Bucs’ Odds Take A Dip After Rob Gronkowski Retires (Again) (Maybe)
June 23rd, 2022
This really doesn’t surprise Joe at all.
Who among us doesn’t believe the Bucs will take a hit after (if?) losing foot-rubbing tight end Rob Gronkowski?
When you lose (?) a Hall of Fame tight end who had over 800 yards receiving in 12 games, your passing game is going to take a hit, that’s all there is to it. Joe doesn’t care if your quarterback is Tom Brady or Mike Glennon.
What Joe does find surprising is the category where gamblers dinged the Bucs the most, per Matt Severance of SportsLine.com. In various categories, the loss (?) of Gronk hurts the Bucs but none more so than the chase for the division title. The Bucs’ percentage chance of winning the NFC South dropped with the news of Gronk’s retirement (?) by nearly three points!
You can see the graphic below.
It seems the Bucs’ inability to beat the Saints in the regular season weighs heavy of the minds of handicappers.
June 23rd, 2022 at 9:19 am
I’m sure the “Without Gronkowski” line is factoring in that Gronk might return; in other words the drop should be greater. The bookmakers have to factor that into the betting line as they know it’s possible.
June 23rd, 2022 at 9:54 am
Right now it is June. The final team is not even known. So I Don’t care now. What I do care about is the coach Will he be a Mike Tomlin or what he was with the Jets or worse. Even with Brady?
June 23rd, 2022 at 10:05 am
Because he wasn’t signed with the Bucs this year there was speculation that he would or wouldn’t return. So, they’re betting on who is signed and healthy…not what might happen. Not much has changed in terms of real info.
June 23rd, 2022 at 10:34 am
I can’t remember an off-season with this muck total drama ever. Not even close.
Who needs soap operas, we have NFL.
June 23rd, 2022 at 10:36 am
Lets move on. People forget just how banged up Gronl really is. Old age will not be kind to him. If Gronk is wise, he will stay retired like Marpet and sail off into the sunset. Fans don’t care. They will sit right there drinking a beer and eating a hot dog while you are being carted off the field. Stay retired and enjoy your life Gronk.
June 23rd, 2022 at 11:19 am
Unless Gage or Godwin are ready by the first game, Brady is going to be throwing to Mike and a whole bunch of average at best players. Maybe Otton can be better than that, but the dude is coming off serious injury too. Far too many ifs at receiver going into the season for a team that is supposedly all in for a super bowl. Hopefully Licht has a plan, but so far so bad.
June 23rd, 2022 at 11:46 am
I can easily see (dream) that Gronk returns around week 10 to make a super bowl run. That extra time off could make him an even greater threat in the playoffs. I’m ok with that. A guy can dream, can’t he.
June 23rd, 2022 at 12:15 pm
Don’t care what the predictors say… like EVER.
June 23rd, 2022 at 12:39 pm
At this point in the year if any player besides Brady makes that big of a difference we’re not going to the SB anyway.
I view it differently. Yes Gronk would make it a bit easier. But how much easier?
Depends on who else on the offense steps up.
Playoff Lenny figured out that if he couldn’t catch the ball out of the backfield he wouldn’t be playing much with Brady at Q.B. He worked and he’s now a decent target out of the backfield. Brady used to make his living in N.E. hitting the RB out of the backfield.
Kevin Faulk made the position famous, and Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen, Dion Lewis, and James White all followed in his footsteps.
Barring injury…I think Playoff Lennie will have a career year. He could put up some amazing numbers if he comes back in shape. He can run and he can catch and if Gronk stays retired it might mean more targets for Lennie.
June 23rd, 2022 at 1:13 pm
He is gone Joe.
June 23rd, 2022 at 1:35 pm
The loss of Gronk, makes the bucs easier to defend in the passing game. It compresses things, especially in the Red area. Evans will undoubtedly receive more attention. The passing game hinges on what you get from Gage, and an injured Godwin. Those very favorable passing conditions Brady keeps mentioning, don’t look so favorable to me. God forbid, if Evans or Gage get hurt. Then they’d be in real trouble. Brady isn’t capable of carrying an offense anymore. Beyond Evans and Gage, they really have next to nothing. I think Godwin will contribute, at some point. But, counting on him to give anything close to the contribution he did last year, is wishful thinking.
June 23rd, 2022 at 8:34 pm
We need to sign another veteran TE and also Julio to cover for Godwin and Gage.
June 23rd, 2022 at 9:50 pm
It’s time to get serious about signing a new starting veteran TE. Brate is a TE2 or TE3, and I doubt he emerges as a TE1. No matter how good Otton or Kieft might be, they need time to develop. Cody McElroy, who knows.
The top 3 FA names, we know. Kyle Rudolph, Eric Ebron, Jared Cook. Rudoph is the most balanced and most vaguely Gronk-like option of the bunch, would probably work well with Brady, and he’d be solid. Not a great blocker, but maybe better than the other two. Ebron is the most dynamic playmaker as a pass catcher, doesn’t block. Cook, doesn’t block despite being a big body, but a good pass catcher, doesn’t block.
If none of your TEs can block, that is a huge problem that opposing Ds will exploit in ugly fashion.
There is an intriguing trade option. Cowboys’ Dalton Schultz is apparently unhappy being franchised and is sitting out. Could Licht pry him away from Dallas? Schultz surprised everyone becoming the legit lead TE in Dallas, and might be worth a long term contract.