Good News of the Day: Rob Gronkowski Healthy and Ready

How about some good news?

Patriots All World tight end Rob Gronkowski is ready to play. In fact, he could play right now if the coaches allowed it. According to the Boston Globe, a league source says that the Patriots just want to give Gronkowski some more time in practice to get him up to football speeds before unleashing him on the field.

While it would be nice to have Gronkowski shed some of the rust against the Buccaneers, it's looking more like he'll first step on the field against the Falcons in Week 4. With Gronkowski on the field, hopefully that will open up the running game and relieve some of pressure on the rookie wide receivers.

It seems as if Gronkowski should be hitting his stride (after a couple weeks on the field) at the same time as Danny Amendola's return- which is right in time for the second half of the season. If the rookies continue to develop and Gronk and Danny come out on all cylinders, that will open up the field for Stevan Ridley to make more plays. And then Shane Vereen should return soon after that.

Basically, if the Patriots can stick it out until Amendola and Gronk are both up to speed around mid-season, the Patriots will be in good position to make a push to close out the year.

Oh- and Aqib Talib was back at practice.

Good things can happen this year!