Rob Gronkowski Discusses The Patriots' First Five Games, Josh Gordon, Playing The Chiefs And More

The New England Patriots sit atop the AFC East and Rob Gronkowski is the team’s leading receiver through five games. While neither of those facts comes as a surprise, they don’t exactly tell the whole story of the early portion of the 2018 season for the defending AFC champions and their star tight end.

After winning their home opener against the Houston Texans, New England promptly lost two consecutive road games to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions. Gronkowski totaled just 66 receiving yards in the two defeats, and he confirmed a report that he considered retiring in the offseason when New England nearly traded him to Detroit.

Of course, any fleeting notion that the Patriots might be in trouble in the division disappeared with New England’s dominant 38-7 victory over the Miami Dolphins. The team cruised by the Indianapolis Colts on “Thursday Night Football,” putting them above .500 and setting up a premiere matchup in Week 6. The Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs, the AFC’s only undefeated team, on Sunday night.

Gronkowski had six catches for 75 yards in New England’s last win, playing despite an ankle injury that put him on the team’s injury report. He’s been selected to the Pro Bowl in five of the last seven seasons and remains one of the NFL’s most dangerous playmakers when healthy.

Gronkowski has teamed up with Honey Nut Cheerios and their Good Rewards Program, hoping to raise $100,000 for the Gronk Nation Youth Foundation. The two-time Super Bowl champion spoke with International Business Times about the partnership, the first five weeks of the season, New England’s upcoming game with Kansas City and more.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How would you characterize your season through the first five games?

I’ll just characterize it by saying it’s the NFL. Anyone can beat any team on any given Sunday. Everyone’s good. Everyone’s got good players, and you gotta be prepared every single week, week in and week out, in order to keep winning.

Each season, the Patriots seem to get better as the year goes on. Do you find that to be the case?

I would say it’s true in some instances. But when you win a game, you gotta put that behind you and you gotta move forward on to the next week. And it’s the same thing when you lose a game. You gotta take what you did wrong, you gotta correct it and then that following week, you gotta move on. You gotta start preparing for the next team. So it’s a week in and week out season. Every single week is a new week, new opponent, new team, and you gotta put it behind you, win or loss, and you gotta focus on the next team coming up.

What was your reaction when you found out the team traded for Josh Gordon?

It was awesome. When I heard that we were getting him I thought it was a fantastic play. He’s doing a great job, and every single week you just see him improving. His confidence is going up and it’s great to have him on our side. He’s a great player and he’s a phenomenal athlete.

What kind of a difference has it made having Gordon and Julian Edelman in the lineup?

It’s great having our whole team intact. We really haven’t practiced together and we just played a game together. But we can keep improving. We got practices coming up. We gotta build up the chemistry. It’s good to have Julian back. All the energy he brings to our team, the underneath routes that he runs get the sticks moving for us on third down. It’s great to have everyone back and keep building.

Even with the slow start, I think most people assumed you guys would still be one of the league’s best teams. Did you have that same level of confidence?

Every week is tough. No matter who you’re playing, if the team is undefeated or not. There are great players on each side of the ball of every team. If you lose some games, you just gotta put them down, learn the corrections from them and then move on. Go out and improve and go out and try to win every week.

Has it always been easy to shake off losses or is that something you learned to do throughout your career?

Just being here in this organization, you learn to make corrections. You learn from what you did wrong and it’s just like anything else. You want to know what you did wrong and you want to learn and you wanna correct the problems, whatever they were. Eventually you do that and you just gotta put that whole game behind you, win or loss. Because it’s a one-week season, every single week. Always a new team, always a new storyline every week. So you just gotta put it behind you and give it your best effort every week. That’s all you can really ask for.

You were banged up with an ankle injury before last week’s game. How healthy are you and are you close to 100 percent?

I don’t think, being in the NFL, playing every week, you’re ever gonna be 100 percent in this game. It’s a pretty brutal game, just the collisions on every play. The beatings our bodies take, you gotta be up to date with it. You gotta be on top of it to be ready every week. I’m feeling good. I’m feeling good enough to play and that’s all I can ask for.

Is it a noticeable advantage to have 10 days to prepare for your next game?

We prepare basically the same every single game. Try to learn our opponents inside and out. But yes, there is some extra time, so I would say with the extra days you definitely do feel a little bit more prepared, a little bit more well rested. That’s what’s crucial about the days off. Getting the extra rest and resting your body so you’re ready to go for the following week.

The Chiefs are the only undefeated team in the AFC. Do you view Sunday’s game as a litmus test?

They’re a great team. They got great players on each side of the ball. It’s gonna be a tough opponent next week. It’s gonna be a tough game. We gotta be ready mentally and physically. And we gotta prepare very well. It’s gonna be a big game. It’s gonna be the biggest game of the season for us. It’s Sunday Night Football so we gotta be ready and come hard.

Your name is often brought up alongside Travis Kelce’s as the league’s best tight ends. Does going up against him add any extra juice to Sunday’s game?

He’s a great player. He’s a phenomenal athlete and he runs great routes. It juices it up a little bit, obviously. They’ve got a great team. And they got a great quarterback, a great offense. And they got a great tight end in Kelce too. So it just juices it up a little bit. But I would say in the end it’s whoever the best team is that plays next Sunday night will win. But it’s great to go against an opponent like Kelce. You can learn a lot from him too, and it’s great to be just competing against him on the field.

Tell me about your partnership with Honey Nut Cheerios and how fans can get involved.

I’m excited to team up with Honey Nut Cheerios and help kick off Good Rewards and have the opportunity to win $100,000 for the Gronk Nation Youth Foundation, which I started a few years ago with my family. It’s committed to ensuring that young people stay active and involved in school and sports and have the tools and equipment they need to reach their maximum potential. Go to BeeGoodRewards.com and scan a Buzzcoin on the back of a Honey Nut Cheerios box and put the Buzzcoin into my team because I’m facing Michael B. Jordan and Lucy Hale. They each have their own charity too and the winner will take home $100,000. So I need everyone to vote for me.