Sui Generis X 2

They are utterly different and utterly unique. Okay, that’s redundant. But poetical. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are gonna love us long time. In a pigskin way. What were you thinking?

First Gronkowski signs the big extension. Why not? He just wrote his name large in the NFL record books. He’s a beast who can outrun linebackers and run over defensive backs while spinning a plate on a stick, shirtless, wearing an official gear baseball cap backwards and shouting, “Yo soy fiesta!” You’re not paying full price for that?

And now Hernandez. The pigskin magician. How does he seemingly disappear only to reappear in a large green space unoccupied by opposing defensive backs? Maybe he’s an X-Man, like that blue guy in the second movie. He catches passes; he runs the football, and now Hernandez is new and improved with arctic mint punt return. (I’m generally for maximizing opportunities for playmakers – get the ball in your best players’ hands – but the thought of Hernandez returning punts does scare me. It’s hectic out there.) Is he a tight end? He isn’t the blocker that Gronkowski is; he’s a little undersized for the position – unless you’re playing it like Dallas Clark. It’s as good a place to hide Hernandez from the defense as any. It can leave him with a linebacker in coverage. That’s always good.

Defenses have to game plan for both of these guys. That should leave somebody open. Yeah. I’m feeling pretty good about this. There’s a combined 2,000 yards a season in these two guys. 20 touchdowns. That’s the floor. The ceiling? Gronkowski and Hernandez are young and entering their prime.

Yes. It could get better. Think about that. It’s fun to think about it. I’m going to think about it again. One more time. Okay, okay this is the last time.

Meanwhile, another round of “What about Wes?” commentary. I get it. Wes seems like a cool dude. He’s been one of the most reliable and prolific receivers in the NFL over the last five years. He is Tom Brady’s little blue blanket. But it’s not like we haven’t seen this before. This is another aspect of “The Patriot Way.” It is the unsentimental element necessary to think first of the ship and second of the crew. It’s the disciplined approach to valuing talent and the relentless refusal to break their own rules. Never forget. Willie McGinest got his last payday with the Cleveland Browns, not the New England Patriots. It’s just the way they roll.

It’s never personal.

It’s just business.

Here’s my favorite Steely Dan song, covered by a band I’d never heard of till I went looking for a halfway decent version on YouTube. Just because…