Prior to the NFC Championship Game, I wrote about how to successfully throw towards Richard Sherman.
Today I am going to write about how Sherman and the Seattle defence can shut down New England’s biggest threat, Rob Gronkowski, in this weekend’s Super Bowl.
It is safe to say that the Patriots’ chances hinge on the health and effectiveness of ‘The Gronk’. They lost Super Bowl XLVI partly because Gronk was not one hundred per cent and their 2012 and 2013 campaigns were derailed by injuries to Tom Brady’s biggest target.
What makes Gronkowski such a threat is his ability to line up anywhere on the field and his size. At 6’6″ and 120 kilograms it is near impossible for linebackers to defend him when he lines up in a traditional tight end role. When he lines up in the slot he just blows past cornerbacks who try to jam him at the line.
It is unlikely, however, that Gronkowski will have an easy ride during the Super Bowl. Seattle possess the best defence in the entire league and one of the best secondaries in the history of the NFL. They are that good.
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When the two teams clashed in 2012 the Seahawks were able to restrict Gronkowski to just six catches and 61 yards. This was, however, in a time when Brady had a number of other targets, including Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker. Depending on how you look at it, this is either a good thing for the Patriots or a disaster.
On the one hand the fact that the Seahawks contained Gronkowski when they had so many other targets to shut down suggests that Seattle should have no problems shutting him down now that he is the primary receiver.
On the other hand Gronkowski only had six catches because Brady was not targeting him that much. Now that he is the Patriots’ number one receiver he will be a threat on every passing play.
The task of shutting down Gronkowski is likely to land with Kam Chancellor, the strong safety out of Virginia Tech. The 26-year-old is 6’3″ and 105 kilograms and one of the few safeties in the game to possess a body big enough to slow Gronkowski. And that is the key to shutting down Rob Gronkowski.
The best way to slow Gronkowski is to stop him before he gets moving. Shut him down at the line of scrimmage and he has nowhere to go. Zone defences are a waste of time against him; you might as well play without a secondary if you’re going to do that.
Off-man coverage isn’t effective because you’re giving Gronkowski too much time to get moving and run his right before you actually start defending him. The chances of him blowing straight past you are too high.
The teams who have successfully slowed Gronkowski over the past five years are the teams that have put defensive linemen in front of him when he lines up in the traditional tight end position. There is then a safety waiting for him once he fights past the defensive linemen. Here he is immediately jammed and not allowed to run his route with any freedom whatsoever.
Chancellor will be required to effectively mug him. Use more contact than is usually allowed, keep the tight press and push the boundaries of what the officiating crew are willing to penalise. In such a big game it is not unreasonable to expect the referees to keep the flags in their pockets and the Seattle secondary has to take full advantage of this.
If Chancellor is not defending Gronkowski in press coverage there is one situation in which the Seahawks can defend using zone coverage. If and only if a linebacker or cornerback is defending in-man coverage then Chancellor can play zone coverage across the middle of the field. If the linebacker or cornerback is doing his job then Chancellor will have chances to jump routes and deflect or intercept Tom Brady’s passes.
However, if Gronkowski blows right past his defender it is unlikely that Chancellor will be able to recover in time to get across to Gronkowski and shut him down. Tom Brady is simply too good a player to not get the ball to Gronkowski in time.
For the second year in a row, the Super Bowl is a battle between one of the best offences in the league and the best defence in the league. We all know how that turned out. If the Seahawks are to achieve the same result as last year they must start by shutting down Rob Gronkowski, a feat far easier said than done.
Twitter: @fromthesheds
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