Super Bowl 2012: What Giants Must Do to Contain Patriots' Rob Gronkowski

If the New York Giants want to win the Super Bowl, they are going to have to stop New England Patriots' stud tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Gronkowski is going to be the key to this game for both teams.

If Tom Brady and the Patriots can get Gronk going, there is no telling what he can do, so the Giants must be able to slow him down.

The guy is simply incredible—with 1,327 yards, 17 touchdowns on the season, and 232 yards and three touchdowns this postseason.

He's easily the best tight end in football, and he's the consummate mismatch.

What makes him so good is that he's essentially a star wide receiver in a star tight end's body. He's got incredible hands, good speed and runs good routes like a wide receiver, but still has the size and power of a tight end.

It's truly a sight to behold for fans of the NFL.

How are the Giants going to stop Gronkowski? There are a few key factors that will go into that, because it's not impossible.

Gronks' Health

This is the No. 1 factor in stopping Gronkowski, as right now even his playing status is up in the air. He rolled his left ankle in the AFC championship game when he came under an awkward tackle from Ravens' safety Bernard Pollard.

He's apparently missed practices with a high ankle sprain, and per usual Bill Belichick and the Patriots are keeping his true status a mystery.

Full disclosure—I expect he will play.

I expect the Giants will be planning on that as well, and knowing his injury situation they are going to have to try to exploit it.

Anytime they have the chance to legally put a hit on him, tackle him around the ankles or do anything that may shake him up—they must do so.

Some would call this cheap, but I call it gamesmanship—as long as it's legal.

Shade A Safety

This is just simple football right here. If you have a tight end who can absolutely dominate the field, you have to put a safety over the top of him.

This is also known as a ghost, a spy or a double team.

Putting a safety over Gronkowski will give him far less room to operate, and it will make Brady a little bit more reluctant to fling the ball over, knowing there is an extra defender specifically watching him.

Sometimes football can be a beautifully simple game.

Jam Him At The Line

The one thing the Giants are great at is the pass rush, and with guys like Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul, that's very hard to argue against.

Whenever Gronkowski is not split out, the Giants must jam him at the line of scrimmage. When fully healthy, this would do enough to potentially throw him off his route and keep him off timing with quarterback Tom Brady.

Dealing with a potentially banged up ankle, the impact of a jam at the line could be shattering for his offensive rhythm and the overall rhythm of the offense.

This will be the most effective way to stop Gronkowski.