Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2014 7:36:27 GMT -5
Chuck Pagano thinks Rob Gronkowski makes Patriots ‘more of a nightmare’
11.12.14 at 8:58 pm ET
By Mike Petraglia
FOXBORO — Bill Belichick won’t admit it. Tom Brady will just smile in gratitude. And Rob Gronkowski certainly won’t acknowledge it. But the best tight end in football is a nightmare matchup for any opponent, especially one that has had difficulty defending much-lesser tight ends this season.
But Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was more than willing to detail just what kind of problem Gronkowski presents for his Colts this Sunday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Tom’s spreading the ball around, but Rob’s a matchup nightmare,” Pagano said. “It’s all hands on deck to try to make sure that that guy doesn’t wreck a game. You see everybody trying to do that, but he finds a way to make unbelievable plays. He’s a great player and they’ve got a bunch of them, a bunch of skill guys that are making great plays.”
How big a game could Gronkowski have? Consider tight end Julius Thomas caught three touchdowns – in the second quarter – of Denver’s 31-24 win on opening night. The next week, Philly’s Zach Ertz had four catches for 87 yards. Against the Steelers in Week 8, Heath Miller had seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.
What is Gronk expecting?
“They’re a very good team and we have to prepare to our max and we have to be ready for the game,” Gronkowski said, keeping everything cautiously vague. “We have to come out and perform to our best because, if not, they’re a very good team and we could struggle easily versus them if we’re not going out there prepared. You have to be ready and go out and be prepared.
“They’ve got a lot of good skill players, good linebackers, safeties, corners and you just have to be prepared for anything at any time. You never know what you’re going to get so you have to be prepared and expect anything.”
This isn’t the first time Pagano has had to deal with Gronk. In 2011, as defensive coordinator of the Ravens, his mission was to contain the all-world tight end in the AFC championship. Gronk had five catches on eight targets for 87 yards but no touchdowns. Of course, that was the game that Gronk left with a severely sprained ankle as the Patriots held on for a 23-20 win.
In 2012, Gronk had one of the best games of his career, seven catches on seven targets for 137 yards and two touchdowns in a 59-24 romp. That was the game that Gronk injured his left forearm blocking Sergio Brown on the final extra point of the game. Those were Pagano’s Colts but coached by Bruce Arians as Pagano was receiving cancer treatments.
That was the last time a Pagano team had to prepare for Gronk as the tight end was out with a torn ACL last January when the Patriots beat the Colts, 43-22, in the AFC divisional round at Gillette Stadium.
“They obviously had playmakers a year ago,” Pagano recalled. “It just only makes them more of a nightmare, if you want to put it that way. Obviously Tom and [Julian] Edelman on the same page, as well as Gronk and [Brandon] LaFell and [Danny] Amendola and [Tim] Wright comes in and makes plays. The two running backs are doing a great job; they’re having success on the ground.
Pagano was asked the challenges of deciding whether to let Gronkowski go free off the line of scrimmage or deciding to man up?
“Again, you have to make a decision, because there are other guys to tend to,” Pagano said. “You always go in saying you have to stop the run and you have other problems out there to take care of. He’s one of them. The more weapons that you have, certainly we’re going to face a team that’s got a ton of them at the skill positions. I know that given free access and all those kind of things that he can do a ton of damage to your defense. We’ve got to do as good a job as we can of trying to find the right matchups and try to figure out a way to, you’re never going to stop a guy like that, but hopefully just slow him down enough to where, again, he doesn’t wreck the game on you.”
11.12.14 at 8:58 pm ET
By Mike Petraglia
FOXBORO — Bill Belichick won’t admit it. Tom Brady will just smile in gratitude. And Rob Gronkowski certainly won’t acknowledge it. But the best tight end in football is a nightmare matchup for any opponent, especially one that has had difficulty defending much-lesser tight ends this season.
But Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was more than willing to detail just what kind of problem Gronkowski presents for his Colts this Sunday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Tom’s spreading the ball around, but Rob’s a matchup nightmare,” Pagano said. “It’s all hands on deck to try to make sure that that guy doesn’t wreck a game. You see everybody trying to do that, but he finds a way to make unbelievable plays. He’s a great player and they’ve got a bunch of them, a bunch of skill guys that are making great plays.”
How big a game could Gronkowski have? Consider tight end Julius Thomas caught three touchdowns – in the second quarter – of Denver’s 31-24 win on opening night. The next week, Philly’s Zach Ertz had four catches for 87 yards. Against the Steelers in Week 8, Heath Miller had seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.
What is Gronk expecting?
“They’re a very good team and we have to prepare to our max and we have to be ready for the game,” Gronkowski said, keeping everything cautiously vague. “We have to come out and perform to our best because, if not, they’re a very good team and we could struggle easily versus them if we’re not going out there prepared. You have to be ready and go out and be prepared.
“They’ve got a lot of good skill players, good linebackers, safeties, corners and you just have to be prepared for anything at any time. You never know what you’re going to get so you have to be prepared and expect anything.”
This isn’t the first time Pagano has had to deal with Gronk. In 2011, as defensive coordinator of the Ravens, his mission was to contain the all-world tight end in the AFC championship. Gronk had five catches on eight targets for 87 yards but no touchdowns. Of course, that was the game that Gronk left with a severely sprained ankle as the Patriots held on for a 23-20 win.
In 2012, Gronk had one of the best games of his career, seven catches on seven targets for 137 yards and two touchdowns in a 59-24 romp. That was the game that Gronk injured his left forearm blocking Sergio Brown on the final extra point of the game. Those were Pagano’s Colts but coached by Bruce Arians as Pagano was receiving cancer treatments.
That was the last time a Pagano team had to prepare for Gronk as the tight end was out with a torn ACL last January when the Patriots beat the Colts, 43-22, in the AFC divisional round at Gillette Stadium.
“They obviously had playmakers a year ago,” Pagano recalled. “It just only makes them more of a nightmare, if you want to put it that way. Obviously Tom and [Julian] Edelman on the same page, as well as Gronk and [Brandon] LaFell and [Danny] Amendola and [Tim] Wright comes in and makes plays. The two running backs are doing a great job; they’re having success on the ground.
Pagano was asked the challenges of deciding whether to let Gronkowski go free off the line of scrimmage or deciding to man up?
“Again, you have to make a decision, because there are other guys to tend to,” Pagano said. “You always go in saying you have to stop the run and you have other problems out there to take care of. He’s one of them. The more weapons that you have, certainly we’re going to face a team that’s got a ton of them at the skill positions. I know that given free access and all those kind of things that he can do a ton of damage to your defense. We’ve got to do as good a job as we can of trying to find the right matchups and try to figure out a way to, you’re never going to stop a guy like that, but hopefully just slow him down enough to where, again, he doesn’t wreck the game on you.”
