Aqib Talib: Only way to stop Rob Gronkowski is triple team

Rob Gronkowski is such a powerful weapon that the only way to stop him is by triple-teaming him. Well, at least that’s what one top defensive back believes.

As the Denver Broncos prepare to face the New England Patriots on Sunday, cornerback Aqib Talib is getting ready for New England’s receivers. He knows that it won’t be easy to stop Gronk.

“Uh … triple-team,” Talib said of how to stop Gronk via The Denver Post. “It’s his size and that speed. And that quarterback.”

That quarterback would be Tom Brady, who is a leading MVP candidate and was Talib’s teammate during the parts of 2012 and 2013 that Talib spent in New England.

“He’s a great player and you have to be aware of him,” Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said of Gronk. “If you try to take away what they do best or take away their best player, that’s what you have to try to do. It means doubling him a lot, certainly, but it also means putting enough pressure on the quarterback where the guy doesn’t have time to throw to the guy even when he gets open sometimes. You can’t double-cover him every play, but there are certain things that we will. You have to.”

So you have Talib saying the only way to stop Gronk is by triple-teaming him, while Phillips says they won’t double cover him every play. Which one is it, guys?

Gronk leads all NFL tight ends with 51 catches for 843 yards and 8 touchdowns this season. If you want to hear my answer about the only way he can be stopped, it’s injury — and we sure as heck hope that doesn’t happen. Just as long as they don’t boast about how easy it is to cover Gronk and then get burned by him like the last guy, they should be fine.