Tony Gonzalez to make one last run?
Tony Gonzalez will go down as one of the best pass-catching tight ends to ever play the game but the man has never won a playoff game, not to mention a Super Bowl. It appears as though he’s ready to take one more crack at winning a championship before hanging ‘em up for good.
According to his publicist, Gonzo will definitely return next season. He also confirmed his intent the Jim Rome Show, so he’ll play out the final year of his contract at $5.75 million. But considering he was 50/50 on whether or not he would play past 2010, it’s probably not a stretch to think that 2011 will be his final season.
There’s no doubt that Gonzalez has lost some speed over the years, but he takes great care of his body and is always in tremendous shape. Thanks to his strict eating habits, the Falcons don’t have to worry about him wearing down throughout the course of the season. He finished with his fewest receptions (70) and yards (656) since 1998, but he still managed to haul in six touchdowns and was often Matt Ryan’s second read after Roddy White.
That said, the Packers proved that the Falcons have a long way to go in order to compete for a Super Bowl. Gonzalez was a non-factor last week, catching just one pass before suffering an injury in the second half. He can still be productive, but he’s obviously not the same player he was in Kansas City.
And while Michael Jenkins always seems to come up with a couple of big catches throughout the year and is an underrated blocker, he can’t stretch a defense. Atlanta won’t dramatically change its offense because of the Green Bay rout, but there’s no doubt that the Falcons need to add another playmaker. When teams contained White and slowed Michael Turner, they dared Jenkins to beat them one-on-one and he couldn’t. Thus, it’ll be interesting to see if Atlanta targets a free agent such as Malcolm Floyd or even Vincent Jackson now that Gonzalez is set to return.
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Posted in: NFL
Tags: Atlanta Falcons, Matt Ryan, Michael Jenkins, Michael Turner, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, Tony Gonzalez contract, Tony Gonzalez returning