Three reasons Buccaneers will beat Eagles: Rob Gronkowski is a matchup nightmare for Philly defense

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are beginning their quest to defend their Super Bowl championship, seeking to become the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since the 2003-2004 New England Patriots. Of course, Tom Brady was the last quarterback to repeat as the Super Bowl champion – so he knows how to get the most out of a talented roster.

Tampa Bay is still one of the best teams in the NFL, even with the injuries and in-season drama involving Antonio Brown. Brady doesn’t have Brown and Chris Godwin at wide receiver, and No. 4 target Cyril Grayson will also be out Sunday. Even with the injuries surrounding the Buccaneers, Brady was able to put the team on his back and get them to a 13-4 record and the No. 2 seed in the conference.

The Buccaneers had the second-ranked offense (in points scored and yards) in the NFL and a top-five scoring defense. They also had a top-five run defense and a pass rush that was able to get to the quarterback, the basis of their Super Bowl championship run last year.

Even though Tampa Bay doesn’t have all the pieces in place, the Buccaneers are talented enough to get back to the Super Bowl with Brady having his best season since his MVP campaign in 2007 – at the age of 44. The first test for teh Buccaneers are the upstart Philadelphia Eagles, who rallied from a 2-5 start to reach the playoffs in Nick Sirianni’s first year as the head coach.

Tampa Bay beat Philadelphia 28-22 in the first meeting, yet both teams are drastically different this time around. Here’s how Tampa Bay takes care of Philadelphia in the rematch and advances to the divisional round of the playoffs:

Rob Gronkowski creates dreams and nightmares

Gronkowski didn’t play in the Week 6 matchup against the Eagles, yet Tampa Bay tight ends still had nine catches for 75 yards and a touchdown in his absence. The future Hall of Fame tight end is back for the playoff game and is a matchup nightmare for an Eagles team that has allowed a league-high 107 completions and 14 touchdowns to tight ends this year.

With Antonio Brown off the roster, Chris Godwin done for the year, and Cyril Grayson out, Tom Brady will be looking for his reliable target in Gronkowski throughout the afternoon. Brady and Gronkowski have connected 55 times (eighth-most amongst quarterback-tight end combinations in the NFL) and 802 yards (fourth) and six touchdowns (sixth) this season. Gronkowski played in just 12 games this year and has 14 catches for 252 yards in his last two games, so he’s getting hot at the right time.

Gronkowski is primed to have a huge day against an Eagles defense that struggles to cover tight ends. The Eagles may not have an answer for him.

Tom Brady will have a high completion rate

Brady completed 81% of his passes in the Week 6 matchup against the Eagles, throwing 42 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns. Philadelphia allowed opponents to have a 69.4% completion rate against its defense this season and Tampa Bay throws the ball 66% of the time – the most in the league. The stage is set for Brady – who threw for 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns this season – to have a bunch of completions and yards against the Eagles.

Philadelphia does allow the second-fewest yards per completion in the league (9.2) and a 4.8% touchdown per pass attempt rate this year (the fourth-highest amongst playoff teams). There’s an opportunity for Brady to pick apart the Eagles defense again and move the chains, controlling the time of possession again (the Buccaneers held the ball for 39:56 in the first meeting).

Brady’s ability to get rid of the ball quick against a pass rush that has just a 4.7% sack rate (second-lowest in NFL) is a recipe for disaster against the Eagles defense.

Brady won’t get touched much

The Buccaneers offensive line has done an excellent job protecting Brady this year, as he was sacked just 22 times on 719 pass attempts – the best mark in the NFL. The Eagles don’t get a lot of sacks, as their 29 are the second-fewest in the league this season. That needs to change if Philadelphia wants to get Brady off his spot and make him uncomfortable.

If Josh Sweat don’t play Sunday, that will be a major concern for the Eagles defense – especially since he’ll present a challenge to All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs. Ryan Kerrigan has been a major disappointment for Philadelphia, having just three tackles on 330 sacks – with no sacks. Kerrigan going up against Wirfs would be a major mismatch in favor of Tampa Bay.

The Eagles have the fourth-fewest rate in sending five-plus pass rushers (20.4%) yet are 13th in the league in pressure percentage (30.7%). Philadelphia believes in rushing four and a “bend-but-don’t-break” philosophy to limit the opponent’s scoring chances and prevent the big play. Opposing quarterbacks have a 95.4 passer rating against the Eagles this season for a reason.

