Rob Gronkowski’s lack of receiving production in two games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been interesting.
Maybe even a bit frustrating, if you own Gronk in your fantasy football league or placed a prop bet on the tight end for the 2020 season.
So, what gives?
Bucs head coach Bruce Arians already offered his assessment of Gronkowski’s role, and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich followed up Thursday by explaining he definitely thinks about getting certain players involved while game planning each week.
“With the players we’ve got, I think of that all the time. I think of the player in mind as I’m creating the plays for that week. The player is always in mind,” Leftwich told reporters during a video conference. “Like I tell you guys all the time, I never want Tom (Brady) to force the ball. I never want Tom to do something that’s not organic. We have good enough players where if we just be organic and put the ball in the right spot, it will start finding (Gronkowski).
“The least of my worries is really the ball finding Gronk. There’s things that we have to do better to compete and to win football games that we’re trying to do right now. Getting the ball to him and getting the ball to any specific player is always thought out week in and week out. We can do a better job of putting them in position — we will — and we’re all just starting to make plays across the board.”
The Bucs bounced back from a Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints to defeat the Carolina Panthers in Week 2. Tampa Bay showed improvement in several areas, but Gronkowski still wasn’t really involved in the team’s passing attack.
Brady has targeted Gronkowski just four times, resulting in two catches for 11 yards. That’s hardly the type of production we were accustomed to seeing during their time together with the New England Patriots.
“You try not to force the ball because in the preparation, you try to put guys in position that the read (and) the progression sends us to a place where we like our matchup,” Leftwich said of trying to spread the ball around with so many playmakers. “We think that way, and when I’m coming up with these plays, I think that way.
“It’s not really tough because (of) how these guys are focused on just winning football games. They’re more focused on winning football games. We’re not really thinking about individual things. That means nothing to us. We’re trying to do what we can as a team to try and win football games. Whatever that takes — all the guys are sold in (and) all the guys have all hands on deck to do what we need to do to try to win games.”
The Bucs travel to Empower Field at Mile High for a matchup with the Denver Broncos in Week 3.
Maybe this Sunday will mark Gronkowski’s first breakout performance with Tampa Bay, although the coaching staff’s collective mindset toward the 31-year-old’s role within the bigger picture suggests his production could be sporadic this season.
