“He’s Huge”
August 1st, 2020
Gronk has awe-factor, too.
It’s pretty cool to hear Bucs players, rookies and veterans alike, gush about their first encounter with park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-invading Bucs quarterback Tom Brady.
Let’s face it, Brady could big-league anyone at One Buc Palace. Even if Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks walked into the place. Dude has six rings. Scoreboard.
Instead, you hear Bucs players say Brady comes up to them asking how they are doing, often with a smile on his face. When he first got into town, it sounds as if Brady personally texted/called/FaceTimed damn near every starter on the roster to introduce himself.
But there is another guy the Bucs picked up that brings Bucs players to a standstill when they first see him. And that is tight end Rob Gronkowski.
One veteran who has to check to make sure he’s not watching a TV show when Gronk is around is fellow tight end Cam Brate.
The pride of Harvard sure read about and heard about and watched a lot of Patriots games when he was going to college. So being a tight end, Brate said earlier this week he looked up to Gronk and tried to emulate his success. So much so that Brate said when he went back home to Naperville, Ill., this offseason, he was cleaning out one of his closets and found a Gronk jersey.
Now the guy whose jersey he wore is his teammate.
Perhaps Brate is looking at Gronk with fogged up glasses, but the way Brate talks, Gronk doesn’t appear to look anything like a tight end who took a year off from the NFL.
“[Gronk is] someone that I personally looked up to when I was in college,” Brate said. “It’s going to be awesome for O.J. [Howard] and I to kind of just run things through him and really just see the way he works and plays.
“He’s huge. People were talking about how he’s gotten smaller in the offseason. Then, I met him and he’s so much bigger than I am. He’s just a massive dude.”
The neat thing is that Brate admitted he’s been picking Gronk’s brain to get an edge to learn how to work with Brady, to fit in better with the quarterback with the most rings in NFL history.
So it is not just Bucs trying to get over an awe-factor with Brady. It’s the same with Gronk, as well.
August 1st, 2020 at 8:55 am
I am so pumped…..please let there be a full season.
August 1st, 2020 at 9:02 am
Not counting homegrown stars like Brooks, Lynch, Selmon, Giles, etc. Talking about those coming from outside.
The star-power of both Brady and Gronk with Bucs players/coaches is huge; it is unrivaled in Bucs history. The star power doesn’t come from how much they make, or how they look, or how much the media seeks after them. It comes from what they have achieved in the NFL, individually, and as leaders of their teams. The rings, awards, accomplishments, them proving themselves as winners and rep as guys who make others around them better–is huge.
They didn’t have to dig themselves out of a hole they put themselves in, to earn respect back from team mates/coaches like other Bucs players have. Brady and Gronk have earned respect, they deserve and command respect, and they will get it. So it’s no surprise it is actually a thing of “awe” to have either come up to you — and as a team mate at that. That alone makes anyone feel pretty darn good.
August 1st, 2020 at 9:44 am
Arians has zero history of using tight ends, except as blockers.
Let’s all hope that changes, because we are truly loaded at that position.
August 1st, 2020 at 12:22 pm
Used Heath Miller in Pittsburgh.
August 1st, 2020 at 5:16 pm
Yeah, Miller was certainly no slouch. 😋
August 1st, 2020 at 5:39 pm
Brady is going to feast with this TE group. Remember what he did when he had Hernandez and Gronk on the field at the same time. They were unstoppable!!!!
August 1st, 2020 at 7:10 pm
Brady will be using TEs. The schemes will have them lined up and Brady will use whatever weapon is open or under-covered. In the 12 group it will be the TEs covered by linebackers.
Hot damn.
August 2nd, 2020 at 8:49 am
When are we going to put focus on what’s been the real problem with this team the pass 9 years and that’s defense. The pass 4 years it’s been the running game and yall never mention it at all this is why it’s superbowl or bust because all the blame has been on 1 guy and that’s why we have been bad for so long . So now the scapegoat is gone who will be the next scapegoat this time is the question if this does work out?? And covid will not be a excuse.