Glenn Gronkowski Week 3 Betting Q&A with Get More Sports

As part of our weekly series, Get More Sports recently caught up with former NFL player Glenn Gronkowski. Every week during the 2018 season, we’ll produce an exclusive Q&A interview with Glenn, whose experience, familiarity and connections within the league, its coaches and its players allow him to provide unparalleled insight and analysis.

The information provided in this series can be incredibly valuable to any sports bettor, which is why this is must-read material every week.

In this week’s edition (NFL Preseason Week 3), Glenn discusses the Patriots, Lamar Jackson, preseason gameplans and more. You can read Glenn Gronkowski’s weekly Q&A here.

All odds are subject to change and courtesy of BetDSI.com, which is open to U.S. players and accepts credit cards.

GMS: What did you think about Bill Belichick playing his starters, including Tom Brady, an entire half in Week 2?

Gronk: I think that’s pretty typical of Belichick to do. He has an approach that everybody is equal on the team and everybody has to go out there and work no matter who you are. When it’s your time to perform you must go out there and make plays and this has always been the case. No one is safe and you must continue to be consistent and perform at your highest level even in the preseason. Not just for Belichick, but all coaches want to make sure that their starters can perform at game speed and that they still have the ability that they did last year. Just because they are considered a starter because they played last year does not mean they will be a starter, or even on the team, this year. The NFL is a business and although you don’t want to see any injuries in the preseason of any major players, you have to make sure they are still capable of helping you win games.

GMS: Did you think there was any additional motivation being that the opponent was Philadelphia?

Gronk: No, it’s just the preseason and the games don’t mean anything at all. You’re at a point in the season where you just want to see players play so you can determine who the best players are. Being on the team last year during the preseason, you don’t really game plan at all for the preseason games. You basically just run your base plays that you installed during the first week of camp and you really don’t watch any film of the opponents like you would during the regular season. This was just another preseason game for the Patriots and a chance for the players to showcase their talents. If you think about it, more than half of these players weren’t even on the team last year so it’s hard to believe they had extra motivation to go out there when not everyone could rally around it. If this was a regular season game with most of the same players, I would say they definitely would have extra motivation, but I don’t believe this was the case last week.

GMS: Ahead of that Super Bowl rematch on Thursday, reports suggested that the Pats’ starters were going to play a series or two, at most. Will coaches just flat out lie about gameplans such as preseason playing time?

Gronk: You never want to give the opponent any information that can benefit them. You also don’t want to give them any extra motivation to fuel their energy when playing them. However, I always believe decisions are made on the go. The NFL is a crazy atmosphere and there is so much going into it that anything can change in a matter of seconds. A whole game plan might be thrown out the window within the first quarter and you’re on the sidelines talking about new plays and how you are going to attack what they are doing. So I don’t know if coaches flat out lie, but they will definitely adapt to situations that might be different than expected.

GMS: Did you ever play a preseason game where the opponent was a team you were going to play during the regular season? If so, how did the coaching staff approach that preseason game? Conservatively? (Seahawks at Vikings this week. Game total opened 41.5 bet down to 39.5)

Related: Preseason Betting Guide

Gronk: I’ve never had this experience, but most preseason games are played conservatively no matter the opponent. You’re running plays that every team in the NFL has in their playbook most of the time. There might be very few plays that the coaches want to see that might be unique, but for the most part its very basic plays. Although you don’t want to show too much if you are playing the team in a few weeks, you have to remember NFL teams play each other twice a year if they are in the same division. Having experienced this, I can say that game plans are extremely different even when playing the same team. The first week you play a division foe is completely different the second time around. Therefore, you can never truly predict what a team will do because in the NFL you have to continually adapt to your teams strengths and the other teams weaknesses and that changes every week based on injuries and other factors. Therefore, I don’t really see a big deal with teams playing in the preseason, even if they are going to play a few weeks later in the regular season, especially since it will be a lot of different players and the game plan will be immensely altered and more in depth.

GMS: Is Lamar Jackson the next Robert Griffin III?

Gronk: I think Lamar Jackson will become his own unique player. He has unbelievable quickness that reminds me more of Michael Vick. He’s able to escape the pocket when under pressure, which usually ends up leading to big plays — either with his legs or by keeping his eyes downfield for a receiver that freed up. He’s already out there breaking ankles for touchdowns in his first couple preseason games. Although I think his legs will make most of his plays, I think he will continue to mature and improve on his pass game, especially with Joe Flacco as a mentor.

GMS: How much of a downgrade is Ryan Fitzpatrick from Jameis Winston, if any?

Gronk: I usually won’t talk negative about any NFL player because I know how much time and effort goes into being an NFL player and sometimes its just not a good fit or there is more to the story. I will say that the trait I love about Jameis Winston is his leadership. He’s definitely a vocal leader who seems to have his teammates back and continues to push them to be the best players they can be. His teammates seem to believe in him and respond positively to his leadership style and I think that is what helps him continue to succeed in the NFL. I haven’t seen much of Ryan Fitzpatrick, but I think either way he has been around in the NFL for a while and can be a mentor for Winston and help him to mature into a complete quarterback. Obviously, some quarterbacks are better than others, but in this case I think the two compliment each other very well and that they are in a good situation.

GMS: What’s your favorite play in Week 3 of the preseason?

Gronk: I like Green Bay +7 against Oakland. The Packers are averaging 40 points per game while Oakland is averaging only 16 points. All three quarterbacks looked good for Green Bay last week so no matter who is in there, they have shown that they understand the playbook and can command the offense and complete passes. However, Green Bay’s defense has not looked as strong, but I still don’t see it making it more than a 7-point game. Even though Rodgers won’t be playing and Oakland’s starters most likely will be getting good playing time, it seems the Packers have it figured out through the first couple games and continue to perform in Week 3.