I’ve noticed a lot of hand-wringing in the comment section

as the Patriots over-looked Rob Gronkowski’s successor in the 2019 NFL Draft.Simply put Youth James White Jerseys , Rob Gronkowski is a generational talent and no..."WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementPatriots Opinion/AnalysisThe New England Patriots Will Never Have a Tight End Like Rob Gronkowski New,45commentsEDTShareTweetShareShareThe New England Patriots Will Never Have a Tight End Like Rob Gronkowski I’ve noticed a lot of hand-wringing in the comment section as the Patriots over-looked Rob Gronkowski’s successor in the 2019 NFL Draft.Simply put, Rob Gronkowski is a generational talent and no one will ever replace what he did for this franchise.Here is a list of everyone I could find that has lined up at Tight End for the Patriots since 2000.The guys that Bill Belichick has chosen to be good enough for his team.One name I omitted, Cameron Fleming, was an offensive tackle that spent a good deal of time as a blocking TE when Rob Gronkowski was injured.Also there have been other O-linemen like Nate Solder that have taken snaps at the position.I’m also leaving out LB Mike Vrabel even if it pains me to do so, because he wasn’t here as a Tight End.He was just damned good at it.Patriots TEsNameStartEndGGSGS/GmTargetTgt/GmRecRec/GmCatch%YardsY/CLongTDTD/GmNameStartEndGGSGS/GmTargetTgt/GmRecRec/GmCatch%YardsY/CLongTDTD/GmIgnoring the sheer bulk of snaps in which Rob Gronkowski shadows all others, you can simply look at contributions based on games played.Gronkowski stands head and shoulders above the rest.Not that starting games means much under Bill Belichick, but Gronk was on the field for the first offensive snap 87% of the time.The next closest TE was Daniel Graham at 78%.Gronk was targeted 6.90 times per game on average.The next closest TE was Aaron Hernandez at 6.84 times.Again Hernandez and Gronkowskit top the most receptions per game at 4.61 and 4.53 respectively.When you look at yards per catch, the top name is Daniel Fells with only 4 receptions at 21.3 YPC.Number 2 is Rob Gronkowski at 15.1 YPC.Finally, looking at TDs per game, Rob Gronkowski is at a 69% rate (of course he is), and the next closest is again Aaron Hernandez at 47%.Before Gronk and Hernandez, here is what an average Patriots Tight End had for production:Patriots TEs BG (Before Gronk)GGSGS/GmTargetTgt/GmRecRec/GmCatch%YardsY/CLongTDTD/GmGGSGS/GmTargetTgt/GmRecRec/GmCatch%YardsY/CLongTDTD/GmThe Patriots have averaged 3 Tight Ends per year on the roster James White Jerseys Stitched , so each was targeted an average of 2 times for 6 TE targets.That’s below Gronks target average alone.Those three TEs, would average 48% TD/Gm, which is also below Gronk’s average.In addition those TE’s would average 11.2 YPC, which is almost 4 yards less than Gronk’s average.So let’s look at TEs that were concurrent with Gronk and Hernandez (where applicable).Patriots TEs IGA (In Gronk Era)GGSTargetTgt/GmRecRec/GmCatch%YardsY/CLongTDTD/GmGGSTargetTgt/GmRecRec/GmCatch%YardsY/CLongTDTD/GmAgain Patriots averaged 3 Tight Ends per year on the roster, but Gronk and Hernandez were two of them for a time.You notice the targets for the other TEs only dropped 0.7 per game.The receptions per game only dropped 0.4 per game.Catch percentage went up 3%, YPC went up 0.6 yards, likely because Gronk was the bigger target for the defense.Also the TD’s per game went down 6% as Gronk saw the bulk of those targets.The Patriots never had a Tight End remotely close to Gronk before Gronk, and the only one to come close to matching his production was concurrent with Gronk.Could Aaron Hernandez have put up his numbers without Gronk on the field?We’ll never know.In all likelihood, the New England Patriots will never have a Tight End like Rob Gronkowski again.Considering he was the best Tight End in the NFL, neither will anyone else.And that’s ok.The Patriots will change their offense like they’ve always done to put the best 11 players on the field at one time.One of those players will not be Rob Gronkowski, and we’ll learn to live with that as we see what the 2019 Patriots Offense looks like.It might be scary good or scary bad.We don’t know, and uncertainty sucks.All I know is during the Belichick years, the Patriots are 4-1 in Super Bowls without Gronkowski and 2-2 in Super Bowls with him.They’ll find a way http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-josh-gordon-jersey , but it looks like that won’t be by cloning Rob Gronkowski.More likely it will be moving the offense in a different direction entirely.I guess we’ll have to watch on Sundays and see exactly what that means. CINCINNATI (AP) — Bengals owner Mike Brown is fully aware of how new head coaches often fare in the NFL. That first season can be a real fiasco.