Pats lose Gronkowski for the season

The Patriots' comeback win over the Browns was bittersweet. It was the third consecutive week in which they had won after trailing at halftime. But this time, they lost a crucial player in the process: tight end Rob Gronkowski. In the third quarter, Tom Brady connected with Gronkowski in-stride and immediately after the 6'6" 265-pound tight end pulled the ball into his body and turned his head up field he was hit low by Browns safety T.J. Ward. Personally I thought Ward made a clean and smart play. Had he hit Gronk up high, he risked being flagged for unnecessary roughness and -- as he said after the game -- being fined by the league. Also, Gronk is a big man who can break tackles and the way to prevent him from doing so is to tackle him at the legs. While some members of the media believe the Patriots' hopes of reaching the Super Bowl are depleted without Gronk, I strongly disagree. The Patriots played the first six games of the season without their All-Pro tight end and won five of those games. This offense isn't nearly as efficient or difficult to defend with Gronk out of the lineup, but let's not forget that Tom Brady is still the quarterback and he is the only player on this team that's truly irreplaceable.