FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Rob Gronkowski ran a simple slant route, caught the ball in the end zone and spiked it in front of the much smaller cornerback.
Another touchdown for the New England Patriots’ 6-foot-6 tight end. Another sign that he’s become one of the NFL’s most dangerous receivers. And he has no plans to tone down his scoring celebrations.
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“I’m going to make them even bigger,” Gronkowski said with a smile. “Those aren’t even that big yet. I’m going to have to think of some stuff.”
Then he let out his typical hearty laugh.
The spike came Sunday night when Gronkowski cut inside Donald Strickland, 8 inches shorter, for his second touchdown in the Patriots’ 37-16 win over the New York Jets.
The fun-loving 22-year-old with the disciplined on-field approach should get many more chances to slam the ball in opposing end zones.
In 25 games over less than two seasons, Gronkowski has 18 touchdowns. He needs two in his next five games to surpass Mike Ditka’s NFL mark of 31 for the fewest games a tight end needed to reach 20 touchdowns.
With eight touchdowns this year, he’s five behind the single-season, tight-end record of 13 held by Antonio Gates of San Diego and Vernon Davis of San Francisco.
He’s one of the top tight ends now in the NFL.
“It’s important, but it’s not what you’re really thinking,” he said. “All that matters is victories.”
Gronkowski runs precise patterns, shields defenders with his big body, blocks well and makes acrobatic catches for a 265-pounder.
One of his few missteps this season came off the field during the Patriots’ bye week. He was photographed with an adult film performer, who was wearing his No. 87 Patriots jersey and posted two pictures on her Twitter account. He wore a shirt in one and was bare-chested in the other.
Gronkowski met later with team owner Robert Kraft.
“I didn’t intend anything to hurt the reputation of anyone on the New England Patriots or on behalf of Robert Kraft,” he told reporters. “It was just a simple picture and that’s all.”
In the three games since, Gronkowski has 23 catches for 308 yards and three touchdowns.
On Monday night, Kansas City will try to control him. It could be critical to the Chiefs’ chances of winning.
“Gronkowski is just a physical presence … much like some receivers that I’ve coached in the past like a Keyshawn (Johnson),” Chiefs coach Todd Haley said. “Once the quarterback understands that you can throw when he’s covered that’s always a great trait.”
On the catch against Strickland, Gronkowski lined up wide to the right and Tom Brady threw quickly. He has also run plays from the slot and from the traditional tight end spot.
“He’s long. He’s got good hands and he can extend and catch the ball. He’s got a big radius,’ ” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, moving each arm in a semi-circular motion to demonstrate the space Gronkowski occupies. “There’s a lot of places you can throw the ball that he can get to and there’s usually some place that a quarterback can throw the ball away from the defender that Rob can reach (and) the defender can’t.”
Gronkowski was an outstanding receiver at Arizona with 76 catches in his first two years. He missed the 2009 season following back surgery then was drafted by the Patriots in the second round.
They took another tight end, Aaron Hernandez, in the fourth round and the pair has developed into a productive combination. Hernandez has at least one catch in 20 of his 21 games. Gronkowski has done that in each of his 25 games.
Gronkowski can project a silly image in interviews, looking puzzled at times and laughing at others. His teammates joke about that.
“The thing about Rob is he is fooling everybody,” linebacker Dane Fletcher said with a grin. “The kid is smarter than he looks and he puts off sometimes. He might come off to the media that he might have a screw loose, but he’s all there.”
For all its complexities, football involves simple tasks: see the ball, catch the ball; see the pass rusher, block the pass rusher.
“What goes on in Rob’s head when it comes to blocking is, ‘There’s my guy and just block him one way or another,’ ” Fletcher said.
How about those diving catches, more typical of a fleet wide receiver than a bulky tight end?
“Wherever Tom puts the ball it’s your job to go up and make the catch,” Gronkowski said. “It’s just all natural reaction while you’re out there. A split-second, you have no time to think.”
It didn’t take him long to have success, catching a touchdown pass in his first game. He had 42 catches for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. This year he’s seventh in the league with 52 receptions and ninth with 709 yards
“For any rookie to come in and play a significant role on a team is impressive,” Brady said. “When I was a rookie I didn’t do anything, I was sitting up in the stands eating nachos before the games.”
Gronkowski had a career-high eight catches in each of his last two games, gaining 101 yards in a 24-20 loss to the New York Giants, and 113 against the Jets.
He has another eventful day coming up on Dec. 24, when the Patriots host the Miami Dolphins. That’s when the winner of “A Very Gronkowski Christmas Raffle,” a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence, Mass., will get two free tickets to the game and an autographed football and jersey from Gronkowski.
The winner and a guest will meet Gronkowski for postgame photos.
“Christmas with me, baby!” he said. “It’s just a little cool thing to give back to the fans.”
Brady wants no part of it.
“I don’t need any more time around him,” he said with a smile.
Neither do teams trying to cover him.
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