Does Gronk have a legitimate beef with the refs?
— -- New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski leads the NFL with five accepted offensive pass interference calls this season. That's a lot, but is the 6-foot-6, 265-pound beast being "targeted" by league officials? New England seems to think so. According to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Gronk rarely extends his arms to create separation -- and the tight end himself has given his own (brief) thoughts on the matter.
Were the penalties justified or an overreaction to a player too big and strong for the defenders assigned to cover him?
Let's turn to the film for the answers.
OPI No. 1: Week 3 vs. Jaguars, First Quarter (4:29)
The Patriots ran a basic route combination with Gronkowski working up the field on an intermediate curl route, while a running back bursts to the flat. Here's a look at where Gronkowski and cornerback Davon House are at the top of the TE's route (or the "break point"):
There's obvious contact down the field, which impacts House. But Gronk never truly extends the arms in this situation. Because House's hips aren't square and his knees aren't bent, he's already playing off balance. And with the raw strength of Gronkowski, the result is very predictable: House is going to go flying back. Boom. Goodbye.
From the perspective of the ref, this is an easy call to make -- by the letter of the law -- once he sees House tumble. But because of the technique I see from House and the complete size mismatch between the two players (House is listed at 6-foot, 196 pounds), this isn't a preventable situation at all. In fact, I would keep the flag in my pocket and tell House to sink his hips and play lower next time -- before Gronk gets him again.
Verdict: Questionable call
OPI No. 2: Week 3 vs. Jaguars, Third Quarter (9:51)
Later in the game against Jacksonville, the Patriots came back to the same route combination; they just flipped the formation to dress it up (welcome to the Patriots' offense). This time, House walks up to the line to play "press coverage" against Gronkowski. I put that in quotes, because the DB really just went for a ride. On the tape, House fails to truly impact the release and is actually holding on to keep his balance, like a guy trying to stay up and avoid getting trampled in the Running of the Bulls.
Is there contact? Yeah, plenty. Is Gronk initiating it? Heck no. They both are. That's what press coverage is. But when House continues to hold on down the field, how can the refs throw the flag on Gronk? That's a bad call in another situation where the bigger man gets penalized for the smaller man playing with poor technique. If anything, House should have been called for defensive holding.
Verdict: Questionable call
OPI No. 3: Week 8 vs. Dolphins, Second Quarter (00:34)
At the end of the first half against Miami, the Patriots ran a classic red zone route combination, with the outside receiver on the corner route and Gronkowski running the short curl, while safety Reshad Jones waits for the tight end on the goal line (see diagram below).
Given that Jones is square and in the proper football position to challenge Gronkowski, he owns the title to that real estate on the field. It's paid for, in cash. No mortgage. That's why Gronk can't run into Jones like he is attacking the old-school four-man wedge on kickoff coverage.
Gronkowski does extend his arms (key point), and that creates a lot of separation. So the flags come out, taking a touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Julian Edelman off the board. The right call?
Verdict: You're guilty here, Gronk
OPI No. 4: Week 10 vs. Giants, Second Quarter (8:08)
On a third-down situation against the Giants, the Patriots called for Gronkowski to run an underneath option route on safety Trevin Wade: Work up the field, break outside toward the boundary and create enough separation for a Brady to throw a high-percentage pass. But with Wade having walked up to use a "catch" or "taxi" technique, there is going to be contact. A lot of contact.
For starters, playing Gronk with a catch technique -- in which the DB contacts the receiver after the initial route -- is a really poor idea. Gronk is too strong for that stuff. Secondly, Wade is making the initial contact in this situation. But instead of using his arms to press out on Gronkowski, he allows the tight end to get inside on his frame and plays way too high at the point of attack.
Yeah, you know the result here: Wade gets almost lifted off the ground, and Gronk puts him on skates before separating to make the grab. Is this another situation of Gronk extending the arms or are we looking at a play where Wade's technique and footwork are completely exposed? Hey, the refs see a guy getting thrown up in the air and the flag is coming. But just as defenders are entitled to space on the field, so is Gronk. Walking up to play press or using a catch technique is a cool idea, but you better be ready for what happens next. OPI? Nah. That's just another mismatch.
Verdict: Questionable call
OPI No. 5: Week 12 vs. Broncos, Fourth Quarter (5:22)
Late in the fourth quarter of the Patriots' loss to Denver on Sunday night, Gronkowski ran a quick-out route against safety David Bruton. At the top of the route, both players are making contact as Bruton gets his hands up on the chest/shoulder of Gronkowski, and the Patriots tight end sticks an elbow into the mix. But when Gronkowski begins to separate on the outside cut, there is a small extension of the elbow (or arm).
Is there enough there to throw the flag? Eh. That's good, physical football in my book and a really bad call on Gronkowski in a situation where two players were simply competing.
Verdict: Questionable call
Is the NFL "targeting" Gronkowski?
A beef? Sure. Targeting? Slow down.
After reviewing these five accepted OPI calls on Gronkowski this season, I believe the Patriots tight end has a legitimate beef. I saw only one play where it was obvious that a flag needed to be thrown. The rest? All suspect when you watch closely.
But saying that league officials are truly targeting Gronkowski is a stretch. Instead, I don't think the NFL refs have any idea of how to handle a player like Gronk. It's a lot like what we saw with Shaquille O'Neal back in the 1990s when a defender would go flying, Shaq would get nailed for an offensive foul, and just raise his arms like, "What'd I do?" The end result always looked worse than it was because of the sheer size difference between the two players involved. If a guy gets back on his heels against Gronk from a press position, forget about it. The defender is toast. There is just too much size, strength and power from Gronk to throw some poor technique out there.
To ask Gronk to change his style of play is ridiculous. Maybe the officials will catch up, maybe they won't. But one thing is for certain: Defensive backs better get those knees bent and be ready to battle Gronk. They can't always count on the refs to bail them out.
ESPN.com analyst Matt Bowen played safety for seven seasons in the NFL.
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