Broncos safety T.J. Ward watches as Rob Gronkowski #87 of the New England Patriots scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter on November 2, 2014 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

BOSTON (CBS) – Patriots fans held their collective breaths late in the first quarter on Sunday when Broncos safety T.J. Ward came bearing down toward the surgically repaired right knee of tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Gronkowski secured his first catch of the game and narrowly avoided another season-ender courtesy of Ward, the Browns assassin who took Gronk out in December 2013.

Watch it again here:

What’s the old saying? “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me”?

Anyone willing to give Ward the benefit of the doubt stemming from last year’s incident quickly changed their tune after watching that play unfold at Gillette on Sunday. It was dirty, and it was blatant.

TJ Ward trying to make history repeat yesterday. pic.twitter.com/AuZdc5ON0c — Bruce Allen (@bruceallen) November 3, 2014

Leading up to the game on Sunday, Ward told the Boston Globe he did not reach out to Gronkowski to apologize, and defended the initial hit by doubling down.

“I shook his hand after it happened, but I don’t see no reason to reach out to him,” Ward said. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world between those hashes.”

98.5 The Sports Hub’s Scott Zolak, like every other fan of the Patriots, is not a member of the T.J. Ward Fan Club.

“Let’s go back to last week, when ‘Mr. Jokester’ Wes Welker was asked how do you tackle Rob Gronkowski. He said ‘Oh, well you gotta hit him in the knee haha-haha-ha.’ Karma ha baby? Welker gets his back cracked and doesn’t finish the game. You mean to tell me that wasn’t on the mind of that team? That you’re gonna hit the knee and take him out?”

It’s a frivolous exercise trying to determine the intent of a player on a football field, but Ward’s tackle on Gronkowski in the first quarter was as dirty as it was obvious.

“Watch the intent by T.J. Ward. It’s one thing if you’re Devin McCourty, or Brandon Browner, or Darrelle Revis or even Aqib Talib. Aqib Talib is a damn good form tackler. He has a knack of wrapping people up by the legs and bringing ’em down — hogtying people,” said Zolak. “When T.J. Ward takes the crown of the helmet and puts it right on that right knee, if Gronkowski doesn’t pick that knee up in time I don’t know what it’s like again. That was intent to take the knee out.”

“If that guy (Ward) doesn’t get a letter this week then they’re not doing their job down in Foxboro, meaning the league and alerting the league. They look at these. They look at these with guys who have that history,” said Zo. “There’s a way to tackle without taking somebody’s knee out. Does Ward really have to go with the crown of the helmet on the knee cap? That’s how you take guy’s careers out. It sucks.”

Zo’s final conclusion about Ward is simple.

“The guy is a punk. That’s a punk making a punk-ass play. Period.”

MORE PATRIOTS COVERAGE FROM CBS BOSTON

[display-posts category=”patriots” wrapper=”ul” posts_per_page=”4?”]