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This is an emergency — test ... Police: No blood found in teen's car ... Region in for a wet and windy week ... This is an emergency — test ... Police: No blood found in teen's car ... NFL Seahawks consider the Gronk factor Wright says Seattle's up to the challenge of defending Patriot's star tight end Comment By Bob Condotta The Seattle Times DailyTidings.com By Bob Condotta The Seattle Times Posted Jan. 29, 2015 @ 8:41 pm By Bob Condotta The Seattle Times Posted Jan. 29, 2015 @ 8:41 pm » Social News PHOENIX — As Seahawks players met the media one last time Thursday prior to Super Bowl XLIX, linebacker Bruce Irvin was asked for a scouting report on New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Irvin responded with equal parts admiration and exasperation. “He’s big. Fast,” Irvin said. “I mean, he’s Gronk. He’s an All-Pro, 6-7 (actually 6-feet-6) guy. He can run. We’ve told y’all everything that we can tell y’all. It’s Gronkowski. What else do you want me to tell you? He likes to party. What else do you want me to say? It’s the same stuff.” The questions about how the Seahawks will defend Gronkowski, though, won’t end until the game does. Gronkowski was one of two players to get all 50 votes for the All-Pro team (Houston defensive tackle J.J. Watt was the other) after leading the Patriots with 1,124 receiving yards on 82 catches. He has another 10 for 136 in the playoffs. “A tremendous challenge,” Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said. But one of the Seahawks thinks they can handle, even if for a time this season tight ends were Seattle’s kryptonite. Seattle allowed 11 touchdowns to tight ends this season, third-most in the NFL. But linebacker K.J. Wright, who will be one of several players called on to cover Gronkowski, said using some of those early-season results to project how the Seahawks will fare now would be a mistake. Ten of the tight end touchdowns came in the first eight games, including three in the second game by San Diego’s Antonio Gates. “That (the San Diego game) was the worst game we’ve ever played since I’ve been here,” Wright, a fourth-year vet, said of a 30-21 loss to the Chargers. As Wright noted, everything about the defense got better in the second half of the season, tight-end coverage included. The only touchdown allowed to a tight end since the eighth game of the regular season was a 35-yard pass from Philadelphia’s Mark Sanchez to Zach Ertz, a play for which Wright took the blame. Asked what changed in the coverage of linebackers, Wright said: “Just (linebackers coach Ken) Norton cussing us out and telling us, ‘Don’t let them catch the ball’ and just emphasizing it more. We took it on a personal pride thing like, ‘These guys are not going to beat us.’ Because that falls on the linebackers. If the tight ends are having a big game, we are looking terrible.” The linebackers won’t be the only ones shouldering the load against Gronkowski, though. Strong safety Kam Chancellor and cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Byron Maxwell also will get their shots as the Patriots use Gronkowski on the line, in the slot and out wide. “He’s going to be everywhere,” Wright said. The Seahawks typically don’t move defensive players around to match up with any one receiver, and Quinn indicated they won’t change now, even if the 265-pound Gronkowski ends against a smaller corner. “We’ve got guys with length who can match up,” Quinn said. Before the struggles early this season, defending tight ends was perceived as one of Seattle’s strengths, specifically in 2013 when the Seattle had a run of success against the likes of Jimmy Graham and Vernon Davis. Much of the credit went to Wright, who stands 6-4 and has almost an 81-inch wingspan, which has made him a particularly good matchup through the years against tight ends. Wright, though, said the challenge will be different against Gronkowski. “Different players don’t like physicality,” Wright said. “At that time, (Graham) was one of them. I believe Gronk is different. I believe he excels sometimes in physical coverage, and he excels in off coverage. He does good with both of them. For the most part what I’ve seen, guys that are on him (meaning press coverage at the line) have more success than vs. off.” Chancellor said one key to defending Gronkowski will be how the officials call the game, specifically in how much contact is allowed. “It just kind of depends on how the refs let us play and just how the game goes,” Chancellor said. Though Wright recently signed a four-year contract extension worth $27 million, his national profile pales in comparison with many of the other players on Seattle’s defense. That could change with a shutdown performance against Gronkowski. Wright, though, said he just wants to do his job. “I’m not going to sit here and make this game or this player bigger than what it is, because every single game I go out there and try to put on my best performance.,” Wright said. “We know this is the last game of the year, and he is a very important piece of the puzzle. So am I. It’s going to be a battle out there. I expect to win every matchup I’m out there against him. That’s who I am, and that’s what this team is about. I’m just going to play within the defense, not going to go out there and make stuff up, and just try to play hard.” By Bob Condotta The Seattle Times DailyTidings.com By Bob Condotta The Seattle Times Posted Jan. 29, 2015 @ 8:41 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Super Bowl Fantasy Review and Highlights Feb. 2, 2015 at 10:00 am Top Fantasy Players, Projections for Patriots vs. Seahawks Jan. 31, 2015 at 8:39 am Fantasy Football Outlook for Titans Stars Jan. 30, 2015 at 10:37 am 2015 Fantasy Football Outlook for Buccaneers Stars Jan. 28, 2015 at 7:00 am DraftKings Fantasy Pro Bowl, Super Bowl Lineup Jan. 24, 2015 at 11:37 am Fantasy Favorites, Lineup Picks for Super Bowl XLIX Jan. 22, 2015 at 9:00 am calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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