Picture yourself as a linebacker in an NFL defense playing against the Patriots at the peak of their dynastic powers.
Patriots Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady is under center. To his right in a three-point stance is a 6-6, 265-pound tight end: he can block like an offensive tackle, his catch radius is enormous, he's deceptively fast, and he's a runaway freight train in the open field. Brady calls for the snap and the backside guard pulls. The hulking tight end releases and Brady turns around to hand the ball off to the running back — everything screams it's a run as you come downhill at the line of scrimmage.
But it's not a run. Instead, Brady fakes the handoff and it's a play-action pass. Now the tight end is running past you to climb over the second level of the defense. He reads the coverage shell. If it's a single-high safety, he takes his route across the field, and before you know it, Brady whips the ball to him on a crossing route, and now a 6-6, 265-pound hulk is moving at full speed in the open field. Frankly, you're screwed.
The scenario we just described happened countless times during soon-to-be inducted Patriots Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski's illustrious career. To unlock Gronk's elite catch-and-run skills, New England's coaches installed a play called Charles Barkley. Barkley was one of several NBA legends the Patriots named plays after, including Michael Jordan, with Charles Barkley being the quintessential Gronk play.
"When [Rob] Gronkowski goes into the Hall of Fame, which he will, half of his yardage probably came on Charles Barkley," Belichick said. "It was a play-action pass and we ran it almost in every game, probably sometimes a couple times in the game, usually in key situations. We faked the running play, we pulled a guard, and the linebackers came forward on the fake. Tom [Brady], as soon as he came off the fake, would just turn around and whip the ball to Rob. The linebackers are caught up in the line and just couldn't get back quick enough and Rob would get in there behind them. It really was an unstoppable play."
Over the years, Charles Barkley, or counter-hot, has evolved to run it from different personnel groupings and formations. The original Charles Barkley was run out of three-receiver '11' personnel, with a "whirl" combination on the outside (curl-wheel). Gronkowski's route also had a route conversion, with the legendary tight end running a crossing route against a single-high safety while splitting the seams if the defense was playing with two-high safeties. Now, New England runs the counter-hot action more out of base personnel.
"The protection long ago had a 'C' and an 'H' in it, so we'd give a term to the entire play so we didn't have to say a long-winded version of that concept: we didn't have to say the formation, the protection, the route, and everything else. We would just shorten them down. So, whether that was Charles Barkley or Chuck Norris or Charlie Sheen or Charlie Brown or whatever," said offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. "(Charles Barkley) ended up being a very popular thing for us. I think it married a lot with what we were doing in the running game. The fact that [Gronkowski] was able to give us the ability to run the runs that came off of those protections and those passes was a huge part of being able to be productive in the passing game too. A lot of coaches have told me they call it the Gronk route in other buildings."
Here's an example of the dynasty Patriots running a Charles Barkley variation in the first quarter of Super Bowl 53. The Pats run it out of '12' personnel with two tight ends on the field. Stud LG Joe Thuney pulls to get the Rams linebackers into the line of scrimmage and Gronkowski crosses behind them and in front of the post-safety for a 19-yard gain.
"We'd hurry up to the line of scrimmage and 'Charles Barkley, Charles Barkley,' and we'd know the play. It was usually after a big run play, so boom, they'd think another run was coming, but it was play-action. That's why it was so successful," Gronkowski said. "That's why I loved blocking. That's what got my foot in the door with the Patriots. That's what got me respect with my teammates. I was a blocker first, actually. That's what made the play so successful. We'd hurry up to the line of scrimmage, keep the defense on their toes, and also, the play-action aspect of it. I just had that feel for how to get open on play-action."
The current Patriots are running Charles Barkley variations on a weekly basis. In Week 4, New England began its game-winning drive in Buffalo by hitting TE Hunter Henry on the counter-hot concept for a 14-yard gain. The current Pats ran the play with six offensive linemen on the field, with the right side down blocking and LG Alijah Vera-Tucker as the puller. The personnel grouping, under-center formation, and blocking scheme sell the run, getting the Bills linebackers to come downhill, and Henry is open to get the drive started in a huge comeback win.
"[Gronkowski] was a master at it. It sells the run and I think he just had so many repetitions at it. Obviously, great hands, he can move really well, and he's a blocking threat, so it's hard for defenses," rookie TE Eli Raridon said. "It's a great, great play design and I've watched a lot of clips of him doing it. It's not like every day, but now and then there's a clip of him, so it's awesome."
From an offensive line perspective, the pulling guard is a key component to the play. By having the line block down while the guard pulls, the initial stages of the concept look like a counter run to defense. So, keeping a "low hat," like a lineman would if he were run blocking, and matching the pacing to sell the run is critical. At the same time, the puller can't get too aggressive to sell the fake or he'll be out of position to execute his pass-block on the defensive end.
"The whole thing is you're out in space, right? You want to just be able to be inside out. You want to threaten the [defensive] end with speed so he doesn't immediately read the pass, but also not lunge into the defender and not get overextended either," said C/G Ben Brown.
On Saturday, the team will induct Gronkowski into the Patriots Hall of Fame in a ceremony at 1 p.m. ET that will stream live on Patriots.com. The larger-than-life icon was a lock for the Pats Hall on his first ballot. Gronkowski is then eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2027, and he should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in Canton as well. For many, his all-around dominance made Gronkowski the greatest tight end in NFL history.
Although Gronkowski has dozens of signature moments in his Hall of Fame career, his signature play was unquestionably named after the Round Mound of Rebound.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
