FOXBORO -- Rob Gronkowski is healthy and playing as well as he ever has 16 weeks into his eighth NFL season.
It could be a coincidence that he's been working with Tom Brady's "body coach" Alex Guerrero this season since undergoing his most recent back surgery. He's been good late in seasons in the past, of course, with 2014 and 2015 serving as prime examples. He performed well in the postseason in both those years and was named a First Team All-Pro after each.
On the flip side, an emphasis on pliability and balance -- both hallmarks of the "TB12 Method," which Guerrero helped developed -- could certainly be benefiting him. So has Guerrero's restricted access at Gillette Stadium, reported this week by the Boston Globe, impacted Gronkowski's preparation at all?
"It hasn't impacted my preparation at all," he said. "I don't know much at all about that. I didn't read anything about it. I saw that there's stuff. That's between Tom and the team. I don't know. I have no clue. But I'm just preparing. Worrying about the Bills."
Gronkowski acknowledged that he still works with Guerrero "up there," meaning at the TB12 Sports Therapy Center at Patriot Place -- not at Gillette Stadium. Maybe that's why he was flexible enough to make a critical fourth-quarter catch that was directed at his feet last weekend against the Steelers. Maybe not. He wouldn't say.
"I just made that catch because that's where Tom finally threw it," he said with a smile. "Had a bad ball for once."