Rob Gronkowski Has A Plan To Improve Nonexistent Red Zone Production

We did not get the chance to see the Gronk Spike this season. Rob Gronkowski turned this into his trademark end-zone spike. The tight end needed 91 games to make 70 receiving touchdowns, and this rate only goes with four Hall of Fame wide receivers. Yes, he is that good.

Rob Gronkowski is a virtual non-factor in the red zone this season. He was able to catch a 21-yard touchdown pass in the game against the Houston Texans, but have not scored since. If you think better, Gronk has zero catches in the red zone.

The Patriots are getting ready for the Chicago Bears, and Gronk was asked about the eye-opening lack of production. “It is what it is. First off, I’ve got to get open. I’ve got to get out there and run better routes, and then I’ll start seeing more targets – whatever the play is called,” the tight end said.

Well, Gronkowski’s red zone disappearance is not his fault. He sure gets a lot of attention from opposing defenses and sees double-teams in the 20-yard line. Gronk is considered the Patriots’ most dangerous red zone threat.

This extra attention opens up other players in the offensive line, too. The Patriots have scored a touchdown on 68 percent of their red zone trips this season. quarterback Tom Brady has thrown a touchdown pass to six pass-catchers that do not include Gronk.

“I mean, we’re scoring down there. Whatever I have to do to help out the team, even if the ball’s not going my way, I’ve just got to do … We’ve got so many other great players, you’ve got to focus on them, too. We’ve got (James) White, (Josh) Gordon, Julian (Edelman), (Chris) Hogan, Sony (Michel). We’ve just got so many good players out there that you’ve got to watch out for them, too. I don’t mind that,” Gronk said.

“You’ve got to get a good release off of press coverage. I’ve seen wide receivers, watched them before, and every time they get a good release, they get open pretty much a lot of the time. So, I would say sometimes I really haven’t been doing that, sometimes I have. So, just got to keep working on it and keep getting better,” the tight end added.