It's amazing to think there are not a lot of offensive weapons Patriot's fans rely on for success other than Tom Brady in recent years. The offense was filled with rookies (Edelman had a great year) last year yet Tom Brady wasn't fazed. However, there is Gronkowski a.k.a Gronk. Limited last year was a setback but not this year. This year was the first time in a long time he played the majority of the season. Standing tall at 6'6" and 256 lbs., he is a force no defender wants to get near. With the Broncos taken out of contention by the Colts, there won't be any cheap knee shots in the upcoming game. Well, hopefully. So, how magnificent was Rob Gronkowski this year? Look at his stats with ranks at the TE postition. By the playoffs:

82 Receptions (4th)

1,124 yards (1st)

74.9 YPG (1st)

12 TDs (T-1st w/ Antonio Gates and Julius Thomas)

And has not fumbled once

60 of his 82 receptions (73.2%) went for first downs (1st)

A lot of people have noticed that any opposing team does not want to put their LB on him and that's for a reason. His agility is better than probably all other TEs in the league, his speed was decent after being drafted but has shown to improve and get a faster top speed.

And his gloves seem to be made of glue:

Feed The Beast:

The great thing about Rob is that, you can put him anywhere. He's put on the line, the slot, and all the way out to the wide out position. The most useful tool when he's able to be put anywhere is that he can run routes. During the Ravens game, he had 2 big routes that were successful:

The Streak Down The Middle -

What I see a lot is that Rob runs down the field almost 50 yards while slowly going into the inside of the field. This route is usually ran to jump start Brady's passing game. Gronk is usually on the line or maybe in the slot.

During the Ravens game:

46 yard catch and Brady's first big throw of the game

Also, during the their last Dolphins game (week 15), the Pats only had the lead at halftime because of their defense and special teams. Gronk was neutralized in the first half, then he was fed right after the break. He caught a 34 yard pass and BAM!!!! 27 yard pass caught for a TD. He was right next to the LT and ran a fade down the field and Brady was basically throwing into a bucket.

The Slant Route -

The slant. Yes, the slant. Patriots not-so-secret route that is the ultimate Brady to Gronk red zone TD weapon. What I notice is that the ither team will line up a corner or a safety across from Gronk. Why? He is always in the wide out position and the linebacker shouldn't be all the way out there. The corners or safety will play man to man and be about 1-2 maybe 3 yards away from their man. Whenever the Patriots offense are inside the 5, Gronk will run the slant. Not many teams do the same thing because he is just so big he can push off and can cut inside with the corner at his back knowing he's screwed.

Vs Broncos week 9:

This one was interesting because Gronk starts on the line and then motions to wide out and what that does is that the LB that was on Gronk has to motion with him. LB play a lot of zone coverage and with someone like Gronk, you'll probably need a corner or safety.

Vs Ravens Divisional Playoffs

There it is. Gronk at wide out? Check. Safety up on him? Check. Look like man to man? Check. Touchdown. Brady even signaled Gronk that the ball will go his way. WIll Hill had no chance.





Whats Next?

Right now Gronkowski looks unstoppable when thrown to and he is going to compete with Coby Fleener on Sunday. Gronkowski, personally, plays at higher level than Fleener and is in a totally different league. The first half against the Ravens was tough and Gronkowski was held down but not shut down and maybe Brady noticed that as a problem. So Rob will hopefully be targeted early and often.