As the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots prepare to meet In Super Bowl LII the big question is whether tight end Rob Gronkowski, who left the AFC Championship game against the Jaguars with a concussion, will be able to recover in time to make it to the big game.
Although only time will tell if Gronk can recover in time to play in Minneapolis, it’s worth looking at his role in the Patriots offense to understand why he is so valuable to Tom Brady and the rest of the team.
Gronkowski is a player that has size, strength, speed, and athleticism, in other words, he is the closest example on the field of what the ideal NFL tight end is supposed to be.
Gronkowski has proved to be an unguardable weapon. Some tight ends are more of a receiving threat, while others are just run blockers, but Gronkowski has managed to successfully do both.
When a team has a tight end that does everything it opens up the entire offense as defenses can’t prepare a game plan based on tendencies.
Above all, a tight end should be a blocker and Gronk has proved capable of pass blocking both 300-pound defenders and even speedy defensive ends with ease. He also can run block from a three-point stance to allow Brady to execute play-action passes effectively.
Of course, the play-action pass works as long as you set it up with the run action and one of Gronkowski biggest assets is his ability to win in the passing game, especially on the third down.
Defenses can’t guard Gronk one-on-one with a safety or linebacker, thus teams will try to resort to man coverage and zone coverage to slow him down or at least contain him.
Since most of the time Gronk outmuscles defenders as he goes up for the ball, teams will look to prevent him from getting big chunks of yardage after the catch as he has enough speed to leave defenders behind if they blow the coverage or fail to tackle him on the spot.
Gronkowski does things that dual-threat tight-ends are not supposed to do. As a result, he can single-handedly dominate a drive and has proven to be a reliable target in the crunch-time plays.
If opponents try to double-team Gronk the Patriots will resort to motions and formations that will limit these options. Brady’s game control and passing mastery complement Gronk perfectly, which is why he becomes such a lethal offensive weapon in the red zone.
Teams often resort additional resources to Gronk and thus he opens the rest of the field to the other weapons available to Brady, that’s why even he’s not getting the ball he’s the Patriots biggest offensive weapon.
Gronk missing the Super Bowl would be a huge boost to the Eagles chances of winning their first Lombardy Trophy as it would limit the Patriots offensive options and force other players, like wide receiver Danny Amendola to step up.
