Yes, the team (and even the fans) have moved on from the Tony Gonzalez era, but I believe most of us still hold the record-setting tight end dear in our hearts. Hopefully, TG will realize his dreams of playing meaningful football well into January this year with the Falcons (the team I root for when Chiefs aren't involved). But Peter King recently put up some thoughts regarding Gonzalez in his latest notes, and they are interesting for the sake of remembering not only how great he was, but he how dominant he continues to be.
Here, King writes, "I just finished rewriting a few sections of my Monday Morning Quarterback book for a paperback version, and in doing so I gained some new respect for Tony Gonzalez." His evidence?
Gonzalez is 34. In his first 13 NFL seasons he missed two games due to injury. He has more catches (999) than any other tight end in history. By far. But what interests me is this: In his first 10 seasons in football, he averaged 72.1 catches a year. In his past three, his average is 92.7.In his 30s, Gonzalez is 20 catches a year better than he was in his 20s. And he has missed zero games in his past three years. With Gonzalez, it's not an exaggeration to say he's not getting older, he's getting better.
It's nice to see TG continue to receive the respect he's due and that he's continuing to make such an impact on the field as well.