Ok, America. You spoke, and I listened.
Last week, we had a bidding war emerge among other teams who were desperate to acquire Rob Gronkowski. The overwhelming consensus response seemed to be that even thinking about parting with Gronk would be the equivalent of putting Peyton Manning onto the waiver wire, so for the time being, I decided against making any trade. Gronk is still red, white and blue.
How's that for having an elected official listen to the people he is supposed to represent?
Our league trading deadline is still a few weeks away, and the first thing Jason Smith says to me every single day is not "Hello, John." It's "Hey, are we gonna make a deal for Gronkowski this week?" So don't expect the pursuit to end before the deadline passes. Speaking of Jason, America's Team is now approaching crunch time. We have a one-game lead over Jason's team this week before our clash. Should America's Team win, that will likely wrap up the division and secure a playoff spot. Lose, and it becomes a dead heat again.
So, let's make sure we do this week right. Our roster moves are hardly layups even if they appear to be on the surface. Stevan Ridley is on fire lately, but do we really want to start him against a defense that hasn't given up more than one touchdown in five straight games? That's just one of the decisions we need to make collectively. Have your say, and I'd also be curious to hear what you would consider to be a fair deal for Gronkowski. I'm not itching to get rid of him, but I think we've received some pretty compelling offers. Check out Jason Smith's roster and see if you can come up with a trade that makes sense for both of us, and I'll propose it to him.
Now, then. Week 11 is just hours away from kicking off. Here are the guys who should be motivated to start the final third of the season with some extra effort.