Tampa's Party Animal

Tampa Bay might become the new destination for partying. A big boy like Rob Gronkowski will be turning heads. What has happened is that he is unretiring. New England traded him and a draft pick in exchange for a draft pick. Offensively, it should help a bit and the combo of him, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin will make secondaries scramble to figure who will get the ball.

I think this will help him. A few more years under his belt and getting to near 10,000 yards and maybe close to 100 touchdowns will solidify an already big career. The Pats are in clear need of a tight end. No one amounted to anything in that position this past season. No one could make big plays and the run game suffered a bit. Tampa gets a healthy Gronkowski in what is a small trend of players taking time off and coming back into the league. But I'd be more concerned about getting a ground game going and having a running back that will help compliment the passing.

New England might look to deal with defensive guys in the draft. Or maybe a tight end. These two teams face each other next year unless both reach the Super Bowl, which that seems impossible. The way the NFL is right now, anything can happen and anybody could win. A big wind of change. 

20 Concussions... For Real?

I don't know about this. I really don't know.

If you have 20 concussions, wouldn't there be big health risks, regardless of how old you are? At some point, when does someone say enough is enough? Maybe that's why Rob Gronkowski is retired. Beyond leg issues, the fact that he has sustained that many concussions in his life is terrifying. To reveal that on national television is beyond stunning as well. Having one or two is enough for some to quit. Guys like Steve Young and Troy Aikman, albeit different positions, have had their careers end because of that kind of injury.

I'd like to see New England and the NFL answer questions to all this. Everything is a calculated risk with whoever you get, but if he had a lot of concussions before entering the league, were they willing to let him continue on or did they let him just play the way he always played? In the end, it paved well, but at some point, the costs could outweigh the positives. Hopefully Gronkowski doesn't go nuts beyond the party animal act he does.