If Rob Gronkowski Is Shut Down the Patriots Could Be in Big Trouble

Fortunately for the New England Patriots, the team was able to pull off a victory against the Oakland Raiders despite Rob Gronkowski being held to only one reception for 15 yards. 

The Patriots were able to score 31 points with Tom Brady completing only 16 of his 30 passes for 226 yards and two scores, but nine of his 16 completions were in the hands of Wes Welker—who happened to accumulate an incredible 158 total yards receiving. 

The victory in Oakland was impressive, as it was arguably New England's first complete victory of the season, with all three phases of the game clicking, but Gronkowski's struggles should be alarming. 

Gronkowski played 66 out of all of New England's 66 plays on offense, but he was literally a non-factor in the victory. One could argue that Brady's 53.3 completion percentage was due to Gronkowski's struggles and inability to get open.

Granted, the Raiders likely game-planed to shut down Gronkowski, as he's been playing like the best tight end in football, but the team's offense wasn't its usual self Sunday afternoon. 

Entering Week 5 with a critical battle against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium, it's going to be crucial for the Patriots to be able to utilize arguably their best offensive weapon in Gronkowski. 

This 2011 offense somewhat reminds me of the 2009 offense, when if you took Randy Moss and Welker out of the game, the Patriots were practically screwed up against the wall.

In this year's version of the Patriots, they do have much more depth than the '09 Patriots, but it's certainly not as dependable. 

I do realize that Aaron Hernandez hasn't been on the field since Week 3 against the San Diego Chargers, but even when he was on the field last year against the Jets in the playoffs, the Patriots offense was putrid. 

If you take out Gronkowski and Hernandez—which you'd figure that most teams will do, as well as placing their best cornerback on Welker—then all of a sudden New England's offensive attack falls into the hands of Deion Branch, the team's running game and—God help us—Chad Ochocinco. 

Branch has struggled as of late, as the aging receiver played in 58 out of New England's 66 offensive plays and caught only one ball, which happened to be a touchdown.

A week prior, against the Buffalo Bills, Branch played the majority of the game but walked away with zero receptions. 

Similar to the '09 team, if you take out Welker, Gronk and Hernandez, the team is in a very bad position—take for example the recent playoff loss against the Jets. 

With teams double-covering Gronkowski and Welker, you'd think that it would open up holes in the defense for guys like Branch and Ochocinco, but they have yet to perform at the level that they're capable of. 

This team is definitely light-years ahead of the '09 team, but still it's rather frightening to acknowledge how it's offensive firepower is so dependent on Welker and Gronkowski. 

Entering this weekend against the Jets, the Patriots are going to have to get a nice showing out of the running game and Branch, as the Jets will likely place Darrelle Revis on Welker and they'll take Gronkowski out of the game.

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