Getty Tampa Bay Bucs head coach Bruce Arians is not happy with Rob Gronkowski's drops.
Rob Gronkowski has been a popular topic during Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians’ recent media sessions. Despite the Buccaneers’ sizable win over the Panthers, Arians was not happy with Gronkowski having another dropped pass or the offense’s performance as a whole inside the red zone.
“Yeah, we dropped one, Gronk’s got to catch that ball and the other one they had good coverage on the one, but no there wasn’t anything special,” Arians noted during his December 27 press conference. “We just didn’t convert. We didn’t play very well in the red zone, inside the five.”
One thing Arians is pleased with is the Bucs securing the NFC South title. Arians emphasized that the Buccaneers set out to “hang three banners” at the beginning of the season, implying the team wanted to win the division, NFC title and Super Bowl.
“Yeah, we wanted to hang three banners this year, and we don’t have one of those division banners up there for a long time and it feels great,” Arians told reporters on December 26. “I mean, this is what we focused on, to win our division and our guys did it today and can’t be more prouder of the group that played today.”
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Arians on Gronk: ‘I’m Not Used to Seeing Him Drop the Ball’
This marks the second straight week Arians has called out Gronkowski for dropping passes. Arians made similar comments the day following the Buccaneers’ surprising loss to the Saints in Week 15.
“Yeah, I’d like to see Gronk catch about four more,” Arians remarked on December 20. “I’m not used to seeing him drop the ball, and we missed a couple down the sideline, but Cam [Brate] had some targets and he was involved heavily. It’s just one of those games where we just did not match their intensity with our offense or our special teams.”
Gronk’s Catch Rate Is Considerably Lower With the Bucs Compared to His Tenure With Pats
Pretty shocking drop on a deeper pass from Brady by Gronk.
3rd down.
Drops are a bit of a tricky NFL statistic to track, but Pro Football Reference charts catch percentage which divides a player’s targets by receptions. Gronkowski’s catch percentage has been noticeably lower during his two seasons in Tampa than it was in New England.
The Buccaneers tight end is averaging a 59.4% catch rate this season, slightly up from his 58.4% in 2020. Both seasons are down from his 65.6% catch rate during his nine seasons with the Patriots. Gronkowski posted a dismal 18.2% in Week 15 against the Saints and most recently 50% against the Panthers.
Brady on Gronkowski: ‘He’s Obviously the Greatest Tight End Ever to Play the Game’
Regardless of drops, Tom Brady still has plenty of faith in his favorite receiving target. Brady recently called Gronkowski “the greatest tight end ever to play the game.”
“He’s obviously the greatest tight end ever to play the game,” Brady explained on December 10, per Buccaneers.com’s Scott Smith. “He’s still doing it. Again, I think his ability to block in the run game, run routes in the pass game, going against smaller players, and then he’s very clutch. He comes up big in the biggest moments.”