Bill Belichick lauds Rob Gronkowski for being 'underrated' leader
Rob Gronkowski is widely regarded as a fun-loving tight end who's incredibly talented, yet also hilarious. It's not often he gets attention for being a leader in New England, but Bill Belichick sees a different side than the public does.
Belichick was asked to describe Gronkowski's role as a leader in the locker room for the Patriots on Wednesday, and here's what he had to say via WEEI:
Probably underrated. He doesn’t really sometimes come across in that role but what I see, Rob’s very attentive, very coachable. You tell him what you want him to do, he works very hard to do it the way you want it done. He’s a smart football player. He understands leverage, he understands position, he understands technique. He understands the concept of what you’re trying to do. We move him around at lot of different positions. He has a really a lot to learn.
Tom Brady gets most of the attention as a leader for the Patriots, and rightfully so. The quarterback is always expected to be an important guy in the huddle and in the locker room, but he's not the only one according to Belichick.
Belichick gives him a lot of credit for how he handles the challenge of playing tight end for the Patriots.
Probably other than the quarterback, the tight end position on our offense is the hardest to play because you have all the protections, all the running game and you have routes from sideline to the middle of the field to occasionally even in the backfield. There’s really no plays off mentally for that position. His work ethic, his ability to work with his teammates, whether it’s the quarterback, the offensive tackles, the other tight ends or even with the defensive players is good. He’s really a great guy to have on the team. Forget about the talent and all that. Just the way he goes about his job, the way he works, trains in the weight room, his physical conditioning, his mental concentration and focus and desire to be well and do well and improve are very, very good.
Gronk has always made his presence felt on the field by dominating opposing defenders and spiking footballs after scoring touchdowns each week. Now, maybe everyone will take him more serious as a leader for New England after hearing Belichick's praise for Gronk.
(h/t WEEI)