The Falcons didn’t have to deal with New England tight end Rob Gronkowski in Super Bowl LI.
He was out after undergoing back surgery, and Martellus Bennett started his spot.
Gronkowski, a four-time Pro Bowler, has returned from surgery and is off to a fast start with the Patriots, who are set to host the Falcons at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Gronkowski has 26 catches for 401 yards and four touchdowns.
The Falcons were doing a good job against tight ends until Buffalo’s Charles Clay broke loose for 112 yards on five catches, including a 44-yard pass play. They held Bennett to four catches for 47 yards in the win over the Packers on Sept. 17.
Strong safety Keanu Neal and strongside linebacker DeVondre Campbell will get the bulk of the assignments to defend against Gronkowski.
"Big guy, a matchup nightmare, but I think we match up well against him," Campbell said. "I personally think I match up well against him. But, I'm just looking forward to it. We'll see what happens."
Gronkowski turned in a strong game in the Patriots’ 24-17 win over the Jets on Sunday. He was targeted 10 times and made six catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns. He had a long-gainer of 33 yards.
“Rob does a lot of different things for us,” New England offensive coordinator Josh Daniels said on his Tuesday conference call. “He was in protection the other day. He did some things, some good things in the running game. He was at the point of attack on our goal-line run. He certainly makes an impact in the passing game also. Rob is a guy who is involved in most aspects of the offense.”
The Patriots are aware Neal and Campbell will attempt to defend Gronkowski.
“I think (safety Keanu) Neal and (strongside linebacker DeVondre) Campbell are both very competitive guys ... in coverage for the Falcons,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. “They do a great job.”
Belichick is more concerned about the Falcons’ pass rush, which has the capacity to cut down the time that Neal and Campbell must stay in coverage.
“Again, nobody has very long to get open against this pass rush that Atlanta has,” Belichick said. “In the passing game, we’re going to have to do a great job of not only protecting, but running good routes so that we can create some separation for the quarterback to throw the ball because there is just not a lot of time to get open. We’ll have to move quickly on that.”
The Falcons had a streak of 19 games with at least one sack snapped against Miami, as Jay Cutler did not hold the ball very long. The Falcons were able to swat down seven of his passes.
Quinn is aware of the problems Gronkowski can present. When he was the defensive coordinator for Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX, the Patriots flanked Gronkowski out like a wide receiver, and he broke loose for a 22-yard touchdown.
The Patriots continue to move Gronkowski around looking for mismatches. Quinn contends that Gronkowski’s catching radius makes him special.
Passes to him don’t necessarily have to be on target.
“A play could be really positioning the ball in a spot where only he could catch it,” Quinn said. “He has such good hands to go and make that play. They can split him out wide and use him as a receiver to have that get that kind of a matchup, or he can be on the line to try play-action and be (used) that way.”
The Falcons will prepare for all the ways that Patriots intend to use Gronkowski.
“Lots of times when you have a tight end that’s split out, he’s a fast guy who can’t play on the line a lot,” Quinn said. “Often times when you have a guy who is a big, strong blocker who can play on the line, you don’t have the ability to move out. He’s versatile enough to be both.”
Neal plans to be ready for the challenge.
“He has a reputation of being a great tight end and he is,” Neal said. “He’s a big body, who can run. At the end of the day, just playing our ball. That’s what it boils down to.”
Their ball needs to be much better than when they played Clay and the Bills.
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