Rob Gronkowski: Will he play? What his injury means to the New England Patriots – Part 2
Continued from Part 1.....
Gronkowski’s return to the field though on limited basis added to the delight of the Patriots. Gronkowski is needed out there on the field by the Patriots to win the Super Bowl game. He has been impressive in his performance lately.
Against the Denver Broncos he played an important part in leading his team to victory as he scored three touchdowns and took ten catches for 145 yards. Gronkowski and Brady both had the game turned against Tim Tebow and the Broncos.
However the status of Gronkowski is not certain for sure.
Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick, who earlier on had been optimistic about his presence in Super Bowl, was delighted after Thursday’s practice but still could not be 100 percent certain about his chances for this Sunday’s game.
“It was good. It was fine. We’ll see where he is tomorrow -- whether that set him back, whether it didn’t and whether he’s able to continue to progress on a daily basis. But it was a good test for him, too, at least. At least he was out here and did some
things to see how it feels. We’ll see how it goes.” Belichick said.
Gronkowski joined the Patriots in 2010 and went on to score ten touchdowns in his first rookie year and had 42 receiving for 546 yards.
This season he has done much better with 17 touchdowns to his credit along with 90 receiving for 1,327 yards.
There are many other reasons why the Patriots would definitely want to have Gronkowski out there, especially against the Giants.
Gronkowski in week nine game against the Giants proved his worth when the Giants could not be effective against him as they usually are against tight ends.
Gronkowski was impressive as he had eight receptions for 101 yards and scored a touchdown against them.
It would greatly help the Giants if Gronkowski does not play against them.
One more important reason for Gronkowski’s presence appears to be the strong relationship he enjoys with Brady. Brady has been pretty good when he is throwing to Gronkowski.
Brady has a passer rating of 141.1 when he is throwing to Gronkowski. Both have helped the Patriots score 20 touchdowns this season while passing for 1,537 yards.
The Patriots though are in a position to cope with the loss of their tight end who is currently listed as "day-to-day" by the head coach.
Aaron Hernandez as a replacement can prove to be of immense importance and can somewhat account for Gronkowski’s absence even though he may not be equally good as Gronkowski.
If Gronkowski is the leading tight end in NFL, then Hernandez on the other hand is not far away. He stands among the top fine in NFL with regards to touchdowns, receptions and yards by a tight end.
Hernandez has had 79 receptions for 910 yards this season and has seven touchdowns to his credit. Hernandez can no doubt provide a tough time to the Giants.
The 22-year-old Hernandez like Gronkowski joined the Patriots side in 2010 and went on to take 45 receptions for 563 yards in his rookie year with six touchdowns.
Even if Gronkowski is able to play, he is less likely to come up with the same performance due to the impact that the ankle sprain will have on him on the field.
High ankle sprains like the one that Gronkowski has suffered usually take a long time, usually more than four weeks to recover. So, the injury is sure to nag Gronkowski in case he plays this Sunday.
You can view live coverage and analysis of the Super Bowl XLVI by http://answers.bettor.com/Users/Robert-California-u3050 on Sunday,
11:00pm, GMT
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