Both of Rob Gronkowski's former teams are struggling entering Week 4.
The New England Patriots are 1-2 while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are winless at 0-3. It's a far cry from the success that both organizations are accustomed to experiencing. Gronkowski obviously won Super Bowls with both franchises, but the Patriots are coming off a Super Bowl appearance and the Bucs were a tiebreaker away from clinching their sixth consecutive postseason appearance last year.
The four-time Super Bowl champion took the time to sit down for a one-on-one interview to talk about why both of his former teams are struggling and why Drake Maye is in a slump through the first four weeks of the season.
On Drake Maye's Slump
Q: Patriots, your former team, they're off to a rough start, man. Not many people expected this. What are your overall thoughts on the season? Why are they struggling? Obviously, Drake Maye is not having a great season.
Gronkowski: They're just kind of forcing it too much. I feel like they have a lot of pressure on the table, and the pressure is getting to them. They just got to relax, play ball. Drake Maye just has to go back in the pocket and just do what he does. His confidence isn't there. He needs to rebuild that confidence. He needs to just go down, throw the ball away when necessary, instead of trying to force it in and causing turnovers. This is the first time he's been in this streak. Obviously, last year he played well, but this is the first time he's been in a down streak.
This could actually make him a better quarterback in the end if he knows how to fight himself out of this, if he knows how to get his confidence back, get out of his own head. This is going to make him a tremendous quarterback down in the future. But it's all about if you can get out of this slump, if you can build that confidence back. This offense isn't just Drake Maye's problem. This is a whole offense problem. Wide receivers need to step up as well. They got to get open. They got to put some more cushion where he can throw the ball instead of putting it in a tight window every single time.
Q: Are you seeing that from Drake ever since the Super Bowl game? Because I've seen that myself where it's just like you said, the key word is confidence. He's not playing with the same confidence that he did before during the stretch.
Gronkowski: Even in the Super Bowl game, though. There were times in the game where it was like, "Whoa, look at him go! That ball, it has velocity on it, it has zip. He's putting it where it needs to be." I would say it's this year's problem. Maybe it leads off the continuation of the Super Bowl because of the beating that they took. And yeah, he didn't have his best game, so maybe that's still in his head. That could be lingering around a little bit, but overall, the confidence is built through practice, through repetition, and getting things going. Once they get one good drive, they got to keep building off of that.
On Life Without A.J. Brown
Q: The A.J. Brown injury put a big wrench in their plans, so they're going to be without him until at least Week 6 through Week 8. What is the key to getting him back on track without their leading receiver?
Gronkowski: I mean, that's tough. It is tough. A.J. Brown is a big loss, but there's no excuses. Everyone gets hurt. Not everyone, but a lot of teams are always dealing with injuries, and it's the next man up, and you got to figure out ways. The wide receivers need to step it up. The tight end position needs to step it up. They got to really factor in the run game. They got to really get that going, definitely. And then that opens up the play action. That run game, they need to pound. They need to control the clock. They need to control the line of scrimmage, the time of possession, especially with how they're struggling. Maybe that's a start going down that direction. But the wide receivers, they need to help them out. They really do. They got to get open more. They're getting blanketed on many of the routes. They got to create more separation.
On This Week's Matchup With Buffalo
Q: They have a big game this week — they're playing the Bills. Is it too early to say that's a must-win game?
Gronkowski: It's not must-win yet, and it's the Buffalo Bills as well. So they're very tough, they're on fire, they're heated. They're heated up, and I think it's going to be a very rough atmosphere for the Patriots as well. I see the Bills coming out and being victorious in this game just because of how dominant they've been. Everything's clicking. The offense is rolling. Their defense is stepping up as well too. So I can't see the Buffalo Bills losing this game, but it's not must-win for Patriots yet. It will be must-win probably after this loss if they lose.
On the Buccaneers' 0-3 Start
Q: Speaking of struggling teams, obviously your other former team, the Bucs, they're 0-3. Obviously they have the Baker Mayfield injury. What are you seeing from them? Because the offense doesn't look good, the defense doesn't look good. They're pretty average across the board. What are you seeing from them early on?
