Alex Guerrero has won another battle in his broader Bill Belichick war.
The trainer who has been working closely with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, and who has been essentially frozen out of the Patriots organization by Belichick, has found another disciple in Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. A day after Gronkowski told Belichick that the best tight end in football (possibly the best tight end ever) will be back for 2018, Gronk shot a video in his car explaining that he’s currently feeling “super, super pliable.” Added Gronkowski: “It’s huge. It’s a difference maker.”
“Pliable” is shorthand for the TB12 method, crafted by Guerrero and Brady -- and loathed by Belichick. It’s one of the most overt public slaps yet by Gronkowski at Belichick.
Gronkowski also complained about media coverage of his status over the past two months.
“There’s been fake news left and right, no doubt about that,” Gronkowski said. “There’s been some real news but I would say way more fake news.”
OK, Gronk. What was fake? Was it fake when you declined to commit to playing immediately after the Super Bowl? Was it fake when more than 11 weeks passed without any indication as to whether you’ll play?
Since “fake news” has become code for “things people are saying about me that I’d prefer they didn’t,” don’t play the #fakenews card without explaining what’s fake.
Until Tuesday, a mystery existed of Gronk’s own making. He set the tone for reports, rumors, and speculation about his future. If he’s now claiming generally that most of the news that has filled the vacuum he created was fake, he need to say what was and wasn’t true.
Here’s one thing that is true: Gronkowski said he’s on his way to the Bahamas for Shark Week. It’s surely just a glimpse of the Gronk-being-Gronk reality that will unfold during the decades that will pass between the time Gronk stops running with the pigskins and starts sleeping with the fishes.