First, a disclaimer: "Bulletin-board material" is a farce.
If an NFL player needs an opponent to say something out of line about him or his team to get excited to play a game, he's probably in the wrong profession. If a player needs that extra motivation for a Super Bowl, it's really time to retire.
So we don't point out Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane's comments because they are so-called "bulletin-board material" before the Super Bowl. They're just hilariously wrong.
Here's Lane on New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, via the Seattle Times:
“I actually don’t think he’s that good,” Lane said. “He’s OK. But he does have a big body, and from what I’ve seen on tape, he don’t like your hands being put on him. So if we put our hands on him and shake him up a little bit, he won’t catch that many balls as he should.”
He's OK? You can argue (and I have) that Gronkowski is the most dominant tight end in NFL history. He has 52 touchdowns in 65 games. He has double-digit touchdowns in four of five seasons – and played only seven games in the season he didn't reach 10. Tony Gonzalez reached double digits in touchdowns three times in his 17 NFL campaigns. Shannon Sharpe had two in 14 seasons. Oh, and Gronkowski is also a fantastic blocker. So yeah, his best receiving seasons are better than any other tight end in NFL history and as a bonus he's a plus blocker, unlike a lot of the most prolific receiving tight ends through the years. He's "OK" in the same way that any Hall-of-Fame tight end was "OK."
But this Seahawks defense that Lane is a part of is more than just OK as well. They're one of the best defenses ever. It'll be quite fun to see if they can control Gronk. Not many opponents have.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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