If Philadelphia doesn’t rush more than four against Brady (and this season says they won’t), the Buccaneers offensive line will have a huge day keeping their quarterback clean.

Is Gronk the greatest tight end ever? ‘Absolutely not,’ Jimmie Giles says

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The premier pass-catcher of the creamsicle era, never tentative in his routes or remarks, took a hard slant Wednesday.

Jimmie Giles does not agree with Tom Brady’s assertion that longtime teammate Rob Gronkowski is the greatest tight end in NFL history — or even Bucs history, for that matter.

“Absolutely not,” Giles, a 2011 inductee into the Bucs Ring of Honor, said when asked if Gronk is the greatest ever.

“Make no bones about it, Rob Gronkowski is a good tight end, there’s no question about that. But man, if I had had the opportunity to catch as many passes as these guys have, there’s no telling what I could’ve done.”

If the bravado sounds antiquated, so was the offense in which Giles performed during his eight-plus seasons in Tampa Bay, where he totaled 279 receptions for 4,300 yards and 34 touchdowns.

Giles was the leading receiver in the Bucs’ first playoff triumph (also against the Eagles), catching three Doug Williams passes for 43 yards in Tampa Bay’s 24-17 victory on Dec. 29, 1979. Williams attempted 15 passes all afternoon as the Bucs leaned on workhorse back Ricky Bell (38 carries, 142 yards two touchdowns).

By contrast, Brady attempted 15 passes in the second quarter alone in Sunday’s 41-17 rout of the Panthers.

“I caught three balls (in the playoff game),” Giles said. “Most teams now pass 50 or 60 percent of the time, so they use short passes like they do a 2- or 3-yard run.

“That just wasn’t the football we played, and I do look at the opportunities that I could’ve had if I had been in that position to make things like that happen. But there’s no question Rob is one of the best tight ends that ever played.

“But to say he’s the best, I think Tom needs to look at some highlight films of No. 88.”

If Brady did examine some of that grainy footage from the franchise’s inaugural generation, Giles suggested he would have seen a fleeter tight end. Still a Tampa resident and devout Bucs fan, Giles pointed to a 42-yard Brady strike to Gronk over the middle during Sunday’s third quarter.

“He caught a long pass going down the middle and got caught by two guys,” said Giles, founder of a local insurance-adjustment business still run by his family.

“I know a guy that would’ve never got caught. And that was before Tom’s time, so he never saw this particular guy play. But if he looked up in the stadium every Sunday, he’ll see that guy’s name.”

Statistically, Gronkowski’s regular season numbers, in terms of yards per reception, mildly eclipse those posted by his predecessor.

Giles (350 catches, 5,084 yards, 41 TDs) averaged 14.5 yards per catch for his 13-year career; Gronk (621 catches, 9,286 yards, 92 TDs) has averaged 15.0.

In the seven seasons in which Giles had at least 25 catches, he averaged at least 14.0 yards per catch five times. In three consecutive seasons (1980-1982), he averaged at least 17.5 yards

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Gronkowski has averaged at least 14.0 yards in eight of his 11 seasons. Moreover, his touchdowns for every 6.8 receptions eclipses Giles’ scoring rate (every 8.5 catches).

Yet the 67-year-old wasn’t altering his route Wednesday.

“(Gronkowski) is one of the greatest; he can’t say he’s the greatest,” Giles added. “He was a lot better when he was a little bit younger, but he still didn’t run away from a lot of people. I remember a guy that used to run away from people in the league — defensive backs, safeties, whatever, it didn’t matter.”

A guy named Jimmie Giles?

“I’ll let you say it,” Giles said.

Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls

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Mike Evans or Rob Gronkowski? | Week 18 Game Ball

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Who deserves the Game Ball for the Bucs’ Week 18 thrashing of the Panthers? Vote now!

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw some improbable heroes emerge in critical victories down the stretch in 2021, such as Breshad Perriman with his overtime game-winner against the Bills and Cyril Grayson with his stunning touchdown catch to beat the Jets. In the regular-season finale against Carolina on Sunday, however, it was three well-established stars who led the way, as quarterback Tom Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Mike Evans all had record-setting performances.

