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After the past two weeks I am ready to call Gronk the best TE in the NFL. His contributions in the passing game are well known, but his work in the run game has been amongst the best in the league as well. What really gets my attention though is his versatility. I don't think there's been such a blend of skills at his position at such a high level.
In the passing game he presents an amazing combination of skills. Sure, he has nice deep speed and can break a cover-2. Sure, he's a big target that can win with body positioning and presents a tremendous catch radius. Sure, he's strong enough to break jams and tackles, even dragging players for a ride ala the one kid who has hit puberty in Pop Warner. What really amazes me, though is his ability to cut. He is so explosive he can run out cuts against man coverage and get open. He can separate on posts. They can run jerk routes with a TE. He has the skill set of a receiving tight end in a 6'6 270 pound frame. That doesn't happen. Teams have doubled and even tripled him. When was the last time you heard of a tight end requiring a triple in the passing game?!?!
In the blocking game he can contribute in all four areas. He has the feet and length to pass block on the outside, the strength and explosion to drive a man off the ball, the quickness and vision to pull, and the linear acceleration to crack and run wham plays. He does tackle, tight end, and fullback all at an extremely high level.
What the creates is the most versatile offensive chip in the NFL. Just by having Gronk in the game, it opens the potential of the playbook exponentially. Defensive coordinators will have a much lesser tell off of personnel sets. The probability of guessing wrong significantly appreciates. Lately the talk has been on the backs, Welker, and the new 3/5ths of the line, but the real key cog in the machine has been Gronk. He has hall of fame potential and I think that should carry significant weight when discussing both this offense and Belichick's often (mistakenly) maligned drafting practices.
In the passing game he presents an amazing combination of skills. Sure, he has nice deep speed and can break a cover-2. Sure, he's a big target that can win with body positioning and presents a tremendous catch radius. Sure, he's strong enough to break jams and tackles, even dragging players for a ride ala the one kid who has hit puberty in Pop Warner. What really amazes me, though is his ability to cut. He is so explosive he can run out cuts against man coverage and get open. He can separate on posts. They can run jerk routes with a TE. He has the skill set of a receiving tight end in a 6'6 270 pound frame. That doesn't happen. Teams have doubled and even tripled him. When was the last time you heard of a tight end requiring a triple in the passing game?!?!
In the blocking game he can contribute in all four areas. He has the feet and length to pass block on the outside, the strength and explosion to drive a man off the ball, the quickness and vision to pull, and the linear acceleration to crack and run wham plays. He does tackle, tight end, and fullback all at an extremely high level.
What the creates is the most versatile offensive chip in the NFL. Just by having Gronk in the game, it opens the potential of the playbook exponentially. Defensive coordinators will have a much lesser tell off of personnel sets. The probability of guessing wrong significantly appreciates. Lately the talk has been on the backs, Welker, and the new 3/5ths of the line, but the real key cog in the machine has been Gronk. He has hall of fame potential and I think that should carry significant weight when discussing both this offense and Belichick's often (mistakenly) maligned drafting practices.