Grading Rob Gronkowski's London spikes

With two touchdowns against the St. Louis Rams in London on Sunday, Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots was given two chances to drive the football as hard as he could into the ground as he has become accustomed to doing. But these two spikes were a little different. Maybe it was being in a different country, maybe it was quarterback Tom Brady and some of Gronk's other teammates opting for just the classic spike lately, but the King of the Spike decided to add a little flair to his touchdown celebrations Sunday. The guy throwing Gronk those touchdowns weighed in on the additions to the spikes.

"I think it was mixed reviews," Brady said. "He’s too much man. I just like his spike but I guess he’s adding some personality to it."

Tom is entitled to his own opinion. Here are my thoughts on Gronk's Sunday celebrations.

First, Gronk decided to spice up the spike stew with a very creative United Kingdom-related pre-spike march. As Gronkowski himself explained it, he was trying to replicate "that little Nutcracker dude that’s guarding the house." While he may not have been perfectly eloquent in his description, that's not what Gronk is here to do. This spike is innovative, topical as the Pats were in London and caused an enormous uproar among the folks I watched the game with.



Creativity: A
Forcefulness: B+
Energy: A
Difficulty: B-
Spontaneity: A-
Overall: A

For his next touchdown, Gronk decided to put some of those dance moves we saw after the Superbowl last season to good use. This whirling wobble move doesn't have any specific reason to it that is apparent, and the spike portion doesn't land perfectly, but it certainly gets the job done and provides an instant laugh (unless you are a Rams fan). Let's face it, Sunday was his first crack at adding creativity before his spikes and he probably only had one touchdown planned out. Coming out with this pelvic swirl right off the top of his head is nothing to be scoffed at.



Creativity: B
Forcefulness: C+
Energy: B
Difficulty: A
Spontaneity: A
Overall: B