Tag Archives: Rob Gronkowski

Patriots Film Study: Positives Shines in Loss to Lions

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The New England Patriots suffered a serious loss to the Detroit Lions on prime time Sunday Night Football on NBC. A humiliating 26-10 loss to an 0-2 team can rock an organization, especially when the opposing team is headed by a former employee. While the loss may have been extremely humbling, there were several positives to take away from the contest. Let’s dive into a few of these plays.

Play One: 2nd Quarter, 3:16

Patriots Ball. 2nd and 10 from the New England 36. Lions lead 13-0

It took a while for the Patriots offense to even begin moving the football. They opened up the game with three consecutive three-and-outs before managing a field goal drive down the field to end the first half. The fifth play of the field goal drive, New England fresh off of their first 1st down of the game, the Patriots lined up in an unbalanced line to the left of the formation.

An unbalanced line is a challenge to a defense if they are lining up in a zone defense. It puts the majority of the play-makers on one side of the field, forcing the defense to pick and choose who to cover. On this play, running back James White is lined up at the top of the screen, Chris Hogan is in the slot, while Rob Gronkowski is lined up in the H-Back spot. Rex Burkhead is to the left of Brady. Tight end Dwayne Allen is anchored on the right side of the line.

White is going to run a “clear-out” go route down the field, taking the immediate attention of the safety, who is not pictured. Hogan runs a stick route, where he settles into the zones underneath or in between the linebackers. Gronk runs a deep out and attacks the cornerback playing low, in this case that would be Quandre Diggs. Because Diggs expects Burkhead to swing out of the backfield, he is going to leave both White and Gronk to the safeties, thinking the help on the back end will cover them.

What happened?

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The cornerback did exactly what Belichick wanted him to. He waited for Burkhead to leak out of the backfield. Instead, Tom Brady had all day to let the play develop and Gronk was wide open for 15 yards. The safety wasn’t in position to cut off his route because of the deep go that White ran down the sideline.

The bright spots here: Brady had all day to throw on this play, and for the most part of this game. When Gronk isn’t bodied relentlessly, he reminds us why he is the best tight end in football. He finds those spots in between the zones and is a tough man to bring down in the secondary.

Play Two: 3rd Quarter, 13:34

Patriots Ball. 1st and 10 from the New England 48. Lions lead 13-3.

New England took the field for the first time in the second half after forcing the Lions offense into a turnover, a horrible interception by Matthew Stafford. I know that Sony Michel has taken some heat in the Boston media for not producing early, but this play should make you feel a little bit better about him.

This is a simple toss play. It’s designed to get a running back into space and pick his way for a few extra yards. The edge is sealed by the receivers (Cordarelle Patterson and Gronk) and then the left guard pulls to the outside and becomes the lead blocker for the running back. Nothing extravagant.

This is where Michel makes his money. From what we know of his days splitting time in the Georgia backfield with Nick Chubb, Michel is electric in space.

What happened?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaUKDOkhjVQ?rel=0&showinfo=0&start=317]

Michel had space, and he managed to pick his way through the Lions defenders for 12 yards. This is what Sony Michel normally looks like on the field. His main issue so far has been that he missed the entire preseason due to an injury, and the first game of the season. He’s being asked to be the focal point of the running game in just his second game of NFL action and out of mid-season form.

He’s explosive and electric in space. You can only image what he will look like as the season progresses.

Play Three: 3rd Quarter, 10:10

Patriots Ball. 3rd and 8 from the Detroit 10. Lions lead 13-3.

Later that drive, the Patriots find themselves in a third and medium inside the red zone. Down by 10, they need at least a first down. The Patriots are going to go to that overload to the left side of the field again, only this time Gronk and White both line up to the right. The Lions are showing a simple cover two, meaning that the safeties are defending halves of the end zone.

Gronk is double covered here. The Lion’s best cornerback, Darius Slay, is the man up on Gronk with the red line. The safety, a former Patriot himself, Tavon Wilson, anticipates Gronk going to the end zone. He is the other coverage, represented by the yellow line. James White ends up getting covered by the nickelback, Quandre Diggs.

What happened?

White made a nice double move and gained a step on Diggs. Because Gronk was indeed going for the end zone, there wasn’t a safety to help Diggs on the back-end to cut off the route. All Brady had to do was lay the pass nicely in the breadbasket of White, which he delivered perfectly. It’s a touchdown every time.