Gronkowski: They're a team that can still be competitive though. They have it, they just can't put it together. I feel like the culture just isn't there in the Buccaneers organization right now. Everyone's getting blamed — the head coach, they're blaming problems on Baker, they're blaming problems on the playmakers. So everyone's getting blamed. Nothing's clicking over there. I would say no one's taking over. Someone has to take over and step up. Whoever it is — the head coach, Baker, a wide receiver — they're also just hurting themselves too much. When they do create a big play, they get a penalty, and it gets called back. But overall, the culture just isn't a winning culture right now in the Buccaneers organization.
Q: When you look at them, the benefit for them is they play in a weak division, right? The other three teams are getting better, but they're all 1-2. And the Bucs, they've lost all their games by one possession. They have Jalon Daniels now for the next several weeks. Can this team stay afloat with the backup quarterback?
Gronkowski: Yeah, they can. You don't know what they're going to have with Jalon Daniels, but they have enough weapons around them where they can create a playbook to get things going. They really could. They got to get the run game going as well. That's where it all starts in football when your team isn't playing so well. It's going to be tough, though. This guy is a rookie, undrafted free agent, but who knows what he has in the tank, and who knows what we're going to see because no one's ever seen this guy play in the NFL before.
On Baker Mayfield
Q: I'll ask you about Baker Mayfield. Obviously, you saw three games of him after he signed the contract. What were some of the issues that you were seeing from him early on?
Gronkowski: I think he still has it. I think he's a pretty solid quarterback. The thing is, I feel like he wants to prove himself that he's worth that contract. That's just his personality. That's just how he is, which is a great thing to have. That's a positive. Sometimes you just got to tone it down a little bit, though, because you're trying to force the ball, you're trying to make big plays, which creates the turnovers. Sometimes you just need to throw it away. But Baker, he still has it. His athleticism is still there. His arm strength is there.
Maybe this is a good thing where he can get some rest, sit back a little bit for a week or two, heal up, and then come back strong and gain his confidence back and start the momentum of winning games. So overall, I'm not worried. I would say he still has it. The talent is still there. It's just, can they put it together? Can he put it back together?
Q: It's kind of like what you're saying. Bruce Arians, your former coach, said this: he tries to overextend plays a little bit too much, which is what caused the thumb injury. Would you agree with that assessment, with him needing to be a little bit more calculated in that regard?
Gronkowski: Yeah, definitely. He just needs to go down, throw it away, get tackled. He's trying to break too many tackles, but like I said, that's just his personality. That's just how he plays the game of football. But at the quarterback position in the NFL, with everyone being good, sometimes you just need to throw the ball away. You just really do, and just go on to the next play and do what you got to do on the next play.
On Todd Bowles' Job Security
Q: Gronk, you're obviously very familiar with Todd Bowles, who was the defensive coordinator over there when you were there. He's on the hot seat. Do you think there's any chance that Tampa would let him go if the season keeps going off the rails, or is there no chance of that happening in your mind?
Gronkowski: I think that's going to be a discussion on the table. There's no doubt about that. There's something that has to be changed up in that organization. Like I said, I believe it's the culture right now. There's just no winning. It's just not a winning atmosphere right now. Even though it should be a winning team, they shouldn't be 0-3 right now, and they can't go 0-4, 0-5 — that would be too tough. And if they do, something needs to change over there. I don't know what it's going to be, but I would say everything's on the table for discussion, and that could be a possibility.
On eBay Live at New York Comic Con
Q: Tell me what you're doing with eBay Live.
Gronkowski: This is the "Gronk Geeks Out" series number two. I did the first one at The National with "Gronk Geeking Out," just ripping cards and being on eBay Live. And now we're doing it at New York Comic Con on October 9, and it's going to be a special experience because I don't have much of a background in comics, but I'm learning now. I worked with PCBHobby from Florida. They taught me a lot about comics, how to grade the books, what comic books are all about. I didn't know that the movies were all based off of comics as well, comic books that were written from back in the day. So I'm just learning as we go.
But the experience, and just how fun eBay Live has been, and the experience of being on eBay Live is just a thrill every time. Even if I don't know much of what's going on, I learn as we go, bring the personality to the table, and I'm excited to be at my first Comic Con event as well in New York City.
