FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski played all 60 offensive snaps in Sunday's victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. That, in and of itself, is hardly a surprise. Gronkowski is an ironman who seldom, if ever, comes off the field.
But should the Patriots consider altering course this week with the Buffalo Bills coming to town?
The backstory, of course, is well documented. Three weeks ago, Gronkowski lost his composure and delivered a late hit on cornerback Tre'Davious White that enraged some Bills players, concussed White and led to a one-game suspension for Gronkowski.
In the aftermath of that, White sent a text message to ESPN analyst Ryan Clark that said of Gronkowski: "The whole hood want ‘em." White didn't elaborate when later asked by reporters what that meant, but it obviously doesn't sound very welcoming to Gronkowski.
The idea of a possible Bills retaliation was mentioned to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during his weekly interview on sports radio WEEI on Monday. It was broached to him in the context of whether he has noticed teams following through on those types of things or if it's something overstated by those in the media.
"I think you do what you can inside the rules of the game," Brady told hosts Kirk Minihane and Gerry Callahan. "I've been in football for a long time. It was an unfortunate situation that happened, and revenge and all that, I think that's, you know -- I've never approached the game like that. I'll just speak for myself. Get revenge against a player that's done something; obviously, I can't do anything anyway, in terms of being physical on the field. But ... I think it's just going to be a football game. Two hard-nosed teams. Division game. It's important for us. It's important for them. That makes for a good matchup."
When Bill Belichick was asked a similar question on the "Dale, Holley and Keefe Show" -- specifically if retaliation on Gronkowski had to be on his mind -- he said: "What's on our mind is playing against a very good Buffalo team that I'm sure will play well, as they have the last couple of weeks against Indianapolis and the Dolphins. We're going to have to play better than we played up there. That will be our challenge, and we'll work this week to get there."
That was similar to how Bills coach Sean McDermott addressed the topic when speaking with reporters in Western New York on Monday.
In the big picture, when considering the things that would create the most significant obstacles to the Patriots' Super Bowl championship hopes, a significant injury to Gronkowski would be near the top of the list.
That doesn't mean the Patriots should put him in bubble wrap until the playoffs, although in recent years that suggestion has generated some momentum on the sports-talk-radio circuit. But perhaps it does lead the team to be a bit more judicious with his playing time on Sunday to limit the risk and create an added layer of protection to one of their most important players.
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