Where
am I? Who am I? (I know. A bit early in the series’ timeline to be going to the
amnesia well. Amnesia and traumatic blindness along with that episode set in
the 30s is generally something you save for season 4 or 5 when you’re out of
ideas and what you’d really like to do is end the main characters’ narratives
in a hail of bullets or meteors or thousands of shards of broken glass,
whichever makes the most sense in the context of the show’s basic premise.
Still. I’m going there.) Sorry I haven’t written lately. I had amnesia. Sadly,
I am now cured. I say sadly because when I had amnesia there was a chance I was
a total badass. Statistically, you have to figure total badasses stand a much
better chance of getting conked on the head than a middle manager working in
the IT department of a major insurance company. Conk on the head being one of
the leading causes of amnesia and all. So, not a badass as it turns out. Thanks
for asking…
Well,
surgery on Rob Gronkowski’s puss-filled arm is on the back burner. No further
details as the Patriots and Gronkowski – no surprise – have gone dark. Let me
just say that if Gronk has to miss five games this year I’d rather it was the first
five than the last five. Gronk, Aaron Hernandez and Danny Amendola are the
Patriots first best options in the passing game and all three of them are
considered antonyms for “durable.” Let’s throw Julian Edelman in there, too. He’s
hardly 100% factory parts at this point.
So, we can safely assume that some games will be lost to injury in 2013 by Gronk, Hernandez, Amendola and Edelman. Let’s just hope none of them are of the season-ending variety. Let’s also hope they all happen before Thanksgiving. Is that asking too much? Doesn’t football deserve a healthy Brady/Gronkowski combo in the playoffs? Don’t you want to see that? I don’t just mean Patriots’ fans. I mean football fans in general. You’ve got to want to see the best do their thing. Come on! Who’s with me?
For
the moment, my glass is half full. Gronk, Hernandez, Amendola and Edelman will
all play 14+ games and be healthy (90% or better) heading into the playoffs. As
they turn the corner from October to November nobody but Jim Nantz will be
talking about Wes Welker. A healthy (I’m looking at you Sebastian Vollmer) offensive
line will spring Ridley and Vereen for 1800+ yards combined. Nate Solder will
garner pro bowl consideration protecting Brady’s blind side. The addition of
Adrian Wilson on defense will steady the youngsters and add some thump. Aqib
Talib will play like it’s a contract year (because it is). Alfonzo Dennard will
play like a man who just got out of prison (because he did). Tommy Kelly will
help Vince Wilfork fresh and effective. Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower
will make the second year jump. Brady will be Brady.
If
they get Emmanuel Sanders and hit on two draft picks that make the 2013 roster,
the Patriots should be positioned for another run for the Lombardi Trophy.
Shh!
Don’t
harsh my buzz. I’m recovering from a pretty significant concussion, after all.
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