Gronk can be such a valuable decoy. Teams know how critical he can be in the red zone and will put too much effort to cover him up and not allow the play to go anywhere near him. Players like White, Michel, Hogan and Julian Edelman (when he returns from his four game PED suspension) can seriously capitalize off of the attention put on Gronk.

Other Notes: Brady, Edelman, and Gronk

Brady still has a cannon

Tom Brady has withstood Father Time better than any quarterback in modern NFL history. Now at 41 years old, he looks like he has another good year left in him, possibly even two. Brady let this bomb go deep in the fourth quarter. Even though it was incomplete, it shows off what kind of Cannon he still has.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaUKDOkhjVQ?rel=0&showinfo=0&start=590]

The offense without Julian Edelman

This offense is truly struggling without Julian Edelman. The receivers can’t seem to get open, and although the offensive line can give Tom Brady all day to make a throw, the receivers can’t get in space for him to pull the trigger. Teams right now can afford to body up Rob Gronkowski, because they don’t have much else of a downfield threat. I’m warning you, this offense is going to look completely different once Edelman gets back.

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Shutting down Gronk

The NBC crew did a great job showing this on their broadcast of the game. The Lions double covered Rob Gronkowski for almost the entire game. The worst part is that the rest of Brady’s receiving options couldn’t get open even with the attention taken away from them.

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To summarize, the Lions simply out-coached the Patriots. Despite knowing this, we all know how Bill Belichick is. He is going to come back in full force next week, and game plan something great for their upcoming match-up next week on the road against the 3-0 Miami Dolphins. It’s early in the season, and we see this every year. They’ll be in mid-season form soon enough.

Gronk spikes trade deal – No Brady, No Dice

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TRADE TALK BEFORE THE 2018 DRAFT

Rob Gronkowski was almost traded to the Detroit Lions during the offseason, leading up to the Draft. After Sunday’s loss to Detroit, Rob Gronkowski was asked about all the rumblings of the trade. Gronk casually answered saying, “Yeah it happened, Tom Brady’s my quarterback, that’s all. Wasn’t going anywhere without Brady.”

Gronk and Brady

Staff photo by John Wilcox.

Before the 2018 NFL Draft, Bill Belichick was looking to deal Rob Gronkowski. Rumors of talks with the Lions and Titans were being thrown around. Bill was talking with his ex Patriot friends in an attempt to move the All World tight end. Adam Schefter went on WEEI’s morning show ‘Kirk and Callahan’ Monday for an interview about the situation. According to Schefter “It would’ve been a trade involving draft picks, that was the basic trade.” He continued on about Gronkowski, “He was the only player involved in the trade and it would’ve been a combination of picks.”

HOW GRONKOWSKI NIXED THE TRADE

During the offseason Rob Gronkowski was uncertain about things, he made that clear minutes after the Super Bowl. Since Gronk showed signs of uncertainty, Bill had to keep thinking about the team and its future. Bill has never been one to wait and see about a player, he makes the necessary moves for the team. Apparently, he did and the trade was pretty much done until Gronkowski caught wind of the situation. Schefter again noted, “Basically the deal was all but agreed to, he was going to go to Detroit, and when he found out he called the Patriots.”

Now, this is coming from an NFL insider, not the Patriots or Rob Gronkowski, yet it does seem to line up with the offseasons timeline of events. Gronk and the Patriots did have a meeting before the draft, which was newsworthy because it ended the trade speculation. As Rob Gronkowski said Sunday night, he wasn’t going anywhere without Tom Brady. So what was said during the meeting is unknown to the public, but the end result is clear. New England was the only team Rob Gronkowski would play for, it did not matter if it was the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles. If Brady wasn’t throwing him the ball, he was ready to retire.

Gronkowski

Via USA Today

NO TRADE WITH A HAPPY ENDING

For Patriot fans, the meeting between the Patriots and Gronkowski’s camp, right before the draft worked out. Rob was adamant about what he wanted, which led to Bill Belichick and the Pats agreeing to keep the tight end. I’m sure Bill had his own demands for Gronkowski as well, in the end, it all worked out.

Rob Gronkowski wasn’t traded, his deal was reworked with incentives again. If he reaches those incentives he will receive $4.3 million this season. New England doesn’t have to worry about the cap hit because of Gronkowski’s new deal, it barely changes. So, in the end, both sides seem to have benefited from that meeting before the draft. For fans of the Patriots, everything turned out great. If it wasn’t for Gronk calling the team to have a meeting, a lot of things in New England could’ve changed not just the TE. Luckily this is in the past, everyone has one goal in 2018 and that’s bringing home the Lombardi.

