The Steelers tried to cover Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski by, at times, not covering him at all. (It wasn’t intentional. We think.) Former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison has a different suggestion for the Bills.
On Wednesday’s edition of Pro Football Talk on NBCSN, Rodney said the Bills should do what the Pats used to do against future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez. Rodney said that the Pats would put both him and linebacker Roman Phifer at the line of scrimmage, with the assignment of disrupting Gonzalez before he could get into his pass route.
Other possibilities include putting one linebacker on Gronk at the line, with a corner or a safety covering Gronkowski after he fights through the jam.
Regardless, the Bills will need a plan for covering Gronkowski — and also for addressing the weaknesses that will be created elsewhere if extra resources are devoted to stopping Gronk.