Pats' favorite play: Getting ball to Gronk
Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots catches a pass against the Denver Broncos during their AFC Divisional Playoff Game at Gillette Stadium. (Jan. 14, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
Bill Belichick has long been one of the NFL's most progressive coaches, always scheming to find new ways to attack the game on both offense and defense. There may be no better example than his use of All-Pro Rob Gronkowski, who in just two seasons has become the league's most dominant receiving tight end.
Gronkowski, who had a spectacular regular season (90 catches, 1,327 yards, 17 touchdowns), suffered a high ankle sprain against the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game, and it's uncertain how effective he can be in the Super Bowl. That said, the Giants will undoubtedly key on him.
The Patriots realize Gronkowski's unique skill set and find plenty of ways to get him the ball. He can go over the middle, run the deep out, the fade, and the "hitch'' route, where he runs up the field, stops, turns and makes the catch.
One of his preferred routes is about as simple as it can get: running upfield in a zone coverage, finding the seam -- or opening -- and making the catch on the run. It's the pattern he ran on one of his three first-half touchdowns in the Patriots' 45-10 win over the Broncos in the divisional playoffs.
Gronkowski lines up between the left tackle and the outside receiver. Once the ball is snapped, he runs straight upfield, reading the secondary to see how he will be covered. In this case, the Broncos are in a zone defense, so Gronkowski's job is to find the seam in the coverage.
Gronkowski sprints straight ahead, and then opts to make a slight move toward the middle, called a "skinny post." On a traditional post pattern, the move to the middle is on a sharper angle; on a skinny post, the angle is less severe.
Gronkowski finds the perfect spot -- behind the linebackers and in front of the defensive backs -- and quarterback Tom Brady delivers a ball that Gronkowski catches and then takes into the end zone.
The Giants will have to be wary of Gronkowski's ability to alter his routes based on the coverages. If, for example, the Giants blitz a linebacker who would otherwise be covering Gronkowski -- in most cases, Michael Boley -- then Brady can respond by throwing a "hot read" to Gronkowski. A "hot read," or a throw a quarterback makes in response to a blitz, is a quick-strike play. So if Gronkowski was initially slated to make that longer run on the seam route and the Giants blitzed, he would adjust by looking for Brady's pass on a much shorter route so that Brady can get rid of the ball quickly.
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