Matty P the Magician?

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“I think we’re talking about something that’s pretty common to when you have to face an opponent, there’s going to be things there that you’re very familiar with”

The Patriots New Nemesis

Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia was quoted as saying this in response to several Jets players “knew what plays were coming”. However, this also applies to the upcoming Sunday Night matchup with his former employer, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Even with beginning his career as head coach 0-2, he still possesses an undeniable advantage. Patricia has been a benefactor of seeing Tom Brady every day in practice for 14 seasons. The last six was in his capacity as defensive coordinator and crafting the plays and philosophy charged with stopping him. In case you haven’t heard, #12 is pretty good.

So, will Matty P enjoy success and give his new team in the Motor City a puncher’s chance to win? All depends on his defense. Having the bend, but don’t break schooling drill into him can have its advantages. With him manning the controls, the former aeronautical engineering can apply every complex algorithm that he can muster. He will have to.

A Team with Nothing to Lose

The Lions are entering crisis mode. Injuries to two of the most talented players on the defense will limit their impact. Darius Slay (concussion) and Ezekiel Ansah (shoulder) will either be out or severely curtailed in effectiveness. This is today’s NFL and getting to the quarterback and covering his favorite target are premium positions. Will he be able to hold Brady enough to give his own gunslinger in Matthew Stafford a chance to score some points? He’s gonna have to get weird.

The Patriots can be stumped by unique and unusual formations. The Wildcat offense allowed the late Tony Sparano to eek out a win in 2008. Rex Ryan often deployed a new defensive wrinkle in order to even the odds. Sometimes they worked and sometimes they don’t.

The Plan

In order to roll the dice and come away with the win, Patricia is going to have to gamble. Disguising pressure with pre-snap movements will be the order of the day. A phrase that has often been heard in New England is “manufacturing” the pressure. Stunts and exotic rush combinations can confuse an offensive line group and make Brady feel uncomfortable in the pocket. This can be done without exposing defensive backs to big plays and reducing coverages. Overloads on one side of the line can saturate the blockers without blitzing. And finally, delayed blitzes can allow someone who was not initially on Brady’s radar as a rusher to suddenly appear and force him into sub-par throws. I expect Patricia to explore any and all of these in the desperate attempt to get hands on Brady before he throws.

Could we see some strange and unusual personnel groupings? Two down linemen, two or even one linebackers and the remainder defensive backs? He could just flood the field and play the hand on the run and see what happens. Patricia could go the other route and blitz five, six or even seven players. The hope that one of them could get home before Brady can find the open man throw an on-target pass. Double-teaming Rob Gronkowski, especially in the end zone has proven to be effective for stretches. This would work particularly well as the Patriots are still sorting out the pecking order and effectiveness of its wide receivers.

The Counter Plan

All of these thoughts and ideas carry their own risks and rewards. The Lions are around a single touchdown underdog with what should be a high octane offense playing against an underperforming defense. I could see this as a signature game for Matt Patricia the head coach as he plays his “Super Bowl” against this old boss. A win, or an unveiling of a new defense that can flummox two Hall of Famers, will go a long way to quieting the Lions fans. You can bet that he is spending extra hours watching film, eating his meals at his desk and scribbling with his signature #2 pencil. Doing the same this week will serve the Patriots well.

 

All photos courtesy of Getty images unless noted otherwise.

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FLASHback to 2007’s Offense

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COMPARING THE 2007 SEASON TO THIS YEARS TEAM OFFENSIVELY

In 2007, New England was a juggernaut on offense. As far as regular seasons go, well, the Patriots went undefeated. Of course, this season won’t be perfect, the offense could look quite familiar. Josh Gordon recently picked up by New England, has many fans very excited. First and foremost, he is not Randy Moss 2.0. I want to make that clear.

However, if Gordon can fall in line, keep his nose in the playbook and contribute all season, then we could be in for quite the show. The comparisons this year to the undefeated regular season are fair, hear me out.

Let’s compare Offenses

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

DIFFERENT NAMES – SAME GAME

New England’s offense in 2007 was unstoppable, mainly because of Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Other key players had their roles as well, only one player remains – Tom Brady. 2007 will go down as one of the best complete football teams of all time, if not the best. Here is what the offense looked like.

