NFL Notebook: Mark Bavaro talks about what makes Rob Gronkowski so great

In this week’s edition of the NFL Notebook, we notice a bit of a change in Duron Harmon, find out what one ex-Patriot thinks about a possible Tom Brady-Jimmy Garoppolo comparison, and the challenge that Sam Darnold and Josh Allen will face if they meet New England in 2018 as rookie quarterbacks. But we start with an excerpt from our Friday chat with Mark Bavaro, where he gives his thoughts on Rob Gronkowski, and explains how Bill Belichick occasionally uses him as a foil to try and light a fire under the New England tight end.


1. If you've spent any time around Bill Belichick over the years, you know he has his favorite players, and while he'll gladly take 10 minutes on a Friday to wax about the greatness of Tedy Bruschi or Kevin Faulk, he isn't afraid to go all the way back to his days with the Giants. When he does that, one of his all-time favorites callbacks is Mark Bavaro, the prototypical pass-catching, rock-solid tight end who helped re-define the position in the late 1980s with New York. I was lucky enough to track down Bavaro this week for part of our “New England Roots” series (the full interview with the Danvers native will be along soon) and got his thoughts on a bunch of stuff, including Rob Gronkowski. He said that while he’s impressed by the Patriots' tight end — “Gronk is great” — the game has changed so much, he’s not sure Gronkowski is even playing the same type of position he was back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. “The game is so different and offenses are so different, so it’s difficult for me to put myself in his shoes and compare it,” said Bavaro. “But when I watch him play, to watch him on that second level, even when he’s running with linebackers, he’s so much bigger and faster, and has so much range. It’s funny — like a giant against Lilliputians. I love watching him with guys hanging on him trying to swat the ball away. It’s always a shock when he gets hit, when he looks human. But he’s a man among boys when it comes to him against the secondary. It’s fun to watch.”

2. One other Bavaro/Gronk note — Bavaro knows Belichick continues to mention him as being the only other tight end who he’s ever seen who is in Gronkowski’s class. Bavaro says it’s flattering, but he also knows that sort of talk can serve another purpose, one he used to witness when he was with Belichick, Bill Parcells and the Giants. “Gronk is awesome,” explained Bavaro. “In that case, he’s just using me as a foil, a guy to maybe light a fire under Gronk’s ass, because he’s so good, and when you’re good and everyone is telling you you’re so good, it can be hard to self-motivate. It’s always about trying to keep a great player on their toes. ‘You’re good, but you’re not as good as this other guy.’ It can motivate you to say ‘Screw that … I’ll show him.’ Bill Parcells did it with the Giants all the time. And Belichick knows what buttons to push — he knows how to do it as effectively as Parcells did.” Like I said, we’ll have more from Bavaro in the next edition of “New England Roots,” including some more of his thoughts on Belichick. But he was a fun guy to interview.



3. Duron Harmon has always been great to talk with. Smart, quotable and outgoing, he’s been one of the go-to guys in the locker room over the last couple of years. But this week when he was speaking after the OTA workout with reporters, there was a distinct shift in his tone. The veteran defensive back was still his outgoing self, but there were also moments of introspection, as he hinted that he wanted to hit the reset button this offseason in a few different respects. While he was guarded about the reasons he wanted to make a change, it appears there were three driving forces at work: one, his offseason brush with the law humbled him a bit. Two, the bitter aftertaste from the Super Bowl loss still nags at him. And three, the departure of Malcolm Butler appeared to shake him a bit. To that end, he told our Greg Bedard that when it came to landing Butler’s old digits — which happened when he allowed former Rutgers teammate Jason McCourty to take No. 30, he jumped at the chance. "I've talked to him a few times ... oh, about the number?" Harmon said. "We didn't talk about the number, we talked a little bit before that, but I don't think he'll be too mad about me wearing the number. I think he'd rather me have it than anybody else." As for any compensation between McCourty and Harmon, Harmon said there wasn't any specific arrangement but that his family would be able to purchase all the new jerseys they needed at the Patriots Pro Shop thanks to McCourty.

4. Interesting statements coming from Cassius Marsh this past week in San Francisco. The linebacker, who spent part of the 2017 season with the Patriots before being waived and getting picked up by the Niners, says he knew Jimmy Garoppolo was going to light up the league because he used to “shred” the New England defense every day in practice. “I already knew that was going to happen; I called it before anybody,” Marsh said of Garoppolo’s 5-0 finish as a starter. “I knew because I was with the Patriots and he would shred our defense every day. He’d shred the first team every day, and it looked no different than when Tom (Brady) was on the field. He’s a much better athlete than Tom; he’s super disciplined and works hard. I’m very happy to have him as my quarterback.”

