The 17th meeting between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning already has become the focal point of the AFC title game. But there will be plenty of other angles worth pursuing, especially since it’s highly unlikely that Brady and Manning will be on the field at the same time.
Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall and Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski will be on the field at the same time. And Marshall addressed on Monday’s PFT Live the question of why it’s so hard to cover Gronkowski.
“I say ‘cause he pushes off,” Marshall said. “I mean, he pushes off and he gets away with it about 98 percent of the time.”
Patriots fans would say Gronkowski doesn’t get away with it at all, given the amount of times that he has been flagged for it this year. But being flagged for it multiple times doesn’t mean he hasn’t done it even more than that.
Marshall also praised Gronkowski’s skills, unrelated to his ability to commit pass interference.
“I think he’s a great tight end,” Marshall said. “He’s big, he’s fast. He’s faster than what you would think. And he has great hands.”
Gronkowski also likely has a long enough memory to recall that, the last time he played the Broncos in Denver, they injured his knee by going low to hit him. That could make Gronkowski a lot motivated than talk of pushing off.
