In New England, it’s as dependable as Sagamore Bridge traffic on a Friday afternoon in the summer or corruption on Beacon Hill: If the Patriots are in the red zone and quarterback Tom Brady looks for tight end Rob Gronkowski, good things happen.

Gronkowski has been so adept at getting separation near the goal line, there have been times this season where it looks like he’s simply materialized out of thin air in the end zone, and he’s been a huge part in making New England’s red-zone offense one of the best in the league. Through 12 games, the Patriots are third-best in the NFL in touchdown percentage when they get inside the 20, with 35 touchdowns on 53 total possessions.

But a closer look at the boxscore reveals some truly amazing numbers for Gronkowski in the red zone. Courtesy of our man Gary of Nuggetpalooza fame:

•This season, Gronkowski leads all tight ends in red-zone targets (19), red-zone catches (13), red-zone reception percentage (68.4 percent), red-zone yards (138) and red-zone touchdown catches (nine ... with almost all of them punctuated with the trademark Gronkowski spike, which is usually measured on the Richter scale).

•He’s already second in single-season red-zone yards by a Patriots receiver (dating back to at least 1991) with 138 yards. He only needs six more to tie Randy Moss, who had 144 in 2007. (Ben Coates is in third place with 122, which he set in 1995.)

•His 138 red-zone yards is already the single season mark by any NFL tight end since 1991 (the old mark of 134 was set by Shannon Sharpe in 1998). His 13 red-zone receptions are four shy of the single-season mark by a tight end, set by San Diego’s Antonio Gates in 2004 (17). (At this point, he still trails Indy’s Dallas Clark, who had 16 in 2008, as well as Jeremy Shockey, who had 15 for the New York Giants back in 2004.)

That’s not to suggest that the rest of Brady’s options in the red zone are lacking: According to data assembled by Ian Logue of Patsfans.com, Wes Welker has caught 16 balls on 18 targets for 118 yards and six touchdowns, and Aaron Hernandez is 8-for-16 for 63 yards and five touchdowns in the same strip of real estate this season.

But Gronkowski’s size (6-foot-6 and 265 pounds), speed and dependability make him a matchup nightmare in tight spaces. On Sunday against the Colts, Gronkowski had perhaps the easiest red-zone touchdown of his relatively brief career: With the Patriots at the Indianapolis 11-yard line, he lined up next to right tackle Nate Solder and cruised right down the seam untouched, into the end zone for the first touchdown of the afternoon. (He would have had a second red-zone score, but what initially appeared to be a two-yard swing pass from Brady that culminated in a touchdown was ultimately ruled a lateral.)

Not all of them are that easy -- his two red-zone catches last month in a win over the Jets were great examples of him using his body to outmuscle smaller defenders. But whether it’s because of his speed or size, more often than not, he gets the job done.

“He’s a great player and he does a great job for us, just like everybody else out there,” said Welker. “He understands where he needs to be and makes plays in key situations, so he’s been a big help for us, especially in the red area with his touchdowns. He’s such a big target.”

“He is definitely one of the best young tight ends in the NFL,” said Indianapolis linebacker Kavell Connor.

In open space, Gronkowski is difficult to deal with -- he’s too big for a defensive back and too fast for most linebackers. As a result, he remains one of Brady’s most dependable targets across the board -- he has 65 catches on 90 targets this season, second on the team only to Welker among receivers with more than 10 targets.

But how is someone that big able to consistently get open in such a relatively small area? Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said Tuesday that there are three reasons why Gronkowski has become such a dependable red-zone threat.

“I’d say number one is his size and his wingspan. He’s 6-foot-7, but then, he’s got the long arms, so he’s really just a tough matchup for anybody, whether you want to double team him or single cover him,” O’Brien said. “I’d say number two is his ability to understand how the coverage is playing out and be in the right spot -- his own instincts when it comes to being open. Number three, obviously, is Tom seeing him and giving him a good throw.

“Again, it’s the players and they do a good job with it. We try to move him and do different things with him but again it’s all about the execution of the players and those guys for the most part have done a good job.”

When asked about it after Sunday’s game against the Colts -- a contest where Gronkowski had two red-zone catches for 20 yards and one touchdown -- Brady sounded almost apologetic about the level of success the big tight end has had in the red zone.

“They have to cover everybody,” he shrugged. “They’re trying to cover all five guys, and whoever is open, we’re going to throw to.”