Super Bowl Predictions 2012: Rob Gronkowski Will Explode with Legendary Game

Rob Gronkowski is going to go down among the legends of the game with an epic performance in the 2012 Super Bowl.

How he's going to do it, I can only imagine.

What I do know, though, is that this guy is an absolute beast, and I expect him to come up big on the NFL's biggest stage.

He's the ultimate NFL tight end, and he may eventually be an all-time great. The way he played this season—with 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns, including 232 yards and three touchdowns in the playoffs—he is well on his way.

Winning a Super Bowl will be the first step.

We'll get into what makes him so great, but first a quick check on his health. He rolled his left ankle in the AFC Championship win over the Ravens, and according to Ian R. Rapoport of the Boston Herald, if the teams were to practice right now Gronkowski would be a no-go:

"

The Patriots didn’t practice yesterday, but the NFL required that both the Patriots and Giants submit a participation report, anyway. That led the team to say that—had the team practiced—tight end Rob Gronkowski would not have participated.

The Pro Bowl tight end suffered a sprained ankle with ligament damage in the AFC Championship Game after Ravens safety Bernard Pollard tackled him, a source said. He is expected to play, but he might be limited.

"

You're probably wondering why I think Gronkowski will have a big game knowing his status might be limited.

You should know this by now...

Never trust Bill Belichick

This is just a rule of thumb when it comes to following the NFL. If Bill Belichick says something is one way, don't be surprised if it actually turns out to be another way.

In fact, don't be surprised if it ends up being something completely different and out of the blue. This is just how Belichick does it.

He's notorious for playing games with his injury reports and not revealing the true status of his players. Gronkowski may be hurting, but I wouldn't be surprised if Belichick keeps his true status from us up until game day.

Assuming Gronkowski does play...

I expect he's going to be out there, and I expect he's going to have a huge game.

I've said it once but I'll say it 100 times moreover: Gronkowski has the natural abilities of a star wide receiver in the natural body of a star tight end.

He's quick, in and out of his breaks and has vertical speed, and he possesses top-notch wide receiver hands. Add that to the fact that he's 6'6'' and 265 pounds, and you start to see why he put up the numbers he did.

The Giants don't have anybody that can stop him, and even the guys they have that can slow him down will struggle.

The Giants greatest hope will have to be that his ankle is really worse that what I am expecting it to be and that it will hinder him to the point of being effective.

Everything else is a wash, because he's really that good.

Prediction

I expect Gronkowski to be ready to go, and I expect he will be the key in a Patriots' Super Bowl win. He'll notch at least 150 yards and two touchdowns.