They weren’t alone in driving the Buccaneers to a runaway 41-17 victory over the Panthers, however. Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Le’Veon Bell and Scotty Miller all contributed to the scoring. The offensive line allowed a sack on Tampa Bay’s first play of the game…and then no more the rest of the way. Andrew Adams and Antoine Winfield, Jr. were responsible for the Bucs’ two takeaways, the former on an interception and the latter on a recovery of a fumble caused by Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Winfield and Anthony Nelson had the Bucs’ two sacks of Sam Darnold.

Still, it was the long-time stars who shined the brightest Sunday and I have a feeling that one of them will win this week’s fan vote for the Game Ball following the win over Carolina. As we have all season, Carmen and I will be offering our suggestions for that award. You then get to vote – with four total choices, actually – and you’ll even qualify to win some cool prizes if you do. See the bottom of this article for all of that. Since we are not allowed to pick the same player, the order of selection sometimes matters and it’s Carmen’s turn to go first.

So, who should get this week’s Game Ball? Here are our suggestions.

Carmen Vitali: WR Mike Evans

You can’t really go wrong here but I’m going to go with the homegrown guy that we’ve all watched succeed year after year. Evans has been the staple of this Buccaneers offense while going underrated on a league level for most of his eight seasons in the NFL. But he is one-of-one and that is indisputable.

On Sunday, Evans surpassed 1,000 yards for his eighth straight season to begin his career. That’s extending his NFL record after he surpassed Hall of Famer Randy Moss’s six last year.

His eight-straight seasons of 1,000 yards or more is the third-longest consecutive streak overall at any point in a player’s career. He’s tied with two other Hall of Famers in Cris Carter and Marvin Harrison, along with Torry Holt. Seems that Evans is on his way for making his own case for a gold jacket, if you ask me.

He also finished with the second-most receiving touchdowns of any player this season with 14. That bests his single-season career-high, which also happened to be a franchise record that was previously held by, well, him. That goes for touchdowns of any kind in team annals, by the way. Not just receiving touchdowns.

He scored two touchdowns in Sunday’s win over the Panthers, which gave him his 16h multi-touchdown game of his career. That’s tied for the second-most in the NFL since he entered it in 2014 and it’s tied for the 16th-most in NFL history.

And this man didn’t make the Pro Bowl…

Evans also provided the spark that the Bucs’ offense needed after a very slow start to get on the board in the first half. On third down and 10, he nabbed a pass from Brady over the middle at about the 20-yard line and fought his way to midfield as the second-quarter was winding down. It set up a touchdown drive to give the Bucs their first lead of the game – one they would not relinquish for the rest of it.

Add into it that Evans is just an all-around great human. He jumped into the stands after his first touchdown of the day, giving the ball away yet again to a fan. And the kind of teammate he is, is unmatched, too.

“He’s the guy and he’s been very, very unselfish this year,” said Head Coach Bruce Arians. “That’s what makes our receiver room so special is the way Mike leads that room and Chris [Godwin] leads that room. It’s all about winning and just happy – I knew he get his 1,000 [yards] but he’s a big-time player and a big-time person.”

Scott Smith: TE Rob Gronkowski

With Evans off the board, it’s pretty hard to separate the other two top candidates for the Game Ball, as Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski collaborated on some of the game’s biggest plays. They also both hit significant personal milestones during the game, just like Evans. Basically, I’m breaking the tie in Gronkowski’s favor because I already wrote a story with Tom Brady in the headline. (Read it here; it has lots of cool charts, including one that suggests Brady should be the leading MVP candidate.)

What Gronkowski did in Sunday’s regular-season finale continues to suggest that the Bucs are going to get peak Gronk in the playoffs, which is something they very, very much need. The 32-year-old wrecking ball of a tight end started this season extremely hot, with a pair of two-touchdown games in the first two weeks, but got derailed for much of the first half of the season by fractured ribs suffered in Week Three. When he came back to full-speed action in November he immediately had 71 and 123-yard outings and then another two touchdown performance in Atlanta. However, he and Brady seemed to lose some of their connection over the next three games, in which Gronkowski had just over 100 yards combined.

