Rob Gronkowski may have a reputation befitting the classic big, dumb jock. Don’t be fooled. He knows a lot more about football than he lets on. You don’t become a future Hall of Fame tight end by not knowing what you’re doing. He’s played for some of the best offensive minds of the past quarter-century. It started with Josh McDaniels in New England and ended with Bruce Arians in Tampa Bay. Gronk knows what the good ones are supposed to look like. It might be interesting to get his opinion on Ben Johnson and his counterpart, Matt Lafleur, this Sunday.
Gronkowski appeared on the Up & Adams show on Wednesday. He was asked a straightforward question. If given the choice, which offense would he rather play in? The Chicago Bears under Johnson or the Green Bay Packers under Lafleur. While the former tight end said both coaches are great at what they do, he feels Johnson is superior for two key reasons.
One is creativity, and the other is aggression. Despite Lafleur’s prowess, he tends to be somewhat vanilla and conservative in his approach.
Ben Johnson is unapologetic about his approach.
Being aggressive is something ingrained in him. He believes hunting big plays is the fastest way to winning football games in the NFL. Sure, there is a fine line between aggressive and reckless, but he continues to show a clear understanding of the boundary. Chicago leads the NFL with 94 big plays this season, which are rushes of 10 yards or more and passes of 20 yards or more. The fact that he’s doing this with an offense filled mostly with players he didn’t acquire is nothing short of miraculous.
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Lafleur has been running the same offense for years. It has remained highly productive throughout that time, but not to the same degree as Johnson’s. This is most evident in the playoffs. Green Bay has averaged 24 points per game under Lafleur. Detroit averaged 29 with Ben Johnson. No doubt the Packers head coach is eager to prove everybody wrong on Sunday with a decisive win over the Bears. One thing is certain. That city may turn on him if he doesn’t. All the pressure seems to be on him.
