Why am I so damn optimistic?

[*SHRacerX*]

(09-16-2021, 08:59 AM)fredtoast Wrote: You are correct.  Gronk is the greatest receiving TE in the history of the NFL. His presence creates an outlier in the stats.

But you are not calling for a Hall of Fame TE.  You want O.J. Howard.  I don't want to takes targets away from Higgins/Boyd/Chase to give them to Howard.

Gronk of 2020 wasn't the same HOF Gronk they had in New England, but all those WRs in Tampa helped clear for him and he had a huge Super Bowl, which he continued on in week 1 of this year.  

In 2020's regular season, he had 45 receptions on 77 targets for 623 yards.  Heck, Drew Sample had 40 receptions on 53 targets (highest completion % on the team) for 349 yards in what was essentially his rookies season (I only added that last point because it makes some people crazy).  

He is a true outlier, but let's not pretend that him taking a one-year, $8 million deal to play for Tampa in 2020 (he is getting $10 million this year) is anything like the Gronk in his prime....or a Travis Kelce.  

Uzomah will get his targets and will show that he is a solid value at TE for the Bengals.  

I, for one, am also AMAZED that coming off an achilles injury that he was ready for camp and played in week 1.  Amazing for a guy his size.