True, but for years as he was approaching 40 and even well after, all we continued to hear from the Skip Bayless' of the world was that he & he alone elevates the play of everyone around him & folks could run with that narrative b/c they were still winning SB. So this year, I think everyone acknowledged that the offense would take a hit without Gronk, but noone really gave much creedence to the idea that at some point the relationship between Brady and the other skill guys flipped & the eternal mismatch that Gronk provided week in, week out for Brady was probably making Brady look a little better than he was...
as miniscule as his decline has been on a year to year basis, I have no doubt Belichick saw the decline begin years ago, which explains some of the turmoil in that time between he and Brady.
We're saying the same thing though, just with a different spin on it.