Rob Gronkowski feeling loose heading into Sunday night showdown

FOXBOROUGH — Rob Gronkowski is feeling good.

Maybe it's the looming Sunday night game against the Falcons, a team he missed out on in last year’s Super Bowl because of injury. Maybe it's the fact that he's coming off arguably his finest game of the season. Or maybe it's just because he has (thus far) avoided the same fate as many of the other stars around the league who have already gone down with season-ending injuries.

But the guy who once gave us Yo Soy Fiesta was pretty loose at the podium in the media workroom on Wednesday afternoon after practice. Taking the place of Tom Brady’s regularly-scheduled presser — the quarterback was pushed back a day for undisclosed reasons — he quickly got down to business.



Shortly after coming directly from the Gillette Stadium cafeteria — and making sure the crumbs were brushed from his face — he was aseked about Bill Belichick’s reaction to his high-stepping down the sideline to a touchdown in Sunday’s win over the Jets, playfully poked fun at a reporters’ “partying” habits and dispensed some encouraging advice for newly-injured Celtic Gordon Hayward.

First, Gronkowski was asked about the reaction Belichick had for the tight end and his celebration where he high-stepped his way into the end zone on the way to one of his two touchdowns against New York on Sunday. Told that Belichick liked it, he was astonished.

“He liked that? It didn’t seem like he liked it,” explained Gronkowski. “He says I've got twinkle toes, so I’ll take twinkle toes. I like when I have twinkle toes — that means I’m feeling good. I’m feeling it.”

Twinkle toes?

“Yeah, he said I had twinkle toes. I took it as a compliment,” he said, before adding that he was going to make sure he checked out the segment online. “I’m going to check it out. I like twinkle toes.”

If history is any indication, a happy Gronkowski is a productive Gronkowski. The fun-loving, kick-up-your-heels approach has always benefitted him, and it usually means good production when it comes to the Patriots passing game. On Sunday against New York, the twinkle toes were a positive sight for an offense that had occasionally stalled out over the first five weeks of the season.

“He’s a big focal point in our offense," said Brady on a conference call with the Atlanta media. "I mean, I think when he gets going, it’s great for everybody, so it’s been great having him in there this year. He’s worked really hard and he’s a great player. I love playing with him. We’ve got a great rapport, and hopefully we can put together a good game plan this week."

“We want execution at the highest every play we do, every week in and out,” said Gronkowski, who had six catches on a team-high 10 targets for 83 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Jets. “We try to make it a focal point that we want to execute every single drive, every single play. But it’s football. That’s not going to happen every single time and that’s when you have to put some plays behind you and just move on to the next play.

“You always want to be at the top. But you’ve got to grind, you’ve got to practice hard in order for that to happen.”

Gronkowski did wedge in some seriousness into the mix. Asked about Hayward’s injury, he said he wished him “nothing but wellness” going forward.

“Hopefully, he heals as soon as possible,” said Gronkowski.”You never want to see that with a player in any sport. One of my friends showed me that last night. You get that feeling in your body like your heart just drops. I wish him well. I can’t wait to see him back. I know he’s going to bounce back, but being here in Boston he's going to be a hard worker I feel like and I can’t wait to watch him when he gets back.

As an athlete who had to endure multiple rehabs, he offered some advice.

“Just go into rehab just like you go into anything else – dominate it,” he said. “Come back when you feel ready and come back when you're 100 percent. Just like anything else. He wouldn’t be where he is now if he wasn’t a hard worker. I don’t know the guy, have never met him, but it’s not something that you want to see as an athlete happen to anyone else.”

Gronk wrapped up with a bit of speculation as to why prime time games are so exciting.

“Prime time games are nice. I mean, they're definitely different from the one o'clock games. You’re under the lights. You get all day to hang out and chill. I feel like that atmosphere of excitement for once the game starts is up there. It’s great.

“The fans, I feel like, are just always way more into the game when its night time. I don’t know why. Maybe they’re partying hard all day?” asked Gronkowski.

The tight end then looked down at ESPN’s Mike Reiss, sitting in the front row. “I heard you do that, Mike,” he said with a laugh.

The biggest takeaway from his time at the podium on Wednesday? If Gronkowski’s feel-good presser is any indication, it’ll be a long Sunday night for the Falcons. Yo Soy Fiesta, indeed.