That’s ancient history now that Gronkowski has finished the regular season with the first back-to-back 100-yard receiving games by a tight end in franchise history. On Sunday, he dominated the Panthers over the middle of the field to the tune of seven catches for a game-high for 137 yards. That’s the second most single-game receiving yards ever recorded by a Buccaneer tight end, and just six yards shy of Calvin Magee’s record. That also made Gronkowski the NFL’s all-time recordholder in terms of 100-yard games by a tight end, as he got his 32nd and broke a tie with Tony Gonzalez. If Carmen can invoke gold jacket owners in support of her candidate, so can I!

I think Carmen is dead on that Evans’ 37-yard catch-and-run near the end of the first half was the play that swung the game in the Bucs’ favor. And Head Coach Bruce Arians called Breshad Perriman’s 24-yard toe-dragging grab at the Carolina four less than a minute later the biggest play of the game. But you know who caught the two passes for 27 yards in between those two plays? You guessed it – Rob Gronkowski. After the Bucs scored a touchdown on that drive to take a 10-7 lead into halftime, Gronkowski started the first drive of the second half with catches of 42 and 19 yards. That led to Ke’Shawn’s scoring run and that elusive before-and-after touchdown double-up that can swing games in a hurry.

So it was a prolific and record-breaking day for both Evans and Gronkowski, making them both worthy Game Ball candidates. And if you think it should be Brady instead, he’s included in the choices for which you can vote along with safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. So now it’s up to you.

NFL DFS value for George Kittle, Dalton Schultz, and Rob Gronkowski for Wild Card Weekend

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As season-long fantasy football managers join in NFL Wild Card Weekend DFS leagues, new challenges emerge as they attempt to determine the correct lineup every week rather than the team they drafted several months ago. With four more games set to play, what are the NFL DFS values of George Kittle, Dalton Schultz, and Rob Gronkowski for Wild Card Weekend?

Rob Gronkowski will have a high-roster percentage in DFS

We are all well aware of the wide receiver situation down in Tampa. Chris Godwin is out for the season (ACL), and Antonio Brown is no longer with the team (being Antonio Brown). If the Buccaneers want to make it to Los Angeles for the Super Bowl, Gronkowski needs to have a vintage Gronk performance.

The last two games indicate Gronkowski’s importance to this offense and speak to his increased utilization. In Weeks 17 and 18, with Mike Evans hurt, Godwin out, and Brown playing only part of the Jets game, Gronkowski recorded 20 targets, tying his highest total for a two-game stretch at any point in the season (Weeks 14 and 15). He had 14 receptions and 252 yards to close out the year, averaging 18 yards per reception.

Will Gronk find the end zone?

The question is can Gronkowski find the end zone again? While he does have 6 touchdowns on the season, 4 of those came in the opening two weeks. He has not scored since his multi-touchdown game in Week 13 against the Falcons.

Gronkowski is the smash play in the Wild Card round of the playoffs in DFS. He is the player that no matter what my lineup build is, Gronk will find his way onto it. Even if that means running a tight end in my flex. That’s a far more viable strategy than being given credit this weekend. Not only do we have the best QB/TE pairing in NFL history, but he is a player who needs to be heavily utilized and in the best matchup of the weekend.

The Eagles have allowed more points to TEs than any other team in the NFL this season at 17.44 PPR per game and are No. 1 in TDs allowed (14). Gronk will have a high roster percentage when lineups lock on DraftKings, and I am perfectly fine with that as I join the masses.

Is George Kittle the forgotten man in DFS for the 49ers?

Normally, anytime Kittle is playing, we are falling over ourselves to start the People’s Tight End. Yet it seems like he is being almost forgotten about when we talk about the 49ers. All eyes have been on Jimmy Garoppolo (and his thumb), Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk. Perhaps it is due to the sluggish end of the season Kittle went through.

In his final three games, Kittle recorded 8 receptions on 12 targets, finishing with less than 30 yards receiving for three consecutive weeks. This made us all forget about the blowup he had in Weeks 13 and 14 with 22 receptions, 332 yards, and 3 touchdowns on 27 targets.

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While no one is quite sure what happened, at least we have a reason in Week 18. Left tackle Trent Williams (elbow) was unable to play in their final game, and the 49ers needed Kittle’s blocking ability more than his pass-catching skills. The good news is Williams is back, and so should be Kittle’s enormous upside.

