Patriots' tight ends will challenge Giants
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, right, gains yardage as he is brought down by New York Giants outside linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka and outside linebacker Michael Boley in the first half. (Nov. 6, 2011) Credit: AP
One after the other they have come at the Giants. Some of them are in the prime of their careers, others are emerging stars, and still others are sure-thing Hall of Famers. For the most part, the Giants were able to contain them.
They are the tight ends, the new must-have offensive weapon in pro football. The strong ones whom the Giants have had to go against in recent weeks reads like an All-Pro ballot -- Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez, Jermichael Finley and Vernon Davis. In Super Bowl XLVI, however, the Giants won't have to worry about one of the Patriots' tight ends.
They'll have to worry about two of them.
New England features Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez as a tight end duo and two of Tom Brady's favorite targets. Gronkowski caught 90 passes for 1,327 yards and set a regular-season record for the position with 17 touchdowns. He's caught three more touchdown passes in the playoffs. Hernandez had 79 catches for 910 yards and seven TDs in the regular season. He's caught 11 passes in two playoff games, and the Patriots also have given him eight rushing attempts in those two games.
"From week to week it's been a similar thing for us as far as our game plan," linebacker Michael Boley said of having to handle tight ends. "It has always been about 'These are the guys that we have to stop going into the game.' We always have a list of targeted guys that can make a game. For the tight ends, it has been a long list of them lately, and it's kind of one of those things that we embrace. We love the challenge."
The Giants may be better equipped than many teams to match up with the Patriots' tight ends. In their Nov. 6 game, they used one of their athletic linebackers -- Boley or rookie Jacquian Williams -- on Gronkowski and treated Hernandez more like a receiver and covered him with a safety. That worked . . . somewhat.
Hernandez caught four passes for 35 yards and Gronkowkski had eight catches for 101 yards. Each scored a touchdown.
"I think we did OK," Boley said. "They did not have breakout games as far as stat-wise, but they both made some plays on us during the last game."
The Giants have tried different techniques to stop tight ends during the last month, but they may need all of them available for the Super Bowl. Gronkowski injured his left ankle in the AFC Championship Game and his status is unclear, but it's expected that he will play. His speed and agility may be dampened, but his 6-6, 265-pound frame won't be any less imposing.
"There are many ways that you can try to take away those guys," said safety Antrel Rolle, who was in coverage against Davis on Sunday on his 77-yard touchdown. "Those guys are exceptional tight ends and they've been Brady's go-to guys all year long along with Wes Welker. They present a great challenge no matter how you look at it."
Ultimately, Rolle said, whatever scheme the Giants decide to use, the key will be in the execution.
"No matter what you try to do, you have to go out there and do the job," he said. "You have to do the job that's at hand. It's going to be a battle. It's going to be a battle each play."
And probably not just one but two at a time.
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