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" />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhitePats Pulpita New England Patriots communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpPatriots NewsOpinion and AnalysisContribute!About the SiteTopicsPatriotsOddsShopStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementFiled under:Patriots NewsAround the LeagueThere will be no rule change in 2019 because of the AFC title game between the Patriots and ChiefsNew Jarrett Stidham Buffalo Bills Jersey ,63commentsKansas City’s proposal did not get sufficient support.EDTShareTweetShareShareThere will be no rule change in 2019 because of the AFC title game between the Patriots and ChiefsJay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY SportsAfter losing to the New England Patriots in the 2018 AFC Championship Game, the Kansas City Chiefs proposed a rule change that might have altered the outcome of the contest had it been in place: Kansas City wanted to see the rules governing overtime changed so that both teams’ offenses would have a chance to touch the football. The AFC title game, of course, ended with the Patriots scoring a game-winning touchdown on the first possession of the fifth quarter.The Chiefs, who lost the first ever conference title game played at Arrowhead Stadium with a final score of 37-31, proposed the following rule change shortly after their playoff exit:The first part of the Chiefs’ proposal is the most important as it asks for both teams to be given an opportunity to possess the football at least once in extra time — something that is not a given under the current rules: if a team wins the overtime coin toss and drives the length of the field for a touchdown, it wins the game without the other club getting a chance to answer. This is exactly what happened in the AFC title game.Kansas City lost the coin toss and had to watch the Patriots drive 75 yards in 13 plays — three of which conversions on 3rd and 10 — to score a walk-off touchdown and punch their ticket to the Super Bowl. Something similar also happened on the same day in the NFC Championship, although the outcome was a different one: the Los Angeles Rams defense forced a turnover four plays into extra time to set up a game-winning field goal.The Chiefs’ proposal was originally up for vote in March, but didn’t get the necessary support. Instead, it was tabled to the NFL spring meetings that are currently taking place in Florida. It therefore was up for debate again today, but once more wasn’t even able to get to a vote: the proposal still does not have enough support around league circles, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Consequently, it will be tabled again — to next year.While an overtime rule change is still possible further down the line, the Chiefs’ plan of having one implemented shortly after their postseason loss at the hands of the Patriots did not come to fruition. You can’t win them all. Not that we’d mind if Gronk did decide to give it one more go Color Rush Byron Cowart Jersey , of course."WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementPatriots Opinion/AnalysisThese Rob Gronkowski comeback rumors don’t make any senseNew,42commentsNot that we’d mind if Gronk did decide to give it one more go, of course.EDTShareTweetShareShareThese Rob Gronkowski comeback rumors don’t make any senseBrett Davis-USA TODAY SportsTake it from us, kids: just because Jason Witten does something doesn’t always mean it’s a good idea. Most of the time, it does, but occasionally, it absolutely does not. Exhibit A:Good Witten: switches from defensive end to tight end (2000)Also good Witten: (pretty much everything from then until retirement in 2017 in his Hall of Fame career)Not so good Witten: Monday Night Football (2018-2018).To-Be-Determined Witten: Comeback season 2019.Having said that, it took all of roughly 18 hours after Rob Gronkowski made us all cry into our Sunday night pizza for the COMEBACK SEASON 2019 train to get fired up, and as you can see, it really hasn’t lost any steam since then, and now it’s almost pool season. Observe:Let’s be clear: that would rule! The NFL and planet Earth in general is obviously a much better place with Gronk doing Gronk things in it. He’s the kind of talent you’d tune in to watch even if you hated the Patriots, like how Pats fans watched in begrudging admiration when Julio Jones caught bombs in triple coverage, or Kam Chancellor knocked a crossing receiver’s cleats off, or Odell Beckham when he’s posterizing defensive backs and not getting into fights with stationary objects.What doesn’t shake out when you do the math is the idea that Gronkowski would take a month and a half off after the Super Bowl Youth Byron Cowart Jersey , finally pull the trigger on retirement after kicking the idea around for at least a year already, and then just up and do a complete 180 this fall and lace ‘em up again.Let’s start with the obvious: by the end of his career (assuming it is over, of course), it’d probably be easier to list the body parts that Gronk didn’t break, twist, sprain, tear, strain, or otherwise injure playing a game where defenders had to find new and creative (read: painful) ways to get him on the ground because, as any of us that cut our teeth on backyard football with kids bigger than us can tell you, just launching yourself at someone much larger than yourself usually ends poorly. For you, not them. Defensive backs in particular had to shoot their shot at his knees to take Gronk down, which ended at least one of his seasons and surely made several others much more difficult. And this past season in particular, Gronkowski got almost startlingly blunt on what it’s like to grind out a season at 29 years old when you’re taking more damage every weekend and not bouncing back like you could back in the day:Here’s how that shakes out from one year to the next as the years pile on:2017 season: 14 games started Womens Byron Cowart Jersey , 1,084 receiving yards, 69 receptions, 8 touchdowns2018 season: 11 games started, 682 receiving yards, 47 receptions, 3 touchdownsSomewhat surprisingly (or not, since this is pretty classic Gronk), he somehow still found a way to turn it the hell up in the postseason, so if there is a reason to hope for a comeback, maybe that’s it. I mean:2017 postseason: 3 games, 218 receiving yards, 16 receptions, 3 touchdowns2018 postseason: 3 games Authentic Byron Cowart Jersey , 191 receiving yards, 13 receptions, 0 touchdownsAside from the goose egg in the touchdown column, what else could you want?Back on the idea that this isn’t some decision Gronk made overnight, though, there’s also what he left on the table by choosing to hang ‘em up: according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Gronk’s re-worked contract would’ve paid him a base salary of $9,000,000 for the 2019 season, and while his financial acumen is pretty well-documented, that’s quite a few zeroes to say “Nah, I’m good” unless you’re pretty freaking sure it’s not worth it anymore.And finally, for the three of you still reading, we’ll once again check in with Tom Curran from NBC Sports Boston White Drew Bledsoe Jerseys , who despite posting this on April Fool’s Day, caught up with Gronk post-Instagram announcement and asked him about making a comeback vs walking dogs for a living (which, there are definitely worse jobs to have):Oh, and he’d been kicking around the idea of retiring ever since he hung 116 yards and two touchdowns on the Eagles in the Super Bowl last season.Add all that up, and this isn’t a man who pulled the trigger on this just cause that’s how he woke up that afternoon. It’s the Gronk that we all know and love deciding that after banging his body around for the past two decades and almost having his career ended by injuries before he even graduated college looking around and realizing not only is the game getting tougher on him, but aside from padding his stats, he’s got nothing left to prove anyway.Having said all that....IF he does change his mind, though, you can bet the rent that I’ll be the first one to crack the glass on the framed Gronk jersey on my wall.Kind of a “Break in case of Awesome”.