1989 and counting--record wont be broken!!

With all the talk about Gronk getting close to the single season TE yardage mark what is lost is the production of the NE TEs COMBINED. Between Gronk(1219) and Hernandez(772) they are at 1989 yards and counting. The Saints #2 is way lower as is 1980 SD Chargers and 2009 Colts. NE TEs have broken that record by WAY over 700 yards(65%!!) and counting.....can anyone say WHO CARES about a 3rd WR?? 2000+ yards from the TE position has REVOLUTIONIZED the position wouldnt you agree??

jeffbiologist said:

With all the talk about Gronk getting close to the single season TE yardage mark what is lost is the production of the NE TEs COMBINED. Between Gronk(1219) and Hernandez(772) they are at 1989 yards and counting. The Saints #2 is way lower as is 1980 SD Chargers and 2009 Colts. NE TEs have broken that record by WAY over 700 yards(65%!!) and counting.....can anyone say WHO CARES about a 3rd WR?? 2000+ yards from the TE position has REVOLUTIONIZED the position wouldnt you agree??

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The NFL has long been notorious for being a copycat league. I'll be curious to see if over the next several years if other teams do not focus on trying to fit players into the tight end position that are similar mismatches for opposing defenses - though finding players that can do that is much easier said than done.


Or maybe teams will just start reaching for big athletic tight ends with a last name that begins with the letter G (Gronkowski, Gates, Gonzalez, Graham).

What I saw is BB is always a step ahead of most coaches.

Thats whats amazing.

Maybe in 3 years the protoype of CB will be McCourty. No defense at all

jmt57 said:

The NFL has long been notorious for being a copycat league. I'll be curious to see if over the next several years if other teams do not focus on trying to fit players into the tight end position that are similar mismatches for opposing defenses - though finding players that can do that is much easier said than done.


Or maybe teams will just start reaching for big athletic tight ends with a last name that begins with the letter G (Gronkowski, Gates, Gonzalez, Graham).

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I can see coaches scouring basketball programs like it's running out of style.. Your right though, next April's draft.. All Tight Ends ..

jmt57 said:

The NFL has long been notorious for being a copycat league. I'll be curious to see if over the next several years if other teams do not focus on trying to fit players into the tight end position that are similar mismatches for opposing defenses - though finding players that can do that is much easier said than done.

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The good news is that it's much, much easier said than done. Belichick certainly tried plenty of times before hitting paydirt with this pair.

I'm convinced that the 2010 draft class is going to go down as the TE counterpart to 1983 for quarterbacks. Check out some classmates of Gronk & Hernandez:

Jimmy Graham
Jermaine Gresham
Ed ****son
Tony Moeaki
Dennis Pitta

Or to put it another way, the Ravens drafted two 2010 tight ends who in their second season have combined for 87 catches and 7 TDs, and they're not even near the top of their class.

Maybe if you cant beat em.....Could it be that BB has been looking for LBs so long that he has seen a lack of coverage LBs in the league so THAT is what he has been trying to exploit? Maybe our lack of LBs and trial and error has caused this "backlash"?? Nothing happens in a vaccuum, but I sincerely doubt even BBs best thoughts couldnt really compare to the product on the field. There is the obvious reaction, it cant LAST. Who cares. Its about matchups and if this eventually frees up our outside recievers thats ok too.

patchick said:

The good news is that it's much, much easier said than done. Belichick certainly tried plenty of times before hitting paydirt with this pair.

I'm convinced that the 2010 draft class is going to go down as the TE counterpart to 1983 for quarterbacks. Check out some classmates of Gronk & Hernandez:

Jimmy Graham
Jermaine Gresham
Ed ****son
Tony Moeaki
Dennis Pitta

Or to put it another way, the Ravens drafted two 2010 tight ends who in their second season have combined for 87 catches and 7 TDs, and they're not even near the top of their class.

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Just to put this in perspective:

****son + Pitta, 2011: 87 catches, 851 yards, 7 TDs
GRONKnandez, 2010: 87 catches, 1109 yards, 16 TDs
Hernandez, 2011: 72 catches, 772 yards, 6 TDs
GRONK, 2011: 82 catches, 1219 yards, 15 TDs

Or as Ian R. put it on Twitter:

The Patriots have the All-American TE from 2009, the Mackey Award winner. And Gronk.

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Because of this, our #1 pick next year will be a safety, ala Ed Reed or Harrison. Book it.

One more scary stat:

The two-headed GRONKnandez monster currently has 21 receiving TDs.

By itself, it would be tied for 11th in the league, with the Bengals and Steelers.

ctpatsfan77 said:

One more scary stat:

The two-headed GRONKnandez monster currently has 21 receiving TDs.

By itself, it would be tied for 11th in the league, with the Bengals and Steelers.

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What they're doing this season makes them both look like scrubs last year by comparison. Talk about ballers.

If they both can stay healthy, especially Aaron, the sky's the limit next year for production.....

Grab a top WR and the Pat's Offense should be set for awhile :rocker:

Just think of where they would be if Hernandez had not dropped so many balls.

Another TE (Cody Fleenor of Stanford for example) would be a nice addition to the two we have, in case of injury.