Starting off is Tom Brady, who has seemed to have gotten better with age. As he admits himself, “I feel like I’ve played better the last eight years then I did my first ten.”

Next, let’s look at the running game. Laurence Maroney handled the heavy workload. Patriots HOF’er Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris as the 3rd down change of pace backs. Heath Evans was the fullback.

Jumping ahead to this season, SB hero James White, Rex Burkhead, and rookie Sony Michel can all either be RBs or receivers in the slot or split out wide. In today’s NFL, I’d give the slight edge to this season’s RB core, as moving the ball through the air is more important than ever. Defenses can’t tell whether it’s a run or pass play when any of these players step on the field. Also, James Devlin is used at FB to open up running lanes and catch the ball as well.

SB hero James White

Photo Courtesy of Sports Illustrated

PASS CATCHING COMPARISONS

Randy Moss is in the HOF, Josh Gordon is not Randy Moss. However, if Gordon is the best version of himself, he will fill the Moss role, which is taking the top off the defense with his size and speed. Brady hasn’t had this since Randy Moss, with the obvious edge going to Moss, with one caveat – the rest of the pass catchers overall compared to this year.

With Gordon attempting to do his best Moss impersonation, Brady now has a real deep threat. His targets also include Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, and Philip Dorsett with special teams ace, Corderelle Patterson, being involved in some packages each game.

Josh Gordon opening up the field for these receivers will not allow defenses to double. If they do, Brady will find one of the open players. Looking at this year’s pass catchers and 2007 receivers, it’s the same concept with similarly skilled players except for Moss. Now, 2018 now has a beast like him plus Rob Gronkowski. That alone is scary for opponents.

JE11 in the slot

Edelman will be back in the slot, with Gordon opening up the field. Just like Welker did in 2007

Patriots offensively in 2007, besides Randy, had an aging local legend in Troy Brown, another Patriot HOF player, along with Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, and Jabar Gaffney. They didn’t have a huge part of this comparison in Rob Gronkowski. Ben Watson was good along with Brady, but it’s not close to Gronk alone.  2018 also adds Hollister in the mix. So, can this year’s team look anything like the 2007 Patriots?

IN CONCLUSION, WHERE DOES THIS SEASON’S OFFENSE STACK UP?

Going through it by positions was interesting, and all these comparisons depend on one player, who’s never been dependable. In the event Josh Gordon does click with Tom Brady, this year’s Patriots team will do some serious damage. As I see it, this years RB group can be better than 2007.

Pass catchers; if everything goes to plan, will put up eye-popping numbers. Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon and Chris Hogan with the RBs will keep defenses up at night.

No, this season won’t be as prolific as the undefeated team but will have a similar feeling to it. As always, health will play a factor as well of the offensive line.

Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are still here, with players comparable or better to the 2007 team. Still, it’s too early to tell what will happen next.

No Tom Brady led offense will ever be as good, but this year is the closest it will get. Imagine all of this coming after the recent WR drama throughout the last few months.

The Game Plan against Ramsey’s Mouth

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Will Jalen Ramsey be able to back up his trash talk? Will Tom Brady be able make him regret his words? I break down (with laser precision) what his words mean, and how the Patriots and Tom Brady can game plan in order to win the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Super Bowl on Sunday.

Ok, this isn’t about the Patriots, per say, but this kicked off his 2018 Mouth Tour. He went after reporter Phillip Heilman for doing, you know, reporting, when a scuffle broke out at a training camp practice. His combative words earned him a week’s worth of suspension, and I think the Patriots could use this. Hey, Ben Volin, can you head down to Florida early and ask some questions? Asking for thousands of friends.

The Infamous List

Coming hot on the heels of his suspension, GQ printed its Ramsey interview. In it, he tweaked seventy-five percent of the quarterbacks by saying he’s “trash” (Josh Allen), “sucks” (Joe Flacco), and “overrated” (Matt Ryan). Tom Brady is on the short list of “doesn’t suck”, so I’ll assume that means he’s GOAT level and Ramsey has nightmares of touchdown passes floating just past his fingertips. The article is entertaining and you should give it a read.

Recently, as a follow-up, Brady actually responded and while his trash talking could use some work. “To not suck? I never want to suck, so I don’t want to be in that category,” Brady reacted. In traditional old-guy-with-dad-bod fashion the response was simple, direct and rooted in common sense. Not an initial shot to the mouth, this was more a kidney shot that lingers and changes the color of your urine! Brady from the top rope!

