Bones are not rock hard, but rather a bit flexible to absorb pressure. However, when a metal plate is screwed onto a bone, that part obviously loses that slight ability to bend. When this happens, the ends of the plate, the part where the bone stops being flexible and gets rigid, is a pressure zone where it is easier to break.

Unless you’re old and don’t really exercise much, those plates should be removed, specially if you practice physical activities that put pressure on them.

So, yeah, it’s not THAT surprising that Gronk broke his arm.

Get better soon Gronk but you got suckered in to playing too soon.

No matter the case, I hope that this is just an unlucky streak, and he can stay healthy in the coming years…the guy is an insane talent, and I don’t want to see his career cut short.

And I’m not even a Patriots fan.

Pats fan here… Go Atlanta, I don’t want to see a motivated Moss in the SB (if we get there).

Just as well he rest and heal. The Pats have the depth to take care of business without him.

And other options like Woodhead (hopefully) and Ridley and Bolden if need be.

That’s a big difference from last season where, it was mainly Welker, Gronkowski and Hernandez, with Gronkowski really not able to run in the Super Bowl.

Still, there’s no replacing a 6’6″ TE who can drag three defenders into the end zone with him, but unlike other teams, the Patriots don’t make excuses.

If the guys on the field – no matter who they are – play their roles the way they can and should, they should be able to win

Don’t forget Ridley, has anybody ever had a quieter 1200 yard double digit touchdown season then Stevan Ridley?

As far as Gronk goes I’m starting to think he’s a bit injury prone and maybe the Patriots are too. The fact that they brought in Hoomanawanui and Fells is starting to make a lot of sense.

After Gronk hurt his arm in the first half did Belichick scratch his chin, shrug, and then keep sending him out until finally in the 4th quarter his entire arm rotated 360 degrees in its socket like a GI Joe figure?

Very good observation. Any injury causes you to run the risk of sustaining injuries elsewhere while protecting the original injury. Favor the knee, the hamstring is at greater risk. Favor the hamstring, the quad is at risk. Protect part of the arm, and some other part of the arm is at greater risk. Teams and players know this. In Gronkowski’s case, they knew the risk involved, gambled, and lost. To their credit, though, I haven’t heard New England whine or cry about it.

Gronk is a heck of a player. I hope he makes a full recovery from this latest mishap.

Bingo! That is precisely the case here — all the energy of an otherwise innocuous fall was borne entirely upon the focal point that fractured. The effect was to concentrate a singular point for energy distribution — something very susceptible to structure failure, as we saw in 1080P with our own collective sets of eyes.

Just who do they think they’re fooling when they’re claiming, the “new” injury “had nothing to do with whether the arm was ready or not”?

I’ve watched that Gronk play from Sunday like the Zapruder film and it looks like it may have already been broken somehow when he’s reaching for the ball. He’s clearly protecting it as he falls. Does Gronk have brittle bones? Get well, Gronk!