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Imagine being a defender trying to deal with Patriots tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
Tough assignment, huh? Well, sure, but not even the Patriots’ defense is immune.
“They’re great players. Going against them in practice, we see those nightmares, too,” said Patriots’ cornerback Kyle Arrington. “We just try to compete against them and we love watching them from the defensive side on game day. But they help us get better in practice and preparing for whatever tight ends we’re playing because this league has a lot of good ones.”
Yet none of the tight ends in the NFL has outshone the Patriots’ pair. As a combo, Gronkowski and Hernandez set an NFL record in 2011 with 169 receptions – 90 by Gronkowski – and the 2,237 yards they amassed were far and away the most in league history. They combined for 24 touchdowns – a record 17 by Gronkowski. Each has had more than five touchdowns in his first two seasons, something no other tight ends tandem has done. It’s fair to say that they’ve revolutionized the position.
It’s not just that Gronkowski and Hernandez have been so good as a team, but they’ve also had a ripple effect on their teammates.
“I’m glad they’re with us. That’s a good thing,” said wide receiver Deion Branch. “Those guys do a great job isolating certain guys, pretty much causing the defense to focus on them. They (defense) have to pick and choose. The defense has to figure out what is their game plan, what are they planning on going in and focusing on.”
Late in the season, the tight ends threw a wrinkle into their repertoire. Coach Bill Belichick started using Hernandez as a running back. In the AFC Division Championship, he rushed five times for a Pats-best 61 yards.
“I wish I had his moves,” Gronkowski said. “He can really juke it.”
“It’s great having a tight end, especially like him,” said Hernandez in returning the compliment. “He can do it all. “That makes it that much easier on me. If he’s not here, then it’s obviously going to be a lot tougher on me and he draws so much attention for how big he is, how physical, his speed. So, it makes it a lot easier on me to make me into a better player.”
Before he hurt his left ankle in the AFC Championship against the Ravens, Gronkowski had set numerous NFL records this season, including yards by a tight end (1,327) and touchdowns (17). He became the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 20 touchdowns, doing it in 26 games.
Imagine being a defender trying to deal with Patriots tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
Tough assignment, huh? Well, sure, but not even the Patriots’ defense is immune.
“They’re great players. Going against them in practice, we see those nightmares, too,” said Patriots’ cornerback Kyle Arrington. “We just try to compete against them and we love watching them from the defensive side on game day. But they help us get better in practice and preparing for whatever tight ends we’re playing because this league has a lot of good ones.”
Yet none of the tight ends in the NFL has outshone the Patriots’ pair. As a combo, Gronkowski and Hernandez set an NFL record in 2011 with 169 receptions – 90 by Gronkowski – and the 2,237 yards they amassed were far and away the most in league history. They combined for 24 touchdowns – a record 17 by Gronkowski. Each has had more than five touchdowns in his first two seasons, something no other tight ends tandem has done. It’s fair to say that they’ve revolutionized the position.
It’s not just that Gronkowski and Hernandez have been so good as a team, but they’ve also had a ripple effect on their teammates.
“I’m glad they’re with us. That’s a good thing,” said wide receiver Deion Branch. “Those guys do a great job isolating certain guys, pretty much causing the defense to focus on them. They (defense) have to pick and choose. The defense has to figure out what is their game plan, what are they planning on going in and focusing on.”
Late in the season, the tight ends threw a wrinkle into their repertoire. Coach Bill Belichick started using Hernandez as a running back. In the AFC Division Championship, he rushed five times for a Pats-best 61 yards.
“I wish I had his moves,” Gronkowski said. “He can really juke it.”
“It’s great having a tight end, especially like him,” said Hernandez in returning the compliment. “He can do it all. “That makes it that much easier on me. If he’s not here, then it’s obviously going to be a lot tougher on me and he draws so much attention for how big he is, how physical, his speed. So, it makes it a lot easier on me to make me into a better player.”
Before he hurt his left ankle in the AFC Championship against the Ravens, Gronkowski had set numerous NFL records this season, including yards by a tight end (1,327) and touchdowns (17). He became the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 20 touchdowns, doing it in 26 games.
It’s hard to believe that they’re second-year players who have progressed together.
“It’s pretty impressive at a young age to be able to do that,” said quarterback Tom Brady. “They don’t really feel like second-year players to me. They just feel like the tight ends in our offense that are expected to go out and do what they’ve been doing.”
Through it all, the pair has become best buddies, pushing each other on the field, bonding off it, yet they never felt they were in a competition with each other.
“What is crazy is we are not (trying to beat each other),”
Hernandez said. “I have always been competitive in my life. I would say we are so close, we are more like brothers. A lot of people just say that to say it, but we really are. We are really close and we love each other and we have a great relationship.”
“It was definitely weird at first,” said Gronkowski of their first workouts with the Pats. “We always knew about each other and everything, but it has been two years now. We are buddies now, we are good buddies.”
