Doesn't Matter Who Is At Quarterback, Gronk Just Wants To Catch The Ball
BOSTON (CBS) -- It doesn't matter who is throwing the passes, Rob Gronkowski has one goal: Catch the football.
The New England tight end was back to hauling in the pigskin Thursday morning, as the Patriots held their first practice of training camp at Gillette Stadium. There were a few, however, that Gronkowski couldn't corral with those giants mitts of his.
No one will really hold that against No. 87, given that it's day one of camp and he's come through with some ridiculous catches in some of the biggest moments. But the tight end's own frustration with himself was evident each time the ball hit the ground and didn't nestle comfortably in his grasp. Despite what we see on the highlight reels, the man is human.
But that brief evidence of his mortality just provided the All Pro with even more motivation.
"[It's] frustrating for those couple of seconds, but then you move onto the next play. I have to limit those and hopefully they just happened today," Gronkowski told reporters after Thursday's practice. "If we see more, I don't know, you can write those down. Hopefully they don't happen during games; getting them out [of the way] now, that's what I'm doing."
Of course, there was a little bit of a difference on Thursday, at least in the eyes of spectators. While Tom Brady led the way to start practice, backup Jimmy Garoppolo got the bulk of the snaps in later drills. Gronkowski and the rest of the Patriots' offensive weapons will be catching passes from the third-year QB for the first four games of the regular season, and not from the three-time Super Bowl MVP.
But having Garoppolo throw the football his way in practice is nothing new. So on Thursday, not much was different in Gronkowski's eyes.
"It's not a difference or change at all. It's training camp. You take reps with every quarterback," he said. "I'm rotating with all the quarterbacks and that's how it's going to be throughout camp. What I have to do is make sure I'm prepared and get open on the route whoever the quarterback is."
Gronkowski said Thursday's session, and every session this summer, are important for building more chemistry with Garoppolo, and it was imperative to get that going from the very first snap. Without taking anything from Brady, Gronkowski said he likes the power and accuracy of Garoppolo's throws and how the young passer can move the pocket and buy extra time with his legs.
Asked if Jimmy G is a better scrambler than Tom Brady, Gronk couldn't help himself: "No one makes better scrambled eggs than me."
Breakfast chatter aside, those are just a few of the elements of Garoppolo's game that fuel the Patriots' confidence in the quarterback.
"We're super confident in whoever is in there. That's what practice and training camp are for; for everyone to get on the same page," Gronk added. "It's great to get our feet wet a little bit and get reps with all three quarterbacks. So far it's going well, but a lot to improve on for sure. I can improve my game."
And with that, the talk shifted back to his two drops, still bothering the man who found the end zone 11 times last season (and had just one drop to his name throughout the season). Gronkowski admitted that he's not in tip-top football shape just yet, but really, neither is anyone else.
"It's always tough to get back into football shape. I won't lie and say I'm in top-notch football shape. No chance. I don't think anyone can be in football shape when you first get out there. That's what training camp is for," he said with that Gronkowski smile.