Gronkowski On Missed Spike: 'Played It Off Pretty Well'
BOSTON (CBS) - Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski continued where he left off in 2011, scoring his first touchdown of the 2012 season in New England's season opening 34-13 win over the Titans.
But, surprisingly, he needs to work on his patented celebratory spike.
Following his second quarter two-yard score that put the Patriots up 21-3, Gronkowski went to deliver a ferocious spike. The only problem was he didn't have the ball.
"That thing slipped right out," he said with a smile following the game. "I played it off pretty well though."
Gronk On Missed Spike:
Read: 4 Ups, 4 Downs
Once he realized there was nothing to spike, Gronk chose to celebrate with his incoming teammates rather than try for a second attempt on the spike.
"I wasn't going to go grab it. Did I play it off well? Ok cool," he said to reporters, noting he's never whiffed on a spike before.
Overall though, it was a good day for the Patriots and Gronkowski. He hauled in six passes for 60 yards, and helped spring running back Stevan Ridley for a number of long runs thanks to some solid blocking.
"We had a balanced attack and that's always good. You want to have a run game and you want to have a pass game. Today we performed pretty well in both," said Gronkowski.
"You always want to start out with a win. It's always a great way to start," he said. "Overall it was a good game. We have a lot to improve on but that's what this week in practice is for; to fix you errors and move forward."
Stats: Pats-Titans Box Score
As for the spike, after catching a record 17 touchdowns in 2011, Gronkowski will likely get plenty of opportunities to make up for it throughout the season.
"We'll see," he said with a chuckle.