“I think Bill Walsh won one game his first year,” Brown said. “Chuck Noll might have won one game. There sometimes is a period of getting it all put together the right way. I hope that it comes on immediately … It can. It could go both ways.“I know what I hope happens. I know what our fans hope.”Brown is hoping that 36-year-old Zac Taylor can do what Dave Shula, Bruce Coslet, Dick LeBeau and Marvin Lewis failed to achieve: get the Bengals to the playoffs and actually win a game. After 16 seasons of futility, Brown fired Lewis and decided to go in a much younger direction to finally end that streak.It’s now 28 years since their last playoff win, tied with Washington for the fifth-longest streak of postseason futility in NFL history.Taylor was the Rams‘ quarterbacks coach when they went to the Super Bowl last season. He’s got a huge adjustment ahead in his first season as a head coach at the college or pro level. He’ll be calling plays in addition to learning how to manage games, surrounded by coordinators who have little NFL experience at their positions.And Taylor’s gotten a reality check already.Rookie left tackle Jonah Williams suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the offseason. Left guard Clint Boling retired because of a blood clot shortly before the start of camp. Receiver A.J. Green hurt his left ankle during the first training camp practice in Dayton and will miss the start of the season. The training camp schedule had to be readjusted repeatedly because of bad weather: Cincinnati is the only northern NFL team without a covered practice facility.Put it all together, and the outlook for Taylor’s first season is gloomy. The odds-makers have already written them off.“They always do,” running back Joe Mixon said. “When I was in college and high school, they always did that with the Bengals.”For the record: Walsh led the San Francisco 49ers to a 2-14 finish in his inaugural season of 1979, and then went on to win three Super Bowl titles, beating the Bengals in the 1988 season for his final one as coach. Noll went 1-13 in Pittsburgh in 1969 and went on to win four Super Bowls.Some things to watch in Taylor’s first season:STAFF TRANSITIONTaylor called plays for five games as interim offensive coordinator with the Dolphins in 2015. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was the interim coordinator with the Dolphins for 12 games in that same season. Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan is new to the role in the NFL. An adjustment period is expected.ANDY DALTONThe 31-year-old quarterback has two years left on a team-friendly deal that will pay him a $16 million base salary in 2019. How well he does will determine whether the team offers an extension or decides to part ways. Ryan Finley was drafted in the fourth round and is the backup for now. This becomes a pivotal year for Dalton.“Well, it’s important for every player to play well Antonio Garcia Jersey , to show well,” Brown said. “Andy is no exception. That’s just the nature of this business. You have to prove yourself anew every season.”OH, THAT DEFENSEThe defense was among the worst in franchise history last season and will have the most to do with how Taylor’s first season unfolds. The team parted ways with linebacker Vontaze Burfict, but the position remains one of the most glaring spots. End Carlos Dunlap and tackle Geno Atkins anchor a deep line, and the starting cornerbacks and safeties return. Cincinnati is on essentially its fourth defensive coordinator in three years, a lack of continuity that’s shown in the results.WHO’S WATCHING?Cincinnati averaged 50,753 fans at Paul Brown Stadium last season, the third straight year with a notable decline. Cincinnati had the second-lowest home attendance in the league, ahead of only the Chargers in their small, temporary home in Carson, California. The home opener Sept. 15 against the 49ers will provide a gauge whether Taylor’s hiring has made any impact on ticket sales. A win at Seattle in the season opener could help.OH, THOSE NUMBERSThe Bengals finished last in the AFC North last season for the first time since 2010. They’re trying to avoid their first back-to-back last-place finishes since 2001-02. They’re 0-7 in the playoffs since the 1990 season.