Gronkowski’s status uncertain
INDIANAPOLIS — Welcome to the day-to-day dance.
Asked at length about the health of star tight end Rob Gronkowski upon arriving here for Super Bowl XLVI, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said simply, “Day-to-day.”
An otherwise open Belichick, wearing a dark suit instead of his trademark hoodie, talked about his late father’s influence and glowed after being mentioned in the same sentence as Chuck Noll, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach with whom he could share a record four career Super Bowl victories.
Asked about “Hoosier hospitality,” Belichick referred to his most infamous coaching gaffe.
“I never had too much hospitality here,” he said of his popularity in the home of the Indianapolis Colts, “until I went for it on fourth-and-2.”
The failed try from the New England 28-yard line led to Indianapolis’ gamewinning touchdown in a 2009 regularseason game.
After that, “Fans greeted us lots more and were awfully friendly,” he said.
Yet Belichick gave up nothing when it came to Gronkowski’s injured left ankle, which was in a walking boot when the team’s plane arrived Sunday from Boston’s Logan Airport.
Like the Steelers’ Maurkice Pouncey a year ago and the Colts’ Dwight Freeney in 2010, Gronkowski’s bum ankle promises to be a topic of much speculation during Super Bowl week.
The record-setting second-year tight end was injured in New England’s 2320 AFC Championship Game victory against the Baltimore Ravens in which he caught five passes for 87 yards.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady at least acknowledged the possibility of being without the man who had 17 touchdown catches — an NFL single-season record for tight ends — among his 90 receptions.
“You’ve got to prepare for every one of these situations that come up,” Brady said. “You always have to have contingency plans.”
Plan B would likely include bigger roles for tight end Aaron Hernandez and wide receiver Wes Welker, who caught 122 passes for 1,569 yards this season.
“I know that I need to make some plays if one of those guys is out,” Welker said of Hernandez and Gronkowski. “They’re a big, integral part of our offense. They’ve been great players all year, and we’re going to lean on them.”