5. Much has been made about the first-round five — the five quarterbacks who were taken in the first round of this year’s NFL draft — and the impact they might have on the league in 2018. A quick look at the schedule reveals it looks like the Patriots will have a chance to face two of the five in the regular season in Allen and Darnold. If both get the chance to line up against New England, they’ll be facing a sizable challenge: Of the quarterbacks who have faced Belichick and the Patriots during their rookie season since 2001, only five of them — Geno Smith (2013), Russell Wilson (2012), Colt McCoy (2010), Mark Sanchez (2009) and Ben Roethlisberger (2004) — pulled off wins over Belichick and New England in their first years in the league. And in that same span, no rookie quarterback in his first or second start against the Patriots has beaten Belichick in New England.

6. We’re going to try and fill some of the space between now and the start of training camp over the next couple of months with some interesting charts and graphs. Our first this week looks at the total number of offensive giveaways over the last five seasons. New England is tops with just 70, including just 11 in 2016. The Chiefs (78) and Seahawks (84) round out the top 3. At the other end of the spectrum? The Browns, who have 148 giveaways the last five years. The Giants (142) are next-to-last, while the Bucs and Broncos (136) are also near the cellar.

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7. We’re two months removed from the start of free agency, and it’s two months before the start of training camps, and there are several veteran free agents still on the market. At this point, I’d expect the bulk of these players — the ones who are interested in continuing to play, at least — to draw interest between now and the start of camp. There are also guys who will sign with a team following some sort of injury in spring and summer sessions. Lots of interesting names still out there.

Quarterback: Matt Moore, Ryan Mallett
Running back: DeMarco Murray, Shane Vereen, Adrian Peterson
Tight end: Julius Thomas, Antonio Gates, Brent Celek
Wide receiver: Dez Bryant, Jeremy Maclin, Eric Decker, Michael Floyd
Offensive line: Luke Joeckel, Eric Winston
Edge defender: Junior Galette, Connor Barwin
Defensive line: Alan Branch, Ricky Jean-Francois
Linebacker: Navorro Bowman, Jonathan Casillas, Brian Cushing
Cornerback: Bashaud Breeland, Delvin Breaux
Safety: Kenny Vaccaro, Eric Reid, Tre Boston

For what it’s worth, the Patriots kicked the tires on a number of these guys in the early stages of free agency, including old friends Vereen and Casillas, as well as Breaux. Galette has speculated about the possibility of retirement, but if I were the Patriots, I’d at least take a look at both him and Barwin as potential one-year, edge rush types who could provide a short-term boost for the New England defense.

8. I’d be interested to get Belichick’s unvarnished opinion on a kickoff idea that was floated by Baltimore coach John Harbaugh — basically, give the kickoff team one point for booting a kickoff through the uprights. It’s clear why Harbaugh and the Ravens would be pushing something like this, as they have the best kicker in the league right now in Justin Tucker (a guy who has been known to drill 70-yard field goals in practice). But given his love of trying to get an edge via special teams, my guess is this is the sort of intriguing wrinkle that would fascinate Belichick.

9. There will be a good chance for local kids ages nine to 14 to get some coaching from some former Patriots at the latest “Football for You” clinic, scheduled for June 6 at Madison Park in Roxbury from 4-7 p.m. The clinic is free of charge, and Patriots alumni will serve as instructors during the skills sessions, along with the local high school coaching staff. “This event has given us, both Patriots Alumni and the Patriots Charitable Foundation, an opportunity to reach out and show kids who might not really understand the values of team sports how it helps in the development of life skills,” said former center and President of Patriots Alumni Pete Brock. “During the last 11 years, we have expanded this program throughout New England. The campers have learned teamwork, camaraderie and discipline while just having fun. And for all of the alumni players involved, it has been fun for us as we get to share our experiences with the kids.” For more information, check out patriotsalumni.com.

10. Looking ahead, the Patriots have the weekend off, and will get back on the field for OTA sessions next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The next media availability is scheduled for Thursday. It’s also worth noting that Brady’s Best Buddies event is set for next weekend, and — at least traditionally — he’s done some promotional media appearances. Given how things have played out this spring, it’ll be interesting to see what he decides to do.