Rhetoric Ramps Up

“I don’t think Gronk’s good.” Mina Kimes of ESPN caught this gem of a bulletin board material in her interview with Ramsey. All of New England rolled their eyes. Kimes could barely contain her amazement at the statements out of his mouth. But this only would only be an appetizer to the main course to come. He did go on to say that, he thinks he’s not as great as people think. A caveat for the thrashing in Week 2 he may receive.

Put up or Shut up

Amid the preparations and game planning for your opponent you can easily go down rabbit holes where angels fear to tread. I’m pretty sure I mixed up all my metaphors and clichés, but you get my point. While the veteran, championship winning team will talk about focus. The talented, inexperienced team will rely on brash statements and talk. Ramsey doubled down on his comments by saying, “I don’t fear no man, period.” Okay… Then, “So he’s going to have to come out there and line up on me.” I will allow allow Matt Chatham of TheAthletic to eloquently respond to that statement for me.

The Plan

So what are the Patriots to do? Well we can’t sign. His grandma to go out and catch passes. “Like, I mean, if my brother, my dad, my mom, grandma was out there, it’s like, it’s on. After the game we can be cool, it doesn’t matter.” I was almost considering talking to Bill about this brilliant idea.

Ramsey will generally line up on a number one pass catcher. Fortunately New England’s top guy right now would be Rob Gronkowski. I would love to see this be his primary assignment all game, but I doubt it. If they take the approach of Ramsey and Bouye taking a side and shutting it down, then take advantage of that. The Patriots should rotate guys in and out of the outside position. Give them Dorsett, then Hollister, then White. The versatility will make the corners uncomfortable and not allow them to erase any one guy. If the Jaguars do decide to have him shadow a wide receiver, you have to make them pay by going away from Ramsey or creating plays that challenge him in traffic. In any event I will leave it in Belichicks and Flores’ capable hands. Enjoy the game and be prepared for either a tip of the cap or a slice of humble pie from capable corner. But don’t hold your breath.

 

All photos courtesy of Getty images unless noted otherwise.

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Those Pesky Gronk Rumors Explained

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The Value of a Rumor in the NFL

As we head into the beginning of the NFL season news broke that star tight end Rob Gronkowski attempted to discourage the New England Patriots from trading him. On the surface and out of context this would seem to play into the big bad, evil image of Bill Belichick. The problem with rumors in the football world is that they come out in dribs and drabs. The Gronk rumors appear to come out of the end of a long offseason drama series. And the Patriots attempted to nail down what his plans were for the upcoming season. Let’s take a look at each rumor in chronological order and see if the entire picture makes anymore sense.

Rumor #1: After the Super Bowl loss Rob Gronkowski contemplated retirement.

This is understandable looking back. He was coming off serious back surgery that ended his 2016 season. Gronk injured his groin in Week 2 that no doubt lingered for multiple weeks. The frustration over penalties culminated in the body slamming incident of Bill’s cornerback White. His suspension in Week 14 was an unpleasant punishment. Then the normal aches and pains that an NFL player goes through each week in order to suit up. And a concussion in the AFC Championship game. Reaching the Super Bowl and playing a spectacular game only to fall in the end. Elite athletes that put it all on the line to achieve their ultimate goal understandably suffer a severe letdown in the immediate aftermath.

 

Rumor #2: Rob Gronkowski was angling for a new deal.

Rob Gronkowski is the best tight end in the NFL. Full Stop. His contract is not paying him like that. The team and the player have been locked in negotiations for several years to come up with inventive solutions to rectify this. The team of course could cave and give Gronk’s camp everything they want and be completely unprotected and set a dangerous precedent. They don’t do this for anyone. They will continue to be tough negotiators in order to get the best deals for the team. A little sweetener, such as what he received after training camp was nearly done may have headed this off, or it may have not.

 

Rumor #3: Patriots quietly attempted to trade Gronk heading into the draft.

The bizarre press conference in late April with Gronkowski appearing in dirt bike uniform, standing at a podium talking about his biking skills. Rumors of a wrestling career, acting career and no clear statement from the tight end that he was preparing for a 2018 season came to a head. Belichick clearly believes in attempting to get the most value out of an asset if it’s good for the team. The antics of the player may have been wearing on the front office. And prompted them to reach out to some organizations in order to gauge interest and prices.  According to news reports, the 49ers, Lions and Titans were all involved. This make sense as they either have ties to the Patriots or have been recently been involved in quiet deals.

Rumor #4: Gronk makes his announcement.

Then the news that broke on Sunday just prior to the 2018 season that Gronk “protested strongly” any potential trade. This was accompanied by a powwow between the player, his agent and Patriots brass. Then on April 24th Gronkowski posted on his Instagram feed that he was coming back to the Patriots for the 2018 season. I’m sure the details regarding his involvement were all worked out ahead of time. Including his absences from voluntary team practices and his attendance at the mandatory ones. The result was that after a full participation in training camp and a healthy mindset, they inked a new set of incentives designed to give him up to a potential $4+ million dollars more.

Rumors and reports floating around breaking at different times during the offseason. Many times weeks or months after the actual events, it creates confusion. What is clear is that the franchise cornerstone is healthy, and ready to go. I’m sure there may be more rumors and hearsays in the months following another successful season. Just remember that these are business people and adults that all have a common goals. I’m going to ignore any more rumors and look to great games this season and a hopeful sixth championship at the end.

 

All photos courtesy of Getty images unless noted otherwise.

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Rob Gronkowski Will Make Jalen Ramsey Eat His Words

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Jalen Ramsey Giving The Patriots A Reason To Destroy The Jaguars in Week 2

Jalen Ramsey isn’t afraid of talking about his opinion about other players around the NFL. The latest remark Ramsey made was about Gronk. He flat-out said Gronkowski isn’t very good. He elaborated and claimed that Tom Brady makes Gronkowski better than he is. Yes, Brady can make a superstar out of an average receiver or tight end, however, Gronkowski isn’t an average tight end. Gronkowski is the best tight end in the game when healthy. The five-time Pro Bowler has 76 touchdowns and 7,179 yards in his career. He may like to party and have a good time but when it comes down to business he works hard to get open for Brady.

Gronkowski Will Be Responding to Ramsey’s Comments On The Field

September 16th is when the Patriots play the Jaguars. With Edelman out expect Gronkowski to put on a show. Not only to live up to the incentives but also to shut Ramsey up on the field. You know Gronkowski has heard what he said and is ready to get as many yards as possible. Gronkowski and the Patriots do their talking on the field and don’t really feed the media too much of anything about an opponent. Ramsey has only been in the league for three years. He’s had one interception and only been to one Pro-Bowl. Sure, Jacksonville has a great defense. But the mouth on Ramsey could get him in trouble with the Jaguars and other teams coming after him on the field. For Gronkowski, you know he wants to be matched up with him once they play the Jaguars.

If Ramsey was retired and he wasn’t facing the Patriots in week 2 then it would be different. It’s not giving the Patriots a reason (Gronk especially) to literally destroy you on the field. It’s a stupid take regardless. Gronkowski works hard and puts the time in. Ramsey should win a Super Bowl first before he starts talking about the best tight end in the game.

Rob Gronkowski will be a Patriot as long as Tom Brady is quarterback

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Rob Gronkowski getting money added to his contract

Rob Gronkowski’s new deal is a lot like Brady’s. It’s all performance based for the tight end. The Patriots added $4.3 million to his contract this season. It gives him $1 million per game and $3.3 million in incentives. The total amount of his deal is now $13.05 million according to Adam Schefter. Gronkowski has been seeking a new contract since the start of training camp last season. He was also contemplating retirement in the offseason. Once he found out Tom Brady was coming back and he got a talking too by Bill Belichick he was a full go for the 2018 season.

Gronkowski wants to win championships but he also wants his money too. As Danny Amendola said- the Patriots aren’t known for playing their players. But if you want to win New England is the place to be. Like Brady, Gronkowski’s contract had no years added. Gronkowski is year to year. However, Brady’s contract is up at the end of the 2019 season. If Brady walks at the end of his contract you might see Gronkowski either retire or play somewhere else. Gronkowski’s contract is also up at the end of the 2019 season. Gronkowski will be 30 by the end of the season. The tight end wants to be on a winning team with a great quarterback, and with the Patriots he can get both.

Health is key

If he meets all the incentives he will become the highest paid tight end in the NFL. Gronkowski deserves it but he has to stay on the field. Gronkowski is so injury prone but the team really needs him healthy for the entirety of the season. If he remains on the field he’ll make the money. Same goes for Brady if he plays at a high level. With Brady skipping the offseason voluntary workouts the Patriots were questioning his commitment to the team. We could be seeing a completely different team in 2020.

