What to make of Alex Guerrero’s work with Rob Gronkowski?
I probably wouldn’t buy a used car from Alex Guerrero, if Alex Guerrero sold used cars. Some of his past dealings appear shadier than any nightshade. I still have enough wits about me to know that the concept of “concussion water’’ should bring skepticism if not outright derision.
Yet I absolutely think it’s a great thing for the Patriots that Rob Gronkowski is now under his influence.
Some of Guerrero’s methods as Tom Brady’s personal life whisperer are curious. Some are controversial; he was sanctioned by the Federal Trade Commission for marketing a beverage he falsely claimed could help prevent or cure cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes. He also, in a 2003 sales presentation, falsely portrayed himself as a medical doctor and lied that he had obtained a bachelor’s degree in biology.
Others are amusing. (Whaddaya mean, tomatoes are bad for you? In ketchup form, maybe.)
But there is little doubt that his work with Brady is a factor, and perhaps a significant one, in the 40-year-old quarterback’s ability to thrive at a level few other players have ever reached, even in younger years. He is supposed to be past his expiration date. He remains as great as he — or anyone else — has ever been.
He’s not just doing something right. He must be doing everything right, and that must include even some of the unconventional methods Guerrero has him apply. Brady has said the particular emphasis on flexibility, or pliability as he often calls it, is one of the reasons he has been able to avoid injury at an age when most players are beginning to feel in their bones every injury they ever had.
Doesn’t it seem like this is the precise approach Gronkowski should be taking at this point in his career? He is 28 years old, a brute among brutes. He is already on the short list of the most complete tight ends ever to play. He may be the lone name on that short list, actually.
He has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in a season three times, with a high of 1,327 in his dominant 2011 season. He has reached double figures in receiving touchdowns four times, including a high of 17, again in 2011. Last year, he averaged 21.6 yards per catch.
A 6-foot-6-inch, 265-pound power forward of a tight end should not be a threat to go the distance. Gronkowski is, always — on the field. The problem — and the reason Guerrero’s input is good news — is that Gronkowski struggles to go the distance over the full season.
Gronkowski has played 16 games in a season twice; and they were the first two seasons (2010, ’11) of his seven-year career. He has missed 24 regular-season games over the last five years with knee, arm, and back injuries, the latter of which ended his 2016 season after just eight games.
Injuries are often just the product of lousy luck and lousier timing, but it is easy to understand why Gronkowski gets hurt. Tackling him is like trying to chop down a redwood. Defensive backs have to go low and hang on for dear life. He’s so big, he takes so many hits, and it’s a long way down when he starts to fall.
He’s dominant in part because no one his size should move so well. But he doesn’t need to add more size as he ages. He needs to become more flexible — right, more pliable — in order to avoid those types of injuries that tend to affect the muscle-bound.
Gronkowski has the public image of a fun-loving goof, and that’s a genuinely large part of who he is. But he’s also self-aware, and downright smart about his career. (How savvy is it of him to live off his endorsement money, as he has said he does?) He’s not just a professional football player. He’s a professional about being a football player.
A couple of weeks ago, Gronkowski explained why he’s working with Guerrero — he isn’t that young anymore, and he knows it.
“Being young — I mean, as you get older you start feeling it more, for sure,’’ he said. “I remember I was 21 at one point, when I was 22, first [and] second year in the league, I could just go home and I used to just not really do anything.
“But now as you get older, it just felt like it was that time in my career where I just really needed to focus on it and go to the next level or else I could’ve possibly been out of the door. So just wanted to take it to the next level and keep on going.’’
It was surprising to see Gronkowski on the field last Saturday night for the preseason game against the Texans. Bill Belichick usually has been cautious with him in the preseason; it was his first game before the real games since 2012.
But perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising. Brady always seems to take more reps in the preseason than we expect. Most of us presume that is just his competitiveness in motion, but we’ve come to learn that Guerrero advises him to play in those meaningless games, to get out there, take a few hits, and let his body make the inhuman adjustment to playing professional football again.
It makes some sense, even with the risk. Belichick must feel the same way, because he complies, or at least is in agreement.
I’m not sure I trust Alex Guerrero in every matter. Or most matters, for that matter. But the on-field results suggest that Brady has been aided by his unconventional guidance. Perhaps Gronkowski will be too. He’s not playing until he’s 40. But a healthy, dominant year at 28 would be a heck of an endorsement.
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