



(credit: Nickelodeon/NFL)

Parents with little Patriots fans in their house might want to set the DVR for Nicktoons on Friday night at 9.

That's when, in the third episode of the series "NFL RushZone: Season of the Guardians," New England's own Rob Gronkowski and Stephen Gostkowski will provide the voices for their own animated personas as protagonists Ash and Ish pay a visit to Foxboro.

They're there to help solve the mystery created when Drop Kick (the villain, of course; somewhere, Doug Flutie is offended) nearly steals the Patriots' Megacore (a team's fans and community) by creating a robot replica of a local sports reporter (yeah, it's always the media's fault). Thankfully the Pats' tight end and kicker are there to help advise.

If you're among those who've long believed the gregarious Gronkowski is actually a 6-foot, 6-inch cartoon character living in the real world, well, now you have visual evidence of what that would look like. Already this season, the Lions' Calvin Johnson and Cowboys' DeMarcus Ware have voiced their own animations, while Pro Football Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Richard Dent, and Mike Ditka, as well as the Brothers Harbaugh, will also be among those making an appearance throughout the second season as the series shows Ish and Ash attempting to protect all 32 NFL teams from Drop Kick in what Nickelodeon claims to be the first-ever original half-hour animated series jointly developed by a cable network and major U.S. sports league.

It's also packaged with a website that features games and is also where you can see full episodes if your loyalty to WWE's Friday Night Smackdown preoccupies your DVR in that hour, or if you miss the replay on Saturday morning at 7 on NFL Network.

In the meantime, here are a couple of preview clips showcasing Gronkowski's voiceover work -- plus Rich Eisen and Michael Irvin -- courtesy of the NFL and Nickelodeon.