Broncos corner on tackling Rob Gronkowski: 'Hit him in his knees'

The last time Rob Gronkowski was in Denver, he left the field on a cart after Denver Broncos safety Darian Stewart dove at his knees.

That's the way you have to tackle the New England Patriots star tight end, Broncos Pro Bowl cornerback Chris Harris said. The Broncos and Patriots play Sunday in the AFC championship game.

"You gotta hit him low, man — hit him in his knees," Harris said on ESPN's SportsCenter, via Business Insider. "That's the best chance you have of hitting him."

Harris didn't say it in an ominous or threatening way; he was smiling and laughing when he answered the question of how to tackle Gronkowski. It was just an honest answer to the question. That doesn't mean it isn't a scary thought for Gronkowski. Defenders have taken to going low on Gronkowski, and Stewart did it a few times in Denver during that Week 12 game in which Gronkowski was hurt. Gronkowski looked to be badly injured, but ended up missing just one game. It could have been worse. But heading into this game he will be well aware that the Broncos feel that going for his knees is the best course of action.

"You gotta take his legs out or hold on and wait for everybody, wait for the gang to come on and gang tackle him," Harris said on ESPN.
Is it dirty? It's not really fair to Gronkowski. Immediately after the game, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said he didn't think it was dirty, but a few days later said he thought hits like that should be outlawed.

"I do think they should change some of those rules with defenseless receivers," Brady said the Wednesday after the game, according to CSNNE's Tom Curran. "I don't think there's anything different from a chop block. Everyone else has their legs protected in the NFL. Quarterbacks get their legs protected. Defensive linemen get their legs protected. Linebackers get their legs protected. I don't see why a defenseless receiver shouldn't get his legs protected either. Maybe that's something they'll look at in the offseason."

Gronkowski offered his own analysis of the issue Tuesday evening on Twitter :

Heard their whole team is good at giving low blows 😜🏈 https://t.co/nDOsOwkvki

— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) January 19, 2016

The argument for diving at Gronkowski's knees as being OK is usually that he is too big and there's no other way to tackle him, but that doesn't seem to be a decent reason to put his career in danger. Gronkowski tore an ACL once when a defender dove at his legs (it was then-Cleveland Browns safety T.J. Ward, who happens to play for the Broncos now) and Stewart's hit could have done much more damage if the timing was just a little different. Gronkowski was still having issues with his knee before last week's playoff game, and it can be reasonably assumed that had something to do with the lingering effects of Stewart's hit.

Harris' comments didn't seem calculated or intended to intimidate Gronkowski. Intentional or not, it's hard to believe those comments and his previous game against the Broncos won't be on Gronkowski's mind before Sunday's game.