Gronkowski: Would You Have Him Protect Himself More?

Gronkowski has an average of about 5 Yards After Completion.

This is right on par with the likes of the shifty little guys like Edleman and Welker. But of course rather than edle and welk (juke, spin) by tackles, Gronk just Gronks (Gronks) his way through multiple tackles for his YAC.. some of them for big gains... and many times for a TD.

And for all that he has ended up with more than his fair share of injuries.

By trying to plow through tackles Gronk is allowing other players to come in and line up bigger hits on him -though in fairness only 2 of his 4 injuries came about while powering his way through a tackle.

So do you think his catching radius and time on the field is more important than his ability to tank through tackles and gain those extra yards?

Or do you think there is no real correlation and that Gronk should just do what Gronk does?

Or like me, do you think Gronk should play it safer (drop quicker) when he feels theres a danger he's vulnerable to a big hit and only give it his y'all when the situation warrants?

I feel like if you tell Gronk to be more careful with his body, he stops being Gronk. His biggest assets are:

A) His size.

B) His catch radius.

C) His absolute bull-headedness that allows him to advance when he has absolutely no business advancing.

He DEMORALIZES defenses by dragging defenders (GOOD defenders) into the end zone. Take that away, and he's still a great talent but he's no longer a game changing one. I want him to remain game-changing, and I'm okay with the slightly elevated injury risk as a result.

most of his catches are down the seam so he'll take hits. I'm not sure what he can do

I do want him to make a Brandon Lloyd, period.

I love the way he plays, the intensity, striking DB's like bowling pins, but doing that he exposed himself countless times, ok, some of his injuries are freaking bad luck but any way, he plays a dangerous sport, he's a big target and the new rules allow DB's to hit dirty, so yes, I'd rather have him playing soft the whole season than playing 7 games Rambo mode until some joint pops out.

Seriously, he could have totally avoided that hit from his last injury.



What was him trying to do, cross TJ Ward like a ghost? He was already with a questionable arm in recovery, you can't predict the knee injury but the hit was coming, depending the way he hits the ground could have broken that arm again, he needs to have a mentality of protecting the franchise, just like Bruschi said about Brady when Ryan Clark said Brady sees ghosts. Or he needs to be coached in this way.

This is awesome, and insane

varjao said:

Seriously, he could have totally avoided that hit from his last injury.

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Yeah, if TJ Ward doesn't make a scummy hit, he would have avoided that injury.

He didn't need to attack the planted leg at the knee, he would have knocked Gronk over (or at least slowed him enough for the closing defender behind to finish the tackle) if he went for the hip.

Big-T said:

Yeah, if TJ Ward doesn't make a scummy hit, he would have avoided that injury.

He didn't need to attack the planted leg at the knee, he would have knocked Gronk over (or at least slowed him enough for the closing defender behind to finish the tackle) if he went for the hip.

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I agree with you, I think he was protected by the rules but that's still a dirty hit. My point is that you can't wait for benevolence in a football field, Gronk being the playmaker he is should always expect for the worse.

I'd like him to go down and/or hurdle in the instances when he can do those things, and keep going/break tackles in the instances when he can do that. That's all up to him to know, though. Unfortunately, his playing style (while fun to watch) makes him injury prone. Since, short of a epiphany, he probably won't change that style, he'll probably continue to get banged up.

Gronk needs to do Judo ukemi training, if he felt comfortable diving and rolling he might have dove over the defender and been fine.

That Chiefs TD says it all. It was the EXACT same hit that TJ Ward put on Gronk. However, since his foot wasn't planted he just went flying. TJ Ward hits Gronk a second later, or whoever that was on KC hits Gronk a second sooner; and 2011's team doesn't go to SB 46/we score more than 8 points on Seattle in SB 48.

Let Gronk be Gronk. You're never going to come close to preventing injury opportunities unless you keep him off the field and in bubble wrap until week 17. Ask Dustin Keller or Randall Cobb what they think about telling a player to protect himself after they catch the ball. Those two guys never got the chance because they were hit low before they could do anything. Injury risk is just part of Gronk's job, and I don't think there's any point in taking extreme measures to avoid the run after catch injuries when a similarly devastating injury could happen in so many other situations.

Let Gronk smash.

I voted e1. (there was no d)
Sometimes he could protect himself. Sort of.
Problem is I'm asking him to play different if it is 43-0 than 21-20. That is a dangerous thing to do. Play calling, sure, but that is coaches. Players play. I'd expect a QB to know the game situation and whether he should try to force a play or throw it away on a broken play. A TE? I'm not so sure.

He should play like a professional athlete i.e. he should play in a manner that is aggressive but not reckless. He has a career to worry about and I think he is jeopardizing it by not accepting that there are plenty of times when the smartest play is to go down.

Lots of athletes are reckless when they are young. When they learn to use their bodies more effectively and intelligently, they become better players.

If gronk starts to change his game becasue of injuries...he won't be the breakout guy we all know and love. Let gronk be gronk and just hope he makes it

Gronk... SMASH!!!

I think that Gronk needs to keep his bullish mindset because hes a giant, but he can be smarter about it too and learn to take better angles and not take unnecessary shots.

lurker1965 said:

I voted e1. (there was no d)

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I only ever notice those proof-reading errors long after I've hit Enter. Tried fixing it but you aren't allowed to change a poll after votes start coming in I guess.

I loathe trying to type anything involving formatting on my Kindle.. those tiny Input boxes along with that keyboard are beyond annoying. Hehe

EDIT: I'd me more than glad to have any bored Moderator change the first e. to a d. and add that missing ) to the end of the second question.

For all the let Gronk be gronk's...all running backs need to adapt their style to protect the ball and themselves by running aware of when they are open and when they expect contact. The ones who succeed become better players. It's not about being timid, it's about getting compact and bringing your limbs and head in at times, running wide open when it's safe. You actually are more of a weapon that way too.

You cannot stop Gronk from being Gronk.
His size/ability is a blessing and a curse.

Its awesome to see him play in the seam and run by DBs but the problem with him being around DBs all the time is he's twice their size so he will take 2-3 hits per catch just to get down, and that's not even when he's in gronk mode (a la Skins game while back). The guy is going to take hits on hits every play. You just gotta hope that Gronk doesn't take a headshot or TJ Ward shot.

We need him. If he was 100% in SB46 we win. If he was healthy the last two postseasons different story too. We can get to the AFCCG without him, this year, with Revis we can even get to the SB without him but to beat an NFC D (SF or SEA) we NEED him to be 100% for the SB

Let gronk be gronk and he's on injured reserve list by january