Gronk's Knees

[FredFromDartmouth]

Did anyone notice that the Bengals safety, Reggie Nelson went after Gronk's knees in the third quarter, missed and allowed Gronk to score?

Other than that, it was good to see Gronk on patterns that protected his knees.

I remember that in the old days that goons on the 49'ers figured out a way to stop John Riggins and that was to go after his knees...that was pretty much the end for Riggins.

 

[PATS16N0]

Yes. Noticed and panicked for about a second.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

I thought it was more of the ankles? At least that's what i saw from my seat 10 rows up from him when he scored. Either way he is starting to look like gronk of old. Running more fluid and running INTO people now which i love to see. He was AMPED for the first time this season..i mean jacked up out there.

But like other players have said....they only way to bring him down is to go low...only way and you get penalties for hitting high...it's going to happen more and more unfortunately. Just hope he can avoid the bad ones

 

[Archeryaddict12]

Gronk seems to really be progressing. He still isn't 100% the gronk from before the knee injury, but he is still getting closer to the old gronk.

 

[IcyPatriot]

FanSided GIF's post on Vine

How do we post vine's here?

https://vine.co/v/OK537ndXjpu

 

[Nikolai]

Most times that he's running in the open with the ball, I hold my breath a bit. And every time someone tries to hit him above the waist and fails makes me wonder if they will "learn their lesson" and go for the knees next time.

 

[deters]

I hold my breath anytime Gronk or Brady get hit and let out a sigh when the get up.

 

[RayClay]

Sucks that he is somewhat limited, but learning to stay compact and use his body will pay dividends in the future IMO. Lots of less talented TEs have had great success using their bodies to protest a "pocket" to catch in and deliver a blow while protecting their limbs. Once he breaks open, then he can use that great speed. Running around with your arms and legs flailing isn't going to make for a long NFL career.

 

[RayClay]

Tony Gonzalez. How to be athletic and protect yourself to play at a high level for a long time.

 

[frongi]

I actually hope we go back to somewhat fewer snaps for Gronk for this reason. We need him badly in the playoffs. He should be the first starter pulled in any blowouts. This would be the cherry on top in getting Wright up to speed.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

I actually hope we go back to somewhat fewer snaps for Gronk for this reason. We need him badly in the playoffs. He should be the first starter pulled in any blowouts. This would be the cherry on top in getting Wright up to speed.

We need him badly now to score. He is almost guaranteed to get a TD a game when playing. Pretty big part of O since they lack any other weapons.

I really hope Wright can continue to play better.

 

[Gumby]

Tony Gonzalez. How to be athletic and protect yourself to play at a high level for a long time.

So what exactly does TG do differently (that protects himself)? Other than going down easier when only one guy is tackling and not running as fast ???

 

[SVN]

I think someone else in the media Jeff Howe ? pointed out the nelson attempt which was very similar to the ward hit last yr and gronk would not have been happy if nelson had made full contact.

 

[AzorianPats]

I think someone else in the media Jeff Howe ? pointed out the nelson attempt which was very similar to the ward hit last yr and gronk would not have been happy if nelson had made full contact.

It was a dirty play. They were going at it all game. (I think that's who Gronk shoved in which the ref called the 15 yrd penalty)

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Attention Mods: Please double-check the site's security to make sure login information hasn't been compromised. Someone using FredFromDartmouth's account just created a thread that didn't include a complaint about Jermaine Cunningham or Chad Jackson. It's clearly an imposter.

But yes, I did see that and freaked out a bit. Some players mentioned they felt defenders were doing that more with the emphasis on lowering the hitting area, but against Gronk, that's pretty much a small cornerback's only chance. You could try to do the same thing with below the knee but at that point you're risking a penalty on pretty much every play.

 

[RayClay]

So what exactly does TG do differently (that protects himself)? Other than going down easier when only one guy is tackling and not running as fast ???

Secures the catch then ducks his head in, rolls, gets compact to absorb punishment, surveys the field a bit before running, uses his hips and shoulders to steer defenders and make uncontested catches. I don't think he's lacking in yards after the catch and he makes a lot of difficult fingertip catches, he just doesn't land hard, all stretched out, he pulls himself in and rolls.

Plus, this vid is of his 15th season, I think.

He's also played in 268 out of a possible 270 games in his career.

 

[frongi]

We need him badly now to score. He is almost guaranteed to get a TD a game when playing. Pretty big part of O since they lack any other weapons.

I really hope Wright can continue to play better.

We do need him to help us score but he doesn't need to be in on every snap, especially when the game isn't close. He needs to be on the field for third downs and in the red zone though.

 

[FrodoBagginz]

Can't blame anyone for hitting the lower parts. Hitting the upper body will draw a flag sometimes even when clearly there was no helmet to helmet contact. The refs are getting closer and closer to making the game unwatchable.

 

[Gumby]

Secures the catch then ducks his head in, rolls, gets compact to absorb punishment, surveys the field a bit before running, uses his hips and shoulders to steer defenders and make uncontested catches. I don't think he's lacking in yards after the catch and he makes a lot of difficult fingertip catches, he just doesn't land hard, all stretched out, he pulls himself in and rolls.

Plus, this vid is of his 15th season, I think.

He's also played in 268 out of a possible 270 games in his career.

sorry, color me stupid, but I just dont see it (at least the head duck and roll on most plays). I dont have the time to go back and look for hip checks to make uncontested catches; but that seems kind of irrelevant anyway. uour point was that TG doesnt get tackled as hard not that he catches more passes. If a player catches a ball with MORE separation that just seems to make it MORE likely that a defener from away from the play will come in low to take him down after he starts moving with the ball. A defender close in is going to go high to try and disrupt the pass.
I did see TG go down when just a single guy grabs him up high; which is what Gronk DOESNT DO; which leads to Gronk'srep of being HARD TO TACKLE, which leads to guys going DOWN LOW on him. So I see that as a lot better explanation for TG healthier career than these 'skills' I cant see.

 

[RayClay]

sorry, color me stupid, but I just dont see it (at least the head duck and roll on most plays). I dont have the time to go back and look for hip checks to make uncontested catches; but that seems kind of irrelevant anyway. uour point was that TG doesnt get tackled as hard not that he catches more passes. If a player catches a ball with MORE separation that just seems to make it MORE likely that a defener from away from the play will come in low to take him down after he starts moving with the ball. A defender close in is going to go high to try and disrupt the pass.
I did see TG go down when just a single guy grabs him up high; which is what Gronk DOESNT DO; which leads to Gronk'srep of being HARD TO TACKLE, which leads to guys going DOWN LOW on him. So I see that as a lot better explanation for TG healthier career than these 'skills' I cant see.

I don't have to say Gonzalez caugh more passes, that's obvious.He's also missed two games total out of 270. Gronk is the dame height and 30 pounds heavier. He hits harder than Gonzalez, but he doesn't use his body to protect himself and dish out hits instead of taking them.

Unless you think it's a coincidence that a TE can play 268 out of 270 games while compiling multiple 1,000 yard seasons, while another, in just a handful of seasons gets multiple tears and breaks missing a ton of games. Fighters, MMA, tumblers etc, know how to protect themselves while performing, why is it so hard to believe?