Steelers face tough task in defending Patriots’ tight end tandem
PITTSBURGH 鈥� The Patriots have a tight end tandem again, and it has made an already potent offense even more dangerous.
Ever since the demise of Aaron Hernandez, New England has lacked a formidable No. 2 tight end to compliment Rob Gronkowski in the passing attack. Gronkowski and Hernandez were focal points of the Patriots offense for years, combining to produce as much as 32.5 percent of the team蘑菇视频 yards from scrimmage during the 2011 season.
Gronkowski continued to be ever since, but the field just got a lot more open for him with the recent addition of Martellus Bennett.
Bennett was acquired from the Chicago Bears during the off-season in exchange for a fourth-round pick and swap of sixth-round selections. He蘑菇视频 another big-bodied, Pro Bowl caliber player that can stretch the field and keep defenses honest.
鈥淭hey finally just got the tandem that they wanted at tight end,鈥� Ryan Shazier said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they had it the last few years. Now, they can use the tight ends the way they want and you have to respect everybody on the field.鈥�
The Patriots use them in a variety of ways. Gronkowski can line up at the his traditional tight end position at the line of scrimmage, or he can split out wide. They motion him outside pre-snap, and even line him up in the backfield; Bennett a la the same.
The pair have combined for 39 catches, 644 yards and five touchdowns this season, and that蘑菇视频 with Gronkowski missing three games and the Patriots playing with a pair of backup quarterbacks in four of their six games.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 definitely a very unique challenge because most of the time you鈥檒l be able to identify most two tight end sets; one guy is strictly the blocker and one guy is the receiving tight end,鈥� Arthur Moats said. 鈥淏ut with both of those guys, their receiving capabilities are definitely elite to say the least.鈥�
Bennett can break out of his route with a shimmy or juke move that appears effortless 鈥� almost like a 6-foot-7, 270-pound receiver 鈥� while Gronkowski is more of a physical, combat-catch-type of player that can hurt opponents in the red zone. It蘑菇视频 a tough combination to defend. But in terms of Gronkowski, jamming him at the line of scrimmage and disrupting the timing of his routes is one way defenders can attempt to defend him.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 extremely important,鈥� Moats said, who has repeatedly faced Gronkowski dating back to his days with the Bills. 鈥淎nybody that has played against Gronk, you know that is the one thing that he doesn鈥檛 do the best. But at the same time, if you miss him or don鈥檛 have that type of success he蘑菇视频 able to have a lot of success on you.鈥�
Gronkowski torched the Steelers secondary for 94 yards and three touchdowns on five catches in Week 1 of last season. But that was a long time ago, however, against a vastly different Steelers secondary than its current makeup.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really think it蘑菇视频 a secondary thing. I think it was more of a team defensive issue. I think we鈥檝e got some things in place that will help us get lined up and ready,鈥� Mike Mitchell said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got a core set of four guys back there that have all been playing together for a while now. The communication is better, and I think it will be critical in this football game.鈥