PatsPropaganda

An Independent Patriots Blog

Rob Gronkowski

Gronkowski & staying in to block – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston

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Gronkowski & staying in to block – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston

Releasing into routes: 33

Staying in to protect: 16

The 16 might be a bit more than the norm (just a guess, as this isn’t something normally charted here), but offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels wasn’t spinning things when he said of Gronkowski’s limited production, “I think it’s just a factor of the ball came out quick sometimes and we had some other people that were in situations to make plays based on what Baltimore did to us.” Those other players were mainly Brandon Lloyd and Wes Welker. On the majority of plays that Gronkowski released downfield, the ball was out of Brady’s hands to someone else before Gronkowski was at the stem of his route. In particular, the Patriots really seemed to like the one-on-one matchup on the outside against cornerback Cary Williams.

Rob Gronkowski, the New England Patriots, and party style – Grantland

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Rob Gronkowski, the New England Patriots, and party style – Grantland

Great read that really captures the force of nature that is GRONK.

The NFL is long on stars, ones with problems and without. But Gronkowski is the only one who seems genuinely beside himself. Success hasn’t gone to his head. It’s gone to his arms and his pecs and his calves and his Twitter account. It’s gone to his party budget. He set NFL tight end records last year for receiving touchdowns, touchdowns, and receiving yards. These are achievements people watch in awe, yes. But you also watch Gronk stalk into the end zone and spike the football with hilarious too-muchness, and think about the way, in a teen comedy, the quarterback’s friend would hurl a keg or destroy a kitchen.

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jullie-anne:

Rob Gronkowski – on the origins of the Gronk Spike

https://www.patspropaganda.com/jullie-anne-rob-gronkowski-on-the-origins-of-5/

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Whaaaaat?!?!

(via Bleacher Creatures New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski Face Mask – NFLShop.com)

https://www.patspropaganda.com/gronk-face-mask/

Why are the Patriots stockpiling tight ends?

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No one can seem to get over how many tight ends the Pats have on the roster this year, but if we take a closer look at the players and what they can do it starts to make a little more sense.

Really, “tight end” is a generalized positional name now. They can be a traditional tight end, a wide receiver, a fullback, an extra tackle or as we’ve seen in Hernando’s case, a running back.

Even in specific offensive schematic terms you’re really talking about two different positions: the Y (Gronk) and the F (Hernando). We can all agree that while both of those guys are “tight ends” their skill sets are a lot different. I don’t think you’ll ever see Gronk taking a hand off in the backfield, nor will you want to see Hernandez blocking in a short yardage situation.

You also have to take into account that the Patriots are light at tackle with only three, so it makes even more sense to carry a Y that might be a better blocker than receiver (Hoomanawanui). Meanwhile Fells can do a little of both positions, though he might just be filling in until Shiancoe gets back.

It’s really not that crazy to envision a short yardage/goal-line package that features Gronk and Uh Oh in line, Hernandez split out wide and Fells playing fullback.

But aside from that the collection of tight ends on the roster signals some interesting things to me. First, that they’re fully committed to their tight end offense and want to be prepared should injuries strike. Second, with the lack of an experience power running back they wanted to take steps to aid their young guys and short yardage package. And finally third, they won’t have to rely on Gronk as heavily for his blocking. This can help preserve him in the long run.

Don’t get me wrong, Gronk is a great blocker, and his diversity is one of his biggest assets, but having Hoomanawanui and Fells can help ease some of their reliance on Gronk in every situation.

The interesting question to me is why the shift to more power? We all know the Pats struggled to attack the perimeter of the field last year, and with all the wide receivers they brought into camp it seems like they were determined to fix that. Brandon Lloyd should be part of the solution there, but it’s still clear they want to dominate the middle of the field, perhaps even moreso this year.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the offense will change this year, and how they’ll employ all these large, versatile players. This is the most physical group of weapons Bill Belichick has ever assembled. Will they be able to take advantage of smaller defensive back-heavy defenses looking to stop Tom Brady and the spread attack? We’ll start to find out on Sunday.