Rob Gronkowski dismisses low hit worries ahead of AFC Championship game
Friday 22 January 2016 15:09, UK
New England Patriots' tight end Rob Gronkowski has insisted that low hits are just 'part of the game' as he prepares to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
The two sides will face off in the AFC Championship game, live on Sky Sports, where Gronkowski will come up against Broncos safety TJ Ward.
Ward, then playing at the Cleveland Browns, ended Gronkowski's 2013 season with a low hit, but the Patriots star dismissed any worries about being targeted by the Broncos.
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"[Low hits are] part of the game. I've been seeing it all year," Gronkowski told the New England Patriots' official website.
"I've been seeing it my whole career. I've just got to get low, get my shoulder down, protect the ball, just protect myself in any way when I see a lot of guys coming.
"Or when I know there's not a chance to make that many yards, possibly just go down on that play, but if you can make a play then try and make a play, get more yards.
"But at the same time I've just got to watch it, get your pads down. It's football, so you've got to be ready for contact at all times."
Ward himself has refuted any talk of ill-feeling between himself and Gronkowski ahead of the game.
"He's no different to anyone else," Ward told Sky Sports. "There are big tight ends all over the league and you've got to figure out a way to bring them down.
"It's probably a worse memory for him than it is for me. It doesn't come up in my memory. People always bring it up to me, but it was in the past. I'm just trying to make plays in the future and on Sunday."
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