Rob Gronkowski, Tim Tebow NFL’s version of The Odd Couple
Dec 30, 2012; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) scores a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Tim Tebow and former Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski in the same locker room will be as entertaining as Felix Unger and Oscar Madison coexisting.
Thank you New England Patriots for the possibility of making it happen.
The Patriots reportedly are expected to sign Tebow and the controversial quarterback is scheduled to participate in the team’s mandatory mini-camp on Tuesday.
Tebow is one of the least-played and most-discussed NFL players in history because the former Heisman Trophy winner is a choir boy with athleticism. Gronkowski is the anti-Tebow, far from being the straight-and-narrow type. He was once pictured with a porn star — or porn “actress” as he refers to her to justify it — and he parties like a rock star in Las Vegas on Super Bowl night although his forearm is on the mend.
Gronkowski once went so far as to say during a Rhode Island University function that he would “F Tebow to take his virginity”.
Perhaps Tebow and Gronkowski can share a beer — not in the locker room (sorry Red Sox fans) but elsewhere — to break Tebow in a little. You remember the scene in the movie “Vacation” in which Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) offers a sip of his beer to his adolescent son Rusty (Anthony Michael Hall)? Rusty chugs it instead. That can be Tebow.
Dec. 23, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow (15) on the sidelines during the second half against the San Diego Chargers at MetLife Stadium. Chargers won 27-17. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
Or maybe Tebow can invite Gronkowski to a team prayer session to show him the light?
Another interesting angle of the Odd Couple is Tebow might play Gronkowski’s position. The Patriots have a quarterback named Tom Brady. Tebow will take less than 3 percent of the snaps in 2013 and that might be a generous number.
Gronkowski will undergo his fifth surgery since the end of the 2012 season this month. The surgery will be performed on his back, an injury that has plagued him since his Arizona career. He is not expected to return by training camp.
Tebow is 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds. Gronkowski has protoypical NFL tight end size at 6-6 and 265 pounds. Tebow’s frame is between the size of receiver and tight end. He can be dangerous in the open field and he has the bulk to make the necessary blocks.
Aaron Hernandez, a former Florida teammate of Tebow’s, is a Patriots tight end who is 6-1 and 245. Hernandez is also on the mend. He is expected to be out until August after having shoulder surgery in April.
From now until camp, the media circus will circle around Tebow’s inclusion on one of the NFL’s most successful franchises. The Patriots are accustomed to the attention. The Tebow-Gronkowski will take on a life of its own.
This is just the way deadpanned Bill Belichick wants it, believe it or not. With his reclusive behavior, the less attention on him the better. Let the players hog the cameras.
He may buy that beer Gronkowski can share with Tebow.
WILDABOUTAZCATS.net publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes blogs for Lindy’s College Sports and TucsonCitizen.com.