‘Gronk’ progresses without limp

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS

Another practice, another day of progress for Rob Gronkowski.

The All-Pro tight end was listed as questionable for the New England Patriots for the Super Bowl against the New York Giants on Sunday after moving without a limp on Friday as the Patriots walked through their offensive plays.

Gronkowski practiced on a limited basis Thursday after being hurt 11 days earlier in the Patriots 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game.

During the hour-long session Friday, players ran no faster than at a trot. Coach Bill Belichick said that Gronkowski had no setbacks after Thursday’s practice, his first for the Super Bowl.

“He practiced yesterday,” Belichick said. “We’ll see where he’s at on Sunday, but hopefully [he’ll play]. I saw no setbacks. He’s still making progress.”

Belichick said Gronkowski has been getting treatment “morning, noon and night” and has improved every day.

The Patriots usually hold a walk through the day before a game but moved it up because they had extra time to practice earlier this week, Belichick said.

“I think we’re ready to go,” he said. “We’ve worked hard this week Monday, Wednesday and Thursday in practice, and we had good practices back [in Foxborough, Mass.] last week. We went through some mental-review things out there [Friday].”

The Patriots have no practice plans for today.

Quarterback Tom Brady credited Belichick’s style.

“Nobody works harder than he does,” Brady said. “I don’t think there’s ever been a time that I’ve shown up at the stadium and he’s not there.

“He sees everything. He evaluates everything. He watches every bit of film that he can get.

“Over the course of the season, our teams have always seemed to improve.”

It’s been nearly three months since the Patriots lost — 24-20 to the Giants, who scored a touchdown with 15 seconds left. Since then, Brady has guided his team to 10 straight wins.

“It starts with his heart. The way he reads defenses, the way he directs and takes protections,” guard Logan Mankins said of Brady. “I think everyone gets enamored with the talent side sometimes, but Tom might not be one of the fastest guys, but he’s definitely one of the smartest guys and he has a strong arm.

“He can make all the throws. He reads defenses so fast. It makes him a special player.”

The Patriots led the AFC with 32.1 points per game and are averaging 34 in the playoffs.