(Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/Denver Post)
by Dakota Antelman
The Associated Press released its annual list of NFL All-Pro players Friday morning. Three Patriots made the list with one Rob Gronkowski being denoted as a unanimous selection.
This is the third All-Pro selection of Gronkowski’s career and it comes following one of the best seasons of it. The Patriot tight end returned from nagging arm, knee and back trouble to fanfare and increased target totals from quarterback Tom Brady.
He played 15 of 16 total games, missing the finale vs. Buffalo only for precautionary reasons. Gronkowski caught 82 of 130 passes thrown to him and was responsible for 1,124 receiving yards. He converted on 60 first down situations and was a go-to target in the red-zone catching 12 touchdown passes.
2014 was a fun year for Gronkowski involving hard hitting, gravity defying tackle resistance and a slew of highlight reel plays.
His teammates understood that much.
"He's, I think, when you say a kid playing the game, that's him," Patriots safety Devin McCourty said of Gronkowski. "He don't care about anything, stats, if we're up or down, he's playing one way. He's playing hard and you can tell he's just having fun with his friends on the field."
Among the other Patriots honored Friday by the AP were Patriot cornerback Darelle Revis and kicker Stephan Gostkowski. Revis received the most votes of all cornerbacks even beating out shut-down Seattle Seahawks CB, Richard Sherman. 2014 marks the fourth season in which Revis has made the All-Pro list and serves as considerable validation for a powerful effort by the 29 year old in his first season with the Patriots.
“I think I’m a better player than I was a couple years ago, just by the growth as a player, growing in this league,” Revis said to ESPN back on the 18th of December. “Just continuing to stay consistent with my studies and what I do as a player.”
Gostkowski, unlike Revis or Gronkowski was a second team All-Pro this year. It is his second appearance as he was named as a 1stteam player back in 2008.
The Patriots were a deep team in the 2014 regular season. Their depth and the varied nature of their roster made them a difficult team to plan for. Above all though, Gronkowski and Revis in particular, two MVP candidates, deserved recognition for what they have done to get the Patriots where they are.
The writers and football personalities involved with voting for the AP All-Pro’s understood that and obliged.
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