Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski's Status For Sunday's NFL Opener Uncertain
By Abraham Gutierrez
Despite publicly telling reporters that he would play in Sunday’s regular-season opener against the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick clarified in a Tuesday conference that the status of tight end Rob Gronkowski remains uncertain.
In true Belichick fashion, the three-time NFL Coach of the Year dismissed the Gronk’s comments, categorizing them as “optimistic” while refusing to make any announcements regarding his status for Sunday’s AFC East clash.
“With all due respect to Rob that he feels the way he does, but in the end we will have to make the decision that we feel is best for the team,” he said. “I’m glad that Rob is optimistic about his situation. We will go through a week of practice, look at everything and everybody and see where everybody is at and try to do what’s best for the team.”
Gronkowski, who’s coming off ACL surgery last January, missed last year’s playoffs and the Pats' four preseason games. Less than 24 hours ago, the two-time Pro Bowler assured media members that he would play in the Pats’ intradivision clash with the Fins in South Florida.
“I’m ready to go. I’ll be playing,” he said while reporters gathered in front of his locker room Monday morning. The former second-round NFL Draft pick also spoke about his long rehab process and how satisfying it was to be cleared to play in Week 1.
“It feels good,” Gronkowski added. “It’s really a lot of hard work and dedication from Day 1, and the dedication and hard work isn’t stopping. Every single day is a grind and it was for sure, no doubt about it.
“So just basically it feels good to be out here this week, preparing for the Dolphins, knowing that I’ve put myself in the best situation the last few weeks, few months, to get back out here, and that was my plan the whole time, to work as hard as I could so I’d be ready for this week.”
Coincidentally, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels also echoed Gronkowski’s optimistic comments during Tuesday’s presser. Much like Belichick, however, the former Broncos head coach wasn’t ready to anoint his star tight end as Sunday’s starter.
“We are going to go in there and try to do the right thing to win the game this week and worry about going forward next week,"” McDaniels said. “Ultimately, at the beginning of the season, you are trying to go out there and let your team be aggressive, play football and try to do something they know how to do.
“There’s always some unknowns that are going to come up on opening day. We are just going to go out there and try to put together a solid plan with all our guys and let our players play fast and aggressive.”
Bitten by the injury bug, Gronkowski is coming off his worse statistical season as an NFL pro. The 25-year-old from Amherst, N.Y., will be looking to bounce back after posting his lowest numbers in terms of games played (7), receptions (39) and touchdowns (4).
Last year, the Gronk also registered the second-lowest total in terms of yards with 592 yards – that’s just 46 yards more than his career-worst, 546 yards during his rookie campaign (2010).
There’s no question that Gronkowski is pivotal part of the Patriots offensive scheme, and therefore, his status for Week 1 is something Joe Philbin and the Dolphins will be keeping a very close eye on.
Whether he’s 100 percent coming off reconstructive knee surgery remains to be seen. However, no one can dispute the fact that his mere presence on the field has an impact on defensive preparations.
According to the Dolphins third-year head coach, the squad is “fully prepared” for Gronkowski to start Sunday at Sun Life Stadium.
“We saw he’s on the 53-man roster so you have to be prepared for every combination,” said Philbin.
In addition, defensive coordinator, Kevin Coyle, also stressed the importance of game planning for a player like Gronkowski and the unique talent set his presents. Entering his third year as Dolphins DC, the former Bengals (cornerbacks) coach broke down just some of the problems the 6-foot-6, 265-pound tight end presents on a weekly basis.
“Any of the big tight ends you face, guys of that caliber (who) can create mismatches in man-to-man, body up against smaller defensive backs or even small linebackers, (that’s) an issue,” he stated. “(Gronkowski) has also been a big target for them in the red zone, so if he plays and how much he plays – we don’t know how much that will be – that’s not going to change what we do.”
Opening kickoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Eastern Time from Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., and Dolphins fans can watch all the action live on CBS Sports (Miami-4). Even with Gronkowski's status uncertain, the Miami Dolphins are listed as five-point underdogs at home versus the hated New England Patriots.
For more Dolphins news and updates, visit Dolphins Central.
Abe Gutierrez is a criminal justice admin whose love for sports led him to become a writer and editor. His expertise make him a valued addition to Examiner.com and its partners. His work can be found on Examiner.com. .