Patriots vs. Giants: Keys to Stopping Rob Gronkowski and Victor Cruz

There's no questioning it—Rob Gronkowski is the New England Patriots' most dangerous weapon. He creates a matchup problem on every route he runs. 

For the New York Giants, although Hakeem Nicks is the bigger and more experienced wideout, Victor Cruz has become the go-to guy for Eli Manning. 

The statistics say so. 

Cruz led the team in all major receiving categories in 2011. The former undrafted free agent out of UMass had 82 receptions for 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns. 

While we all search for the underrated, unheralded sleepers that could play a huge role in this year's Super Bowl, let's break down the game's superstars and how each team can attempt to stop them. 

Rob Gronkowski

Due to his well-documented ankle injury, the strategy to limiting or possibly even stopping Gronkowski is simple. 

He must be hit with physical, press man coverage as many times as possible, especially in the first quarter. 

Not only will it be more disruptive than usual in terms of his timing with Tom Brady, but it will make him tentative coming off the line with as much force and speed as he typically does. 

I'm not advocating the Giants develop a scheme to reinjure Gronk's ankle, but one push could result in him being sidelined for the rest of the game. 

Nothing cheap, nothing illegal—just tight press coverage. 

New York must also have a game plan in place if Gronkowski is able to run relatively well, which is a distinct possibility. 

The Denver Broncos did an atrocious job in their two meetings with Gronk. Note how they allow him to run freely to the safety without any harassment in the allotted five yards.

The Giants have to hit him within the first two yards of the line of scrimmage. 

They need to stick one of their linebackers in man coverage on the mammoth tight end and have a safety waiting over the top. 

More specifically, the safety—whether it's Antrel Rolle, Kenny Phillips or Deon Grant—must play deep coverage closer to the line than normal. Gronkowski isn't going to catch many passes 40 and 50 yards down the field. He does his damage on the intermediate routes. 

This press, two-man coverage will compromise his ability to gain separation and essentially box out the sole defender who is covering him. 

The theme—whether Gronkowski is 100 percent or not—must be aggressive press coverage. 

Victor Cruz 

Although he's only 6'0'' and 204 pounds, Cruz uses his elite athletic ability, quickness and surprising strength to beat press coverage. 

Since he came into the league as an unknown out of UMass and seemed to be a speed-only wideout, many teams employed tight man-to-man coverage on him.

That led to some of his long-gainers in 2011.

Even a solid corner like Terence Newman can't keep up with him in man coverage on a simple out route.

He can burn zone coverage as well with his incredible acceleration and is an extremely tough matchup for any defense.

If I had to go with one approach to limit Cruz, it would be a zone defense with safety help over the top every time.

Yes, giving him room to run and gain momentum against defenders standing relatively still may seem like a foolish idea. However, he's simply too fast and laterally quick to leave a cornerback alone on him.

Cruz runs a variety of crossing routes that could be picked up by many different defenders as he runs through their zones.

However, he's the team's primary deep threat and there's always the potential of him going deep. That's why you keep a safety on his side, even when he goes in motion.

Like Gronkowski, he must be kept in a "bracket." He's tremendous after the catch and must be corralled immediately upon receiving the football. 

Although he had 10 catches against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game, they kept him from hitting the huge play by wrapping up right away with a corner and safety. 

If I was Bill Belichick or Tom Coughlin, that's how I'd look to limit Rob Gronkowski and Victor Cruz.  

Both guys are matchup terrors, and I'm glad I don't have to develop a game plan to stop either one of them.

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