Former New England Patriots are having an increased voice in the media, post retirement about their playing days under Bill Belichick. With much debate in various GOAT conversations throughout sports, there are questions being asked, is Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce the greatest tight end of all time?
In a recent interview on the Mad Dog Radio Show with Jim Gray, the most successful scoring duo in New England Patriots history made their opinion very clear.
New England Patriots Back And Forth Exchange
Tom Brady gleefully asked Rob Gronkowski, ” Did anyone do it like us? Cause I don’t think many did.” The way that Brady asked the question, he almost winced at having to have entertain the thought that there was another, more deserving combo out there than them from their playing days.
The always upbeat and entertaining Gronkowski confidently answered, “No one did it like us, we scored all over the place as well.”
They would continue the conversation by going down the list of all of the concepts, and routes that they enjoyed devastating defenses with.
New England Patriots Greatness As A Pass Catcher
This brings up the first aspect that makes Gronkowski one of the best to ever play the position. While there are numerous stories on his pre game preparation, or over exaggerated reports of the lack thereof, his explosive athleticism and natural ability cannot be denied.
Gronkowski’s greatest ability in the catching game, was his rare combination of size and quickness. This not only allowed him to get open against virtually any coverage, but even if he wasn’t, a 50/50 ball to Gronkowski was more like an 80/20 toss up.
Once he caught the ball, he had so much power that a single smaller secondary player was always going to have a hard time bringing him down.
If you’re having a bad day 🙁
Please take the time to watch Rob Gronkowski stiff arm a guy into the shadow realm 🙂pic.twitter.com/I81pp7ejSp
— Boston Cream 🍩 (@itsbostoncream) December 6, 2023
Plays like this really indicate how hard it was for opposing defensive coordinators. There is no way to simulate this type of play in practice. Teams would often double team Gronkowski, but even then, it was often times like a college prospect playing against the JV team.
New England Patriots Willingness To Block
What separates great non quarterback skill position players is their willingness to assist in the blocking part of the game. While the tight end often serves as an extra lineman, we have often seen a distinction between tight ends willing to and are good at blocking, and tight ends that really play as a slot receiver.
For Gronkowski, his energetic, hard to contain personality really translated in all facets of the game. Whether celebrating his touchdown receptions, or initiating contact to help out the ball carrier, his motor was just always on full go.
During the Jim Gray interview, Brady offered the following:
He’s the greatest blocking tight end to ever play. He manhandled guys that were bigger than him, and he outran guys that were smaller than him.
There has been a recent clip that has emerged, showing Gronkowski trying to stop Aaron Donald. This is an assignment that all pro linemen would have examples of bad tape on. The fact remains that more often than not, in the trenches, and on the perimeter Gronkowski would win his matchups.
For your viewing pleasure, Gronk run blocking vs the Steelers pic.twitter.com/QpkiI2rdtv
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) May 19, 2020