Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski won four Super Bowls together.
They are arguably the greatest tandem of all time this side of Montana-Rice and getting the band back together in Tampa Bay worked — until it didn’t. It’s hard to compare Brady or Gronk to other duos in recent NFL history, whether it’s Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce or Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams.
Comparison is often the thief of joy, but it’s what we do in sports media. So with Adams heading to the New York Jets in a blockbuster trade with the Las Vegas Raiders and reuniting with Rodgers in the process, there’s been some discussion about how they compare.
That discussion came about on ESPN Radio’s UnSportsmanlike Wednesday, as one of the show’s co-hosts, Evan Cohen, wondered aloud what a move for Adams would do for the 2-4 New York Jets. He’s not wrong per se, considering the move doesn’t really move the needle for a team with countless holes unrelated to the wide receiver position.
“What’s it gonna do? What’s it gonna do? Go on, tell me what it’s going to do,” said Cohen. “You’re two games under .500. You have to get to two games over .500 by Week 17, 18, whatever, in order to make the playoffs, let’s say. How are you going to do that? Because whatever’s going to go wrong next, we don’t know, but it’s gonna go wrong — I promise. Aaron Rodgers did not choose to go to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I’m gonna say this a thousand times over: Aaron Rodgers did not choose to go to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“He chose to go to the Jets, which means something is going to go left or right. He didn’t choose to go to…Mike Tomlin came out yesterday and basically benched his starting quarterback, that I think he’s going to still start, while adding a quarterback controversy to it, with a potential Hall of Famer in Russell Wilson, who’s as polarizing as can be. And it’s less noisy than Davante just sneaking up on Aaron, which is a great job by Pat. I mean, kudos to McAfee, that was awesome…”
“But, Aaron, Davante, you’re not Brady and Gronk; pipe down,” Cohen continued. “You’re doing these videos, sneaking up — you’re not Brady and Gronk; let’s relax.”
They might not be in terms of the titles, but the stats tell a different story.
Cohen later offered clarity to his comments, which addressed the point above.
“My main point here is that, undoubtedly, Rodgers and Adams were amazing as a duo but the team success that is now needed and required in NY was not actually had in Green Bay,” he wrote. “The Brady and Gronk reunion was a reunion of rings that produced a ring. This will produce stats.”
Cohen’s skepticism isn’t entirely misplaced.
While the Jets may now have Rodgers and Adams together again, the team’s issues run deeper than one elite receiver can fix. Rodgers and Adams put up historic numbers in Green Bay but didn’t bring home the Lombardi Trophy together. Cohen argued that the Brady-Gronk reunion wasn’t just about rekindling chemistry; it was about winning rings.
At the same time, it’s important to note that Gronk wasn’t even Brady’s top target in Tampa Bay. He was often the fourth or fifth option behind a loaded group that included Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown.
Meanwhile, Rodgers and Adams are more likely to produce impressive stats than a Super Bowl run, especially sitting at 2-4.
The reunion hype is understandable, but Cohen drove home the idea that they’re “not Brady and Gronk; let’s relax.” It’s a valid take when considering how much pressure is on the Jets to turn things around and how unlikely it is that one receiver, even as great as Adams, can fill all the gaps in a team that just fired its head coach and is riddled with problems top to bottom.
Still, stats tell a different story.
Rodgers and Adams are among the most statistically dominant duos in recent memory, and their connection has been almost automatic. That said, Cohen’s final point rings true, but whether those stats will translate to team success remains to be seen.
[ UnSportsmanlike ]
The post ESPN’s Evan Cohen pumps breaks on Aaron Rodgers-Davante Adams hype: ‘You’re not Brady and Gronk’ appeared first on Awful Announcing .
Local News
Comments / 0