Rob Gronkowski Downplays Comments from Brother, Chris, Hinting at Frustration

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski downplayed comments from his brother, Chris, that suggested he has grown "super frustrated" with the number of double-teams he's seen through the first three weeks of the season.   

"I didn't talk to him at all," Gronkowski told reporters Wednesday, according to WEEI.com's Darren Hartwell.

Rob added that he thinks Chris appeared on WEEI's Kirk & Callahan show Tuesday to promote his ice shaker.

"To tell you the truth, I feel like he probably was going on for a promotion thing for his ice shaker," he said. "No lie. Because he's been on (ABC's) Shark Tank with it, he's teamed up with A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez)—it's actually a pretty big deal."   

To Rob's point, Chris admitted during his interview that he hasn't spoken with his brother about the constant double-teams he's faced over the past two weeks: 

"I haven't talked to Rob personally about it, but I can just tell by his emotions and his facial features that he's super frustrated with it. You can see at the end of the (Lions) game how they ended the game double-covering him, pressing him off the line. He just wants to get the ball in his hands and make plays. You just can’t do it when nobody else is getting open. You can’t have single-coverage if no one else can beat single-coverage."

Rob opened his season with seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown against the Houston Texans, but he was silenced in New England's losses to Jacksonville (Week 2) and Detroit (Week 3). Over those two weeks, the five-time Pro Bowler managed only six catches and 66 yards on nine total targets. 

The bad news for Gronkowski: New England faces a Miami Dolphins team in Week 4 that has been particularly stingy against tight ends to this point in the season. 

The Tennessee Titans duo of Delanie Walker and Jonnu Smith combined for five catches and 64 yards against Miami in Week 1, but tight ends on the New York Jets (3 catches, 54 yards) and Oakland Raiders (5 catches, 31 yards) were shut down in Weeks 2 and 3, respectively.