The New England Patriots should need no added motivation heading into Sunday’s AFC Championship Game roughly one year after the Deflategate scandal erupted, but the Denver Broncos are trying to give it to them anyway.
By Tuesday night, the Broncos’ had already left very little room on the metaphorical — or perhaps literal? — bulletin board that permanently resides at 1 Patriot Place in Foxboro, Mass. Let’s recap the headlines that have been made thus far, shall we?
Brandon Marshall says Rob Gronkowski ‘pushes off’
On Monday, Broncos LB Brandon Marshall was asked why Rob Gronkowski is so difficult to cover. Before mentioning anything about Gronk being a freak of nature who stands at 6-foot-6, has incredible hands and is nearly impossible to bring down, Marshall claimed that the Patriots tight end gets away with cheating.
“I say ’cause he pushes off,” Marshall told PFT Live. “I mean, he pushes off and he gets away with it about 98 percent of the time.”
Marshall also called Gronk a “great tight end” and complimented his size and strength, but he was clearly trying to work the officials nearly a week in advance. When the Broncos and Pats met in the regular season, Gronkowski was called for a crucial offensive pass interference penalty (video here). He later tweeted about referees singling him out with those types of penalties.
Antonio Smith calls Tom Brady a ‘crybaby’
Also on Monday, Broncos DE Antonio Smith was asked if he thinks Tom Brady is a “crybaby.” Smith said that would be an “accurate statement.”
“I’ve never seen any quarterback look to the referee right after he gets sacked more than Brady,” he said, per Paul Klee of the Colorado Springs Gazette. “Every time he gets sacked he looks at the ref like, ‘You see him sack me? Was that supposed to happen? He did it a little hard. Please throw a 15-yard penalty on him. Get him fined.'”
Like Marshall, Smith went on to compliment his opponent and called Brady a “great competitor” who is not going to get rattled no matter how hard you hit him. Our guess is Brady will ignore that part of the quote as he prepares for his 10th AFC Championship Game.
Malik Jackson says Tom Brady is a ‘whiner’
Sticking with the theme of taking a shot at Brady before praising him, Broncos DE Malik Jackson agreed with Smith that Brady complains a lot.
“I mean when we played him he definitely threw some temper tantrums,” Jackson told PFT Live. “It’s one of those things that you know. He definitely [says], ‘What’s going on? Why?’ Definitely one of those whiners that whines but it’s a competitive game. I know I wouldn’t be whining like that, but some people do. So he’s definitely a whiner but he’s actually a big time player, competitor, too.”
Again, we know which part of the quote Brady is going to focus on.
Chris Harris says you have to target Rob Gronkowski’s knees
While this one doesn’t exactly qualify as trash talk, the Patriots probably won’t like it. When asked on “SportsCenter” how a defender goes about taking Gronkowski down, Harris was brutally honest.
“You gotta hit him low, man — hit him in his knees,” Harris said, via Business Insider. “That’s the best chance you have of hitting him. You gotta take his legs out or hold on and wait for everybody, wait for the gang to come on and gang tackle him.”
Harris was just stating the obvious. Gronkowski is too big to tackle high, and defenders risk being flagged if they try to launch themselves at his upper body and go for the knockout blow. Going low is the only option.
That said, Gronk has suffered multiple knee injuries during his career, including a scary one on this play against Denver earlier this season. Aside from Brady, he is the single most important player the Patriots have. The comment didn’t seem to bother Gronkowski all that much, however, as he fired back with a well-timed inappropriate joke on Twitter.
And the best part about all of this dialogue? It’s only Wednesday. We should be in for a fun Sunday afternoon in Denver.
