FOXBORO, Mass. — Rob Gronkowski’s health might not be the only thing that has improved this year for the New England Patriots tight end.
Gronk is playing the best football of his NFL career, and a healthy back, knee and forearm are to thank for his 76-catch, 1,093-yard season. Some added maturity has helped, as well, according to quarterback Tom Brady.
“He’s grown up a lot over the last five years,” Brady said Wednesday. “It’s been a lot of fun to see it. His football IQ and understanding of what it takes to be a professional and consistently and dependably be that type of player for our offense that he’s become, has been fun to see. He’s got the size advantage, the speed advantage, and he’s really becoming so aware out there of different coverages and things they’re trying to do to stop him.
“Now, after this time, he and I are really getting on the same page with a lot of things that are adjustments to adjustments to adjustments and that type of thing. It’s just been great playing with him. He’s a huge part of our offense, really gets us going. He’s a threat on third down, he’s a threat in the red area, he’s a threat on big plays any time in the game. He’s a great player.”
Fortunately, Gronk’s sense of humor hasn’t matured in the least bit.
Brady said Gronk is willing to stay after practice to keep working on communication, but most of the time it’s unnecessary.
“Yeah, it’s a lot of communication,” Brady said. “We do a lot of things after practice with a lot of guys and you’re always trying to work on things that you didn’t maybe get a chance to work on during practice. Gronk typically gets a lot of balls in practice, so it’s usually for a lot of the other guys who don’t usually get a lot of balls in practice. But he’s always there willing to work on whatever he needs to work on for us to be a better team.
“Whether that’s a new type of route or a new type of concept that we’re trying to run, that’s what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to get on the same page so you can really anticipate each other and then you can make those plays that end up being really critical. We’ve had a bunch of them this year. The little things always become big things, and to identify what those little things are and make corrections before you get to the game day is what’s really important.”
Gronkowski hasn’t been fully healthy for a postseason since his rookie season in 2010, and the Patriots’ offense clearly isn’t the same without him. Keeping Gronk healthy over the next two games will be just as important as clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Thumbnail photo via AJ Mast/Associated Press
