As he prepares to face a Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown, head coach Mike Zimmer’s mind drifts to how he’s going to stop the tight end.
Rob Gronkowski will do that to a defensive-minded coach.
“We may have to have more than one guy on him,” Zimmer said.
Devoting multiple defenders to a tight end against a proficient receiving corps? Seems unorthodox. Then again, this is Gronkowski we’re dealing with here, and the Vikings may be without their top coverage linebacker in Eric Kendricks.
The 31-year-old Gronkowski remains among the most physically imposing pass-catchers in football. The former Patriot is seventh amongst tight ends in receiving yards (505) with four touchdowns on the season. Kendricks, though, has been a tight end eraser as one of the best coverage linebackers in football the last two years. He missed practice Wednesday and Thursday after aggravating a calf injury before Sunday’s game vs. Jacksonville, leaving his status for Sunday in serious doubt.
Kendricks’ absence would leave a gaping void. His 60.5 passer rating against leads all linebackers with at least 50% of snaps and his 0.71 yards per cover snap ranks ninth. Against tight ends this season, Kendricks has only allowed eight receptions for 107 yards. Without him against the Jaguars, Jacksonville tight ends combined for 10 catches, 86 yards. And Gronk is more talented than Tyler Eifert or James O’Shaughnessy.
The Tom Brady-Gronk reunion in Florida has been a success. The injury-prone tight end has stayed healthy after taking a year off, starting all 12 games. While his 1,000-yard receiving seasons may be a thing of the past, Gronkowski might be the piece of Tampa’s offense Brady is most familiar with as the 43-year-old quarterback learns to navigate Bruce Arians’ scheme.
Whether he’s running routes in foggy Foxborough or sunny Tampa, getting Gronkowski matched up against a linebacker usually leads to big things. Gronkowski has 13 catches for 216 yards against linebackers this season, 16.6 yards per reception.
“It’s tough [covering him],” Zimmer said. “You’ve gotta be in really good position, he uses his hands really well to ward you off. He’s a big, strong guy, catches the ball extremely well, is running good routes. It’s very difficult. You can bang him at the line, but then he’s strong enough and physical enough to get away from you. I’ve seen a lot of different guys try to cover him different ways.”
Gronkowski is coming off a six-catch, 106-yard effort against the Kansas City Chiefs in Tampa Bay’s last game before the bye. When the Vikings faced him last, however, they slowed him to the tune of three catches for 26 yards in a 2018 loss at New England.
“Yeah, you have to study versus Gronk, he’s a great player,” said Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson. “I think him and the quarterback obviously have that connection from being together. And I think what’s obviously what sets him apart is just his big body. He has a big wide frame and Brady likes his big targets, so I think that’s something to take note of and be prepared for and be able to defend him wherever. I think that they’re in general a talented offense and talented personnel, a good coach, so you have to be pretty prepared for anything.’’
Whether Gronkowski sees a bigger role out of the Bucs’ bye week has yet to be determined, but the Buccaneers may be undergoing some self-examination following two straight losses where their offense — and particularly Brady — looked out of sync. No Buccaneers skill players have quite fulfilled the sky-high preseason expectations that were set when Brady, a six-time Super Bowl champion, signed on to be Tampa’s quarterback. Mike Evans is on pace to miss out on a 1,000-yard season for the first time in his career, Chris Godwin missed four games with an injury, and it’s been slow-going for newcomers Leonard Fournette and Antonio Brown.
One reason: Brady’s deep passing has been problematic. Despite the second-most deep attempts in the NFL, Brady has the 12th-lowest adjusted completion percentage (38.5%) and seventh-lowest passer rating (75.1) on those throws. He is 5-of-26 throwing deep the last six weeks with four interceptions.
Just don’t expect Zimmer to call out the failures of the 20-year vet.
“That’s not necessarily a real high-percentage throw if you’re throwing the ball [deep],” Zimmer said. “I don’t think those are high-percentage throws. Obviously, he’s got great receivers, Mike Evans is a big, tall, long guy that can go up and get the football, Godwin can get down the field, [Scotty] Miller can get down the field.”
The bye week could yield a transformed offensive approach for Tampa Bay. After two defeats that have the Bucs suddenly clinging to their wild card spot, it’s a safe bet that they may veer back to quicker, shorter throws that make Brady most comfortable. What better time to utilize one of his favorite New England targets against a defense potentially missing its tight end stopper? Kendricks’ calf can’t heal fast enough.