Scott Chandler understands his role will increase exponentially if Rob Gronkowski misses Sunday's contest and any subsequent weeks. Chandler, however, won't attempt to imitate Gronk.
"I don't know that it's always that easy," Chandler said of trying to replace Gronk's production, via CSN New England. "There's not a lot of Robs walking around. I'm just doing what I can here. I'm focused on that. I'm not trying to be Rob because I would fail."
No football player on this planet combines Gronk's physicality, speed, size, catching radius and hands. It's the reason at just 26, he's already No. 3 all time in touchdowns by a tight end.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels explained this week that while Chandler excels in the vertical passing game, it's not realistic to expect the tight end to emulate every play Gronk might run.
"I think Rob is a very unique player and it would be difficult for anybody to come in and do the same exact things that Rob does in any capacity," McDaniels. "I think that we have some guys in the skilled group that we try to put in positions where we feel like those are things that they do well, whether that be the receivers, the tight ends or the running backs.
"And if it's not something where we feel comfortable with them or they don't feel comfortable doing it, then we're going to try to do as many things that fit the personnel we have on a week-to-week basis as we can. Rob certainly has a broad spectrum of things that he allows us to do, and other players have different unique skill sets that we try to utilize as well."
Chandler, 6-foot-7, should play a larger red zone role and will certainly see an uptick in his stats as long as Gronk sits. After years missing the playoffs in Buffalo, at this stage of his career, the 30 year old is concerned about one thing: wins.
"I think being where I'm at in my career and having been where I was," he said, "10-1 is the only stat that matters. I'm pretty excited about that."