After the catch, there is no better tight end on Earth than Kittle. And while Dallas could use Micah Parsons to help cover him, I don’t know if that will be enough for a team ranked No. 21 on the season in points allowed to TEs (12.79). At $6,000, Kittle is a steal, and one of several tight ends who are viable DFS plays this weekend. Those wanting to build a lineup around San Francisco should have Kittle as an auto-pick.

Dalton Schultz is one of the best values of all DFS picks this weekend

At the tight end position, few players have been more consistent than Dalton Schultz this season. Playing in 17 games, Schultz hauled in 78 of his 104 targets for 808 yards and 8 touchdowns, finishing as the TE3 in PPR (12.3). What’s interesting is what Schultz has done when Michael Gallup has been absent.

From Weeks 2-9 — when Gallup was on IR — Schultz averaged 6.1 targets, 4.4 receptions, 54.1 yards, and recorded 3 touchdowns. Then, in Week 18, Schultz caught 3 passes for 21 yards with 2 touchdowns. It was his second multi-touchdown game of the season. Over his last four games, Schultz has 25 receptions on 30 targets for 224 yards and 4 touchdowns.

He is just $5,000 on DraftKings, the No. 5 priced TE in DFS. With all the focus on CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper, Schultz is who we need to be talking about as well. In a week where multiple tight ends make sense, he is one of my favorite values, alongside Dallas Goedert ($4,500) and Zach Ertz ($4,700).

The matchup is not great. The 49ers allowed the seventh-fewest fantasy points to the position all season (9.25). But if you look at their schedule, they didn’t face any great tight ends. The last time they played an upper-tier TE was Ertz back in Week 9. Depending on your thoughts on Tyler Higbee, you should be encouraged as they allowed him to go 6-of-8 receiving for 55 yards and 2 touchdowns in Week 18. I will have my fair share of exposure to Schultz in DFS this weekend.

“I was afraid Rob Gronkowski was going to kick one of those cheerleaders”: When Bucs tight end hilariously danced with Venus Williams and James Corden during Lakers halftime show

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Rob Gronkowski is one of the most fun personalities in the NFL, and back in 2019, he teamed up with Venus Williams and James Corden to deliver a great half-time show.

Back in 2019, when Gronk had announced his retirement from the league, he was having the time of his life. He was travelling, meeting new people, and also showing up in NBA games to dance at halftime.

On November 20th, 2019, Gronk teamed up with some other talented people, donning the Lakers’ purple and gold to put on an entertaining halftime show. Who were those other people? None other than star American tennis player Venus Williams and the host of ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden,’ James Corden. You can watch the whole video here, and needless to say, it’s highly entertaining.

Also Read: “Call that one in Matt LaFluer and that s*** ain’t flying.”: Aaron Rodgers roasts Joe Judge and his embarrassing QB sneak call on 3rd down

Rob Gronkowski turned in a resurgent year in the 2021-22 NFL season

Gronk has had a rough few years, dealing with injuries, retirement, and not being as dominant as he used to be. However, this year, Gronk treated us to a season that was reminiscent of his older days when he was the best tight end in the league.

No, he didn’t return to his All-Pro status, but he turned in the best season he’s had since 2017 when he had 1,084 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns.

This year, he pulled in 55 catches for 802 yards and 6 scores. Gronk especially started to turn it up near the end of the season as injuries and random walk-offs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receivers forced the tight end to step it up.

Last week Gronk caught 7 passes for 115 yards and in the final week of the season he hauled in another 7 passes for 137 yards. Gronk secured an extra $1 million by bringing in those numbers over the final two weeks as he needed 7 passes and 65 yards in the season finale to unlock two $500,000 contract bonuses.

Tom Brady didn’t want to get out of the game until he got Rob Gronkowski one more reception for a $500K incentive. pic.twitter.com/B3HdJnf0E8 — Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 10, 2022

Gronkowski joked about how if he didn’t hit those bonuses, he’d have to start looking for a real job. In Brady’s hands, Gronk was able to hit those targets.

“If I don’t get the seventh catch, I have to go get a real job.” 😂 Gronk knew what he had to do in Week 18. @RobGronkowski (via @NFLFilms, @InsidetheNFL) pic.twitter.com/Z31xRmqjpP — NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2022

Also Read: “Tom Brady defied Bruce Arians to help get Rob Gronkowski $1 million incentive”: How Buccaneers QB openly disobeying his coach secured the bag for his future Hall of Fame tight end