In the Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski had a quiet performance being held to just two catches on six targets for 33 yards.
However, there was much attention paid to the Chiefs' defenders holding him on several plays throughout the game. According to Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal, Gronkowski voiced no disgruntlement toward that as he stated he would do the same if that wasn't called a penalty by the referees.
“If I was one of those [defensive backs] and you’ve seen film over the last few years, I mean, I would definitely be doing that if I was the DB,” Gronkowski said. “One hundred percent. I mean, you don’t really ever see it called ever. So I’ve just got to play with it and play how the game is called, and if I was the DB I would do it, too.”
It comes down to the simple fact that many of the times referees choose not to throw the flag as often in those situations as it slows down the game. It also takes away from the action, which is the NFL doesn't want to do as fans are attracted to the big plays made, especially in the passing game.
This is something that goes both ways as the offensive player often times doesn't get called for either holding or pushing off when the ball is headed in their direction. In many instances, no flag is thrown because it's deemed as just physical play.
Ultimately, it is part of the game where no every call is being made on both sides of the situation, which is something that Gronkowski realizes. If anything, this will result in him playing more physical moving forward.
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