Rob Gronkowski Feeling 100 Times better than last year

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Last offseason Rob Gronkowski found himself at a cross-road. Another last second Super Bowl Hail Mary, another incompletion. The word retirement came up post game to shock Patriot nation. Gronkowski was weighing his options. Understandable after a loss like that.

He says he feels 100 times better this year. Gronk had a monster season in 2017, tallying 69 receptions totaling 1,084 yards and 8 TD’s. We may see the best year he’s had as a Patriot.

Photo by Associated press/Fulton Sun.

GRONKOWSKI FEELING IT IN 2018

The All World TE spoke recently about the difference between last year and 2018. Which by Patriots standards is out of the norm. Bill Belichick has the team accustomed to forgetting about the past, but this relates more to Gronkowski’s mindset, not a game.

Since returning to camp he seems to be very clear-headed and engaged. Especially compared to where his mind was at this time last year.

”I just love playing the game” Gronk says, “I feel good right now. I definitely feel like 100 times better than I did last year during training camp” Gronk continues unlike a usual Patriots press conference. “When you’re feeling good, you love playing the game. I felt good enough to where I thought I could come back, go through the whole season, go throughout the camp and just keep playing the game and be enjoying it. That’s how it’s been and when you’re enjoying the game, and feeling good, you just love playing the game. It’s just something when you’re out on the field, like your mind is just in another place because you’re just focusing on what you got to do”

ROB GRONKOWSKI STILL LEARNING

During a recent interview Rob Gronkowski says he is learning as the seasons pass, and his football IQ is already very high. Learning how to be better coupled with “feeling 100 times better than last year” may lead some to suspect this might be Gronk’s greatest season yet.

Stretching

Staff photo by John Wilcox.

Gronk talked about keeping his body in shape, now that he’s older he is doing things much differently. He continues his response.

“Like I said, I just try to focus on my body every single day like after practice now and just try to get better every day and get the recovery going ASAP, right after the meetings and stuff so you feel good the next day.” “There’s times I remember when I was back rookie year, second year, you would just practice, go to meetings and you would do absolutely nothing“

Gronkowski is focused on staying healthy, and feeling 100 times better than last year. He’s going to have to keep that mindset as he will be the focal point of this team’s passing attack moving forward.

Gronkowski Will Be At Training Camp (@steveA1127)

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Training Camp Begins Next Thursday

(Foxborough, MA, 01/13/16) Wide receiver #11, tight end #87 Rob Gronkowski, and quarterback #12 Tom Brady warm up for Patriots practice at Gillette. Wednesday, January 13, 2016. Staff photo by John Wilcox.

Training Camp begins next week and Rob Gronkowski will be reporting on time according to ESPN. First of all, as long as Tom Brady is playing quarterback, Gronk will be looking for his passes.   There really wasn’t a question that Brady would be back this season. The retirement rumors and his contract issues about money were true. However, he needed to think about his future and hold tight for Brady’s so-called decision. After the dirt-bike press conference nonsense, he had a meeting with Belichick where Belichick gave him an ultimatum. Gronkowski then got his act together and posted a video that he was getting ready for the 2018 season.

It’s not known if Gronkowski got a new contract or not. He’s set to make $9 million dollars this season. For comparison, Jimmy Graham tops the NFL tight-end salary list,  making around $10 million. Gronkowski has complained about his contract throughout the off season, alluding to his worth. Without a contract for Rob Gronkowski, when Brady retires after the 2019 season the star tight end will either play for another team or retire himself.

Gronkowski Will Be Playing As Long As Tom Brady Is The Quarterback

  Via USA Today

Gronkowski deserves a pay raise making him the highest paid tight end in the NFL. He’s probably the greatest tight end to ever play the position. With next Thursday’s training camp start, the vacation will be over and football season will be right around the corner. It will be interesting to see how Gronkowski interacts with Belichick on the field. Keep in mind that Gronkowski is a TB12 client, so he’ll be getting treatment there too to optimize his fitness.

This isn’t fake news:  Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal reported that a trade for Gronkowski was possible, according to an AFC e

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xecutive. But with Gronkowski be committed to the 2018 NFL season it’s clear he’s playing for Tom Brady, Robert Kraft, and the fans.