If Gronk were to have the back surgery, the recovery time would coincide with the recovery time for his forearm. This is a good sign, but his strength and conditioning will likely take a hit while he recovers from both. After he is fully recovered, he may not be in a position to play immediately. He may need to sit out some extra time to regain his strength and endurance so he can be effective again. The slated recovery time is 10 weeks, which would allow him to be ready for week 1, but is that wise?

We have already seen Gronkowski rushed back from his arm recovery for the playoffs, only to re-break his arm and set him back further. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you that Gronkowski is way more valuable to the Patriots healthy and on the field, than constantly in a state of recovery. His presence is even more valuable this year with the new cast of receivers that Tom Brady will be throwing to. Regardless of his chemistry with them, Gronkowski needs to be his go-to guy. More importantly, Gronkowski needs to be his go-to guy in the playoffs. The past two seasons Gronk hasn’t been there in the playoffs when Brady needed him. With a healthy Gronk on the field, one could argue that the Patriots win Super Bowl XLVI and possibly beat the Ravens to advance to the Super Bowl last year.

With all that said, when should Gronk play? The Patriots already have a stud at TE with Aaron Hernandez and this season Jake Ballard will be able to play after returning from torn knee ligaments. He proved he can play at a high level with the Giants when they beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, so he can be a more effective fill-in for Gronk than Dan Fells or Michel Hoomanawanui. Both of those tight ends will also be returning this season, so the Patriots have four talented TE’s to take Gronkowski’s place in the event that he needs extra recovery time. I would rather see Gronkowski take a couple extra weeks off in order to regain his strength and ensure that he is completely healthy. Despite the Dolphins beefing up their team, the Patriots are still the kings of the AFC East and should be readily able to keep their crown without Gronkowski. He is really needed at the end of the season when the games are more important, particularly the playoffs.

The Patriots open the season playing the Bills, Jets, and Buccaneers. These are three very winnable games without Gronkowski, so he should sit these games and return for week 4 when the Patriots travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons. That game will be a huge test for the Patriots and having him on the field will go a long way. What do you guys think?

Oct 3, 2011; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back LeGarrette Blount (27) looks up at the scoreboard during a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Fernando Medina-USA TODAY Sports

RB LeGarrette Blount. The Patriots and their fans were excited the team won the “Demps Sweepstakes” before last season to sign the silver medalist since…well, lets face it…who wouldn’t want an Olympic sprinter on their team? He most likely would have been used as a kick and punt returner instead of a traditional back, but I could have easily seen Bill Belichick use him in a Woodhead/Vereen fashion in the passing game. After being placed on IR last season and not playing a snap, Demps decided that he wanted to focus on track, which is his true passion. He is still interested in playing football, but he made it clear that track will come first, and Belichick is an “all or nothing” kind of guy. As disappointing as it is to see a talented runner leave the Pats, it was a great trade since he likely won’t play much if at all for the Buccaneers and the seventh round pick is junk change.

I have my doubts about LeGarrette Blount having an impact on the Pats, though. He has had documented attitude problems dating back to his days in college. Normally, Belichick likes taking risky troubled players and turning them into team players and stars like Corey Dillon, Randy Moss, and Aqib Talib (ignoring the Albert Haynesworth and Ochocinco experiments), but Blount’s work ethic is the issue. When Blount first arrived to Tampa Bay he was fined over $15,000 for repeatedly showing up late for practice. He was late so often that the team had him sign up for a car service with a driver that would actually wake him up and drive him to the team facility in the morning, which worked for a few weeks until they cancelled the service figuring he was a big boy and could wake himself up. They had to re-order this service for him for 2010 and 2011. He apparently didn’t get enough sleep at night, even with the extra time sleeping in and making him late, because he would fall asleep during team meetings. If there’s one thing Belichick hates is a bad work ethic. The only thing he hates more may be…

Fumbles. This is probably the biggest issue standing between Blount having a significant role with the Patriots or even making a roster spot. In his two seasons as a starter for the Buccs, before Doug Martin started dropping jaws, Blount fumbled the ball NINE times. Of these nine times, he lost six of them. As Patriots fans we’ve all seen players get sent to the bench for fumbling the ball (Stevan Ridley being the most recent example), particularly if they fumbled in key game situations. Blount didn’t fumble once in the Buccaneers 4-2 start in 2011, but all of his fumbles bench-marked the team’s struggles as they lost 10 straight to end the season. If his fumbling becomes a problem again, Belichick won’t hesitate to send him straight to the bench, which could be difficult to leave on a team that has other talented running backs to take his place.

There are many upsides to signing Blount, however. In 2010 he averaged 5 yards per carry and rushed for over 1,000 yards. In his two seasons as the Buccs’s starter he has 11 TDs and is a little bigger than Ridley, so he has the ability to power through the line in tough yardage situations. He has proven his ability to jump over defenders (as seen in the picture on the left) and fight for extra yardage.  The trade for him is clearly a low risk, high reward move for the Patriots. To answer my own question, Blount does deserve a roster spot because of his potential impact, but as long as it doesn’t cost another promising player a roster spot. If Blount makes the team, it could be second-year RB Brandon Bolden that gets the axe, which would be a shame since he showed some a lot of potential during the season before being suspended and falling to the bench. I’ll have to see how Blount performs at training camp and in the preseason before giving him my vote of confidence.

Comment with your opinion! I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Why do fans love schedule release day so much? Everyone already knows who they will play in 2013; that’s old news. Why such a big deal of when the games will actually take place? I’ll tell you why. It’s the signal of things to come. A clean slate for 32 teams to begin their quest to hoist the Lombardi. Last season’s struggles can be forgotten because the road ahead has been paved and so too have the hopes of the fans. From the “wow our schedule is cake” fan to the “wow we’re screwed” fan, it allows us all to plan our season accordingly. You can tell your bosses months in advance which Monday and Thursday nights you are going to be just too darn sick to work. You can plan your wedding so people will actually want to be there and not watch the game on their smartphones during the ceremony. But most importantly, it’s a sign that football is that much closer to returning. Without further introduction, here is the Patriots’ schedule for the 2013 season: