Quote:
Originally Posted by stevegroganfan
It may or may not matter in this upcoming game but I'd feel a little bit better about the Patriots chances to beat KC and then win the Super Bowl with Josh Gordon still available.
I don't even consider him an incredible talent at this stage since it appears as though he has a lost a little speeed but just a very good one in a role that Patriots could use. I may be wrong -- only the Patriots really no for sure -- but I actually thought he did a good job picking up the Patriots offense.
If the Patriots still had another play maker like the sure handed Amendola or more of a deep threat in Cooks or Gronk hadn't lost a 1/4 of a step, I'd be less concerned with the absence of Gordon. Yes, Edelman is on this years team and was hurt last year but a weakness of this years team is really not having a downfield threat that scares teams.
Even if he is going to retire after this year, Gronkowski's decline is way overstated but he has lost a 1/4 of a step and that does make him a bit less of a receiving threat.
Gordon was still a part of the 6 game winning streak. While he obviously doesn't know the route tree as well as Hogan or Dorsett, his general NFL experience really did help him get up to speed rather quickly. And whenever I watched him, he seemed to be a willing blocker and ran his routes pretty hard even when he had to know he was just a decoy on many plays.
From a selfish Patriots perspective, the good news is Gordon presence on the team probably helped out the other wide receivers and Gronk take a few less hits.
Assuming they get by KC -- a big assumption -- I'd flat out pick against the Patriots winning the Super Bowl if their wasn't a week off after this upcoming game. Win or lose, I suspect Edelman, Gronk, and White to a lesser extent to take a beating in this game.
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Gronk has lost WAY more than a quarter step.
Dude threatened to retire last year if traded to the Lions, will retire this offseason, and was a shell of his former self down the stretch.