New England Patriots Offense Unstoppable with Rob Gronkowski at TE

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It's become increasingly difficult to put into words the dominance of New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. 

Week 3 was the first time this season Gronkowski has been held without a touchdown, but his impact was still felt in a big way in the Patriots' 51-17 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

So, instead of trying to put it into words, let's ask some Jaguars players what they think of Gronkowski.

"He's killing it," said Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis. "He's killing it, man. I've been watching him for a long time. He plays this game like a tight end is supposed to play it." 

A veteran of 10 years, Lewis has seen some great tight ends in his day. But none as dominant as Gronkowski, a player who is bringing new levels of recognition to the tight end position—MVP levels of recognition.

"I think so," Lewis said, when asked if Gronkowski has a legitimate shot at winning the 2015 MVP. "He's a monster out there."

Make no mistake, Gronkowski is doing unprecedented things for a tight end, and that's not hyperbole. With 16 receptions for 308 yards and four touchdowns, Gronkowski is currently on pace to post 85 receptions, 1,642 yards and 21 touchdowns. He would beat his own personal records for receiving yards (1,327) and touchdowns (17) in a single season.

Right now, he's on pace to threaten Randy Moss' single-season record for receiving touchdowns (23).

Of course, his pace might be much slower if the rest of the NFL could just remember, for 60 minutes of football, to cover the massive All-Pro.

"The crazy thing was, a couple times, it was just miscommunication where we didn't line up right and we let the elite tight end in the game run free," said Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny. "We beat ourselves with a lot of that. Don't get me wrong, he's a great player and he has the best quarterback in the game throwing the ball to him. Great combination, but then, we didn't help ourselves by any means, lining up correctly and having awareness of where he was."

Regardless, Gronkowski's opponents are having a hard time making heads or tails of how to stop him. Three have tried, and three have failed.

"I wish I could tell you," Posluszny said. "Each team will try to do it their way, and it comes down to, you have to be extremely fundamentally sound. You have to have a lot of discipline, and when you don't, when you beat yourself or have miscommunication and let guys go free, they take full advantage of that."

The Patriots have other weapons, for sure. Wide receiver Julian Edelman posted eight receptions for 85 yards, and is on pace for 160 receptions (an NFL record). Running backs Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount are providing a thunder-and-lightning combination for the Patriots offense, and the two combined for 159 yards from scrimmage.

2014	Gronkowski	NFL rank
Receptions	16	T-24
Yards	308	7
Touchdowns	4	T-2

But it's all predicated off of Gronkowski. 

By drawing double-teams (when defenses remember to cover the guy), Gronkowski opens up the middle of the field for Edelman to consistently get open. With his blocking ability, Gronkowski is opening up holes for the running backs to burst through for big plays. It's pretty clear he takes as much pride in the latter as he does in the former.

"For sure," Gronkowski said. "I believe that the run game helps out the pass game a lot. Definitely play-action, too, it helps out. I love run blocking, to help the running backs. It's just as good a feeling as catching a touchdown, making a big play in the run game. But don't get me wrong, I don't like run blocking every single time. I don't like running out for a route every single time. I like a good balance. I like doing both, and that’s what comes with being a tight end."

Gronkowski was kept out of the end zone this week, for the first time this season, but it didn't matter. His mere presence on the field is tilting the numbers in favor of the Patriots offense. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained first-hand.