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Rob Gronkowski Responds To Chris Harris' 'Hit Him Low' Comment

BOSTON (CBS) -- It's not unusual for the Broncos to talk a little smack heading into a showdown with the New England Patriots. It is unusual for someone on the Patriots to respond.

But we have a little back-and-forth between the two sides heading into Sunday's AFC Championship Game in Denver.

Rob Gronkowski took to Twitter on Tuesday to respond to Broncos corner Chris Harris Jr., who told ESPN earlier this week the best way to tackle the Patriots tight end is to hit him low at the knees.

When a fan pointed the comment out to Gronk, he responded:

Given the fact it's Gronk, it's safe to assume there's a bit of a double entendre within that tweet. And it's even safer to assume Patriots head coach Bill Belichick probably doesn't approve, even though he dismissed any potential bulletin board material when asked on Wednesday.

"We're focused on the Denver Broncos in the game. All the rest of it is just hot air," he said.

You can't really blame Gronkowski for being a little sensitive towards low hits. He had to be carted off Sports Authority Field back on November 29 after Broncos safety Darian Stewart hit him low, and ended up missing the following week's game. He also has a lengthy history of knee injuries, tearing his ACL and MCL in 2013 against the Browns after taking a hit from now-Bronco T.J. Ward.

The Broncos already took aim at Gronkowski this week, with linebacker Brandon Marshall telling Pro Football Talk's radio show the tight end, "pushes off, and he gets away with it about 98 percent of the time."

The talk from Denver probably won't stop over the next few days. But coming off a two-touchdown game against the Chiefs, it's probably better for Gronkowski to just let his play on Sunday do the talking.

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