Gonzalez contemplates his retirement decision

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FLOWERY BRANCH -- Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez admits to thinking about retirement after this season, but is still uncertain about his future plans.

He's under contract for next season, but wide receiver Roddy White is worried that Gonzalez will retire if the team won the Super Bowl.

"I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I