Every time the New England Patriots are about to play a game in cold weather we are told how great Tom Brady's career record is in temperatures below 40. With an expected high of 22 degrees and a northwest wind of 14 mph in Green Bay on Sunday, it is no doubt that their will be some blustery weather for both teams to deal with.
Instead of looking at Brady's numbers in cold weather, I looked at Gronks. In his 5 professional seasons, Gronk has had 10 touchdown receptions in cold weather. While his career average for receptions is 14.3 yards per catch, he averages 15.3 yards when the temperature falls below 40 degrees.
The other reason I think the New England tight ends will have a big day is the fact that the Green Bay defense has struggled against tight ends this season. According to Football Outsiders the Packers' defense has given up an average of 61.8 yards to tight ends. Moreover, they have struggled with stopping teams number one receivers. Seeing as how they haven't had to face Rob Gronkowski, a tight end who can double as a number one receiver and Tim Wright, first down and touchdown machine, I expect the Packers to give up more than double that to the tight ends. After all, if Greg Olsen can catch all 8 of the passes thrown his direction for 105 yards at Lambeau Field, a healthy Rob Gronkowski should be able to pad his stats. If on the off chance Gronk is shut down, Wright seems to be a target Brady has a lot of confidence in.
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