name a defender that can prevent gronk from catching the ball. as soon as he gets his hands on it all he has to do is throw cromartie to the ground and run.
He seems to make 1-2 bonehead plays a game where he bites on a fake or double move (usually with bad down and distance awareness) and gives up big plays. I also feel has bad short area quickness ...he can flat out run in a straight line with the best of them, but does not have quick feet. he likes to gamble but i feel like his gambling sucess to fail ratio is like 8:1.
It might happen a bit but that's not really how football works. Rob Gronkowski is a good in-line blocker and it just doesn't make sense schematically to cover Gronk like that. Gronk would maul Cro in run blocking. Safeties or LB's have to cover TE's most of the time, just based on where they line up. They may match Cro up with him if they line him up wide, but it would depend on the other Patriots personnel on the field.
gronk isn't the type of receiver that gives cro problems imo. he's more slow and plodding thank quick and sudden. im not saying hes anothony becht, just hes not julian edleman ... hell ... he's not even aaron hernendez. he wins with size a lot of the time and his size might not be enough for cro. I think he can stay with him and prevent a lot of catches. I'd have a safety bump him and double cover with cro. I agree it's a problem if cro has to tackle him alone but help shouldn't be too far with the DT.
It just doesn't really work like that. Where exactly are you lining up Cro on these plays? If you sub in Williams to cover outside, and put Cro somewhere in the box, who comes out? Gilchrist? Pryor? A linebacker?
what do you mean it doesn't work like that? is there some new rule against double teaming a TE? I'm putting revis on edleman, Skrine on amendola going cover 1 with the stated double team and taking my chances on the other guys beating us.
Where would you line up Cro, and who would sub out? The Patiots run most plays with more than 2 WR's, so Skrine would be on Edelman, Williams and Revis outside on Amendola and Dobson. Then you have Gronk in-line, and 1 RB in the backfield. Assuming our base package will be nickel for most of the Patriots game, someone still has to come out to allow Williams outside.
obviously you pull harris if they go 3 wr or more and want to use the dt I suggested. and I already said I'd have revis on edleman. not sure why you say that's not happening.
Ok, assume you put Skrine and Williams outside and and Revis in the slot on Edelman, although it doesn't matter for this scenario whether Skrine or Revis is in the slot. Are you really telling me that you're giving Mike linebacker responsibilities to Cro if Brady decides to audible to a run play?
I'm saying I'm taking my chances on the pats beating us with the run if I can effectively take gronk out of the game. it's a dime package against 3 wrs & gronk. if lewis wins the game for them so be it obviously we'd have to mix it up but I think this could be an effective approach.
I honestly don't know what to say other than that's ridiculous. You can't sub the Mike linebacker out of the whole game and put a CB in his place. That makes literally no sense. Brady and Belichick would call plays around that so easily..... I'm sorry I'm not trying to be rude but that just plain isn't doable.
I never said I'd do it the whole game. I don't see anything ridiculous about running dime against 3 wide and a TE. I'll bet it happens fairly often. let them call plays.
Yeah, it does, but in specific situations. We're not talking about 3rd and long or prevent defense here, not to mention you probably wouldn't run cover 1 in those scenarios. You might shuffle and put Cro on Gronk when he splits out wide, but what you don't seem to be grasping is that it simply is too easy to call plays taking advantage of a CB trying to cover an in line TE. I mean honestly, Brady would walk to the line, see where Cro was, and either alter the formation or play to manhandle Cro. Let me make it simpler. It's like picking a sword if your opponent still has the option to pick a gun or a sword. In special situations, Cro might cover Gronk, but almost entirely when Gronk is split out or in unique situations with very long yard to gain scenarios.
that was a great play....but that is exactly the reason why pettine and the browns ran the double move with benjamin on him. Pettine knew he would jump it....all it took with benjamins speed was a slight hesitation from cro when he bit and benjamin was by him.
