could use a better RB than what he has right now. I know they get production from the guys they have on their roster, but come playoff time, I don't know if they have the guy who can take pressure off of Brady to move the chains. Heck, the one guy they thought they had got KO'd by the Ravens' safety in that game.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

The injury history with Gronk has to be worrisome. Nothing is incredibly serious, but it's really piling up. He may be one of those guys who's just too big to play for a long time. There's a lot of him to put a lick on, and by the nature of the position he opens himself up to a lot of hits.

 

[JDM]

Six years of rebuilding and they need two more? Sorry, not buying it. They've had to make some tough choices based in large part on their success, and they've still maintained about as much success as anyone. But it's not a rebuild. Not close.

Rebuilding the D. It takes time to start a championship caliber defense from scratch, especially through the draft when you never pick above 25. It's not like the 49ers, who had multiple high picks to work with. (Not talking trash, just stating the fact that early first rounders are easier to work with)

A d end, another d back, and a burner at receiver and this team is extremely difficult to beat.

 

[threelittleturds]

Rebuilding the D. It takes time to start a championship caliber defense from scratch, especially through the draft when you never pick above 25. It's not like the 49ers, who had multiple high picks to work with. (Not talking trash, just stating the fact that early first rounders are easier to work with)

A d end, another d back, and a burner at receiver and this team is extremely difficult to beat.

Or, maybe it is a lot more difficult to win without taping the opponent. (Not talking trash, just blah blah blah)

Anyway, not sure I buy the re-building hype when the Pats were just in the SB in 2011

 

[JDM]

Tell me any defense since 06 was championship caliber. The defense for 18-1 was a joke, and has been a huge weakness every year since.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Tell me any defense since 06 was championship caliber. The defense for 18-1 was a joke, and has been a huge weakness every year since.

I guess the question I take more issue with is whether the D is being "rebuilt," or is just mediocre and likely to stay that way. The Pats have a lot of money sunk into the offense, and the D has suffered as a result. They've also blown all sorts of picks on the defensive side of the ball since '06, and really before that as well. In a four-year span, the Pats added Seymour, Warren, and Wilfork. Those picks really fueled the dynasty, along with Brady and the offensive moves, of course, but the Pats have been shaky at drafting and grooming defensive talent since.

Between '07 and '11 (too early on the '12 guys, though a few look promising to be fair), the Pats took 13 defensive players in the first four rounds. Of those, I think you've got to consider at least six of them to be in the outright bust category given their draft status (Kareem Brown, Jonathan Wilhite, Shawn Crable, Darius Butler, Terrence Wheatley, Ras-I Dowling). You've got five more high picks who have been disappointing (Brandon Meriweather, Patrick Chung, Ron Brace, Devin McCourty, Jermaine Cunningham - yes, I know a couple of these guys have pro bowls, but they're really not all that good). The only impact player taken in that span has been Mayo. They have repeatedly missed on CBs and safeties taken early, and haven't really done much to address the DL.

I don't see any reason to believe that the Pats' D is close to becoming a particularly good one. They are helped as their offensive production forces other teams to take chances on offense, but the D as a whole is really only mediocre.

 

[JDM]

D line. Wilfork in the middle, with chandler jones on outside is great. Another pass rusher is needed off the left end

Linebackers. Mayo is one of the better MLB in the NFL. spikes is solid, and Hightower showed good promise. Ninkovich is not an amazing athlete, but is generally in the right place.

Corners. Talib is solid at number one. The rest are not dominant, but I don't think they're as bad as they have looked the last two years. They had legitimately no safety help in 2011 (Matthew slater played games there), and a little from devin McCourty late last year.

Safety. I like McCourty at free. He's not going anywhere. strong is the other big hole I mentioned. Adrian Wilson should do fine there for this year at least, but I'd like a longer term option.

Are they elite as a unit? Not by any means. But the bulk of the defense is very young and I think once you give them one or two more years to prove themselves they'll be in good shape. Adrian Wilson is 33, Wilfork is 31, ninkovich is 29. Pretty much everyone else on the defensive roster is under 27. For their age, 9 in points isn't bad at all.

 

[Jikkle]

As CC said the Pat's issue has been subpar drafting.

If you draft well you shouldn't need 6 years to rebuild one side of the ball and the issue is Bill has whiffed on too many picks in the past few years.

I mean eventually you have to put a few more chips on the table and go for it by trading up and grabbing an impact player.

When you have a strong roster the whole reason you trade for more picks is so you have the ability to move up in future drafts to grab impact players.

Mayo is one of their better guys but look where they drafted him at. Number 13 (might be off but I know it's around there) with the 9ers pick.

Brady isn't getting any younger or better, the AFC East isn't getting any worse, and the AFC is ripe for the pickings so I think it's in the Pat's best interest to be more aggressive in going for it than they have been.

That's not to say you need to mortgage the future and pull off Ricky Williams type of trades but they definitely afford to be more aggressive.