It’s a significant concern, but the Patriots won games before those tight ends got there,” an AFC personnel executive said. “If Amendola stays healthy, it could be an even exchange with Welker there, and outside receivers have come and gone and it hasn’t affected the quarterback. The key element is Gronk. You get him back in Week 1, you have that presence in the middle of the field for the quarterback. That’s a considerable factor. "But what made the Patriots so hard to defend is they had two players in the middle that were huge matchup problems at tight end, and no one had the components on defense to deal with both of them at once. You just didn’t find defenses with the resources to deal with both of them. They only have one now.