Great article on Gronk

[Roberto71]

In MMQB by Andy Benoit. Well worth a read.

Rob Gronkowski, Football Mastermind

He’s thought of as a good-old-bro who dominates based on size and athleticism, but the Pats’ All-Pro tight end is really one of the brainiest players at his position. Don’t just take our word for it—ask the coaches who game-plan for and against him

Skeptical? Then consider Bill Belichick’s take:

“The tight end position is, probably after quarterback, the hardest position to play in our offense. That’s the guy who does all the formationing. The running back is usually in the backfield. The receivers are receivers. But the tight ends could be in their tight end location, they could be in the backfield, they could be flexed. They could be in the wide position. To formation the defense, those are the guys you’re going to move. It’s moving the tight ends that changes the defensive deployment.”

Practice is about to begin at Gillette, but Belichick is volunteering more information on Gronkowski. In fact, he’s expansive, even congenial.
“Rob is a versatile athlete, but he’s also a versatile guy mentally. He can handle a lot of different assignments. Some guys can’t. Either they mentally can’t do it, or it’s just too much and their game slows down. They don’t play to the same skill set you see athletically because they’re thinking too much. That’s not the case with Rob.”

And with that, we introduce you to a player you’ve seen but never truly known: Rob Gronkowski, Football Mastermind.

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/09/13/rob-gronkowski-patriots-nfls-brainiest-tight-end

 

[Beaglebay]

Anyone who truly thinks Gronk is a meathead, is a meathead.

 

[Hawg73]

Anyone who truly thinks Gronk is a meathead, is a meathead.

Yeah, but everybody plays the fool. Sometimes.....

 

[HSanders]

I think he plays it up a bit and is smarter than one may believe but I also think he's not exactly Alterraun Verner.

 

[patswin]

Good read thx.
I'm pretty down on Peter King and avoid MMqb so I would have missed that one.

 

[mooseontheloose]

I think he plays it up a bit and is smarter than one may believe but I also think he's not exactly Alterraun Verner.

Plenty of smart dudes fail with learning complexities of pro football. And plenty of average or even dumb dudes excel at it.

Was just reading this article and was going to post it. Lots of cool information directly from Gronk and BB.

A very good football article IMO.

 

[TipRoast]

Yeah, but everybody plays the fool. Sometimes.....

It's ok to play the fool sometimes, but it shouldn't be the main ingredient in the recipe of one's life.

 

[HSanders]

The most common NFL personnel package now features three wide receivers, one tight end and one running back, dubbed 11 personnel. According to Football Outsiders, teams have used this three-receiver set more each year since 2010. While it means more snaps for wideouts, the position that appears to be benefiting most is actually tight end. Compared with ’01, there was an 8% increase in the number of wide receivers with at least 50 catches or 600 yards in ’15. But the number of tight ends with at least 50 catches jumped by 183% compared with the ’01 season, from six to 17. The number of tight ends with at least 600 yards rose by 160%, from five to 13.
Some of this is because in three-receiver sets, offenses are more spread out, creating more space in the middle of the field where tight ends usually operate. But those tight ends are also becoming more athletic, and many offenses, when they’re not putting a third receiver on the field, are employing a second tight end.

I'd attribute some of that to the easing up of passing game rules/ increasing penalty opportunities for defense since 04, so I'd like to see those stats done before and after 04. As defenses get faster and lighter to try to compete in the pass game, a big mauler TE who can catch is even more valuable. Not only is Gronk lined up on a LB, he's lined up on LBs who are increasingly less Ted Johnson like. They're fast and athletic moreso than physically stout enough to compete with him.

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Plenty of smart dudes fail with learning complexities of pro football. And plenty of average or even dumb dudes excel at it.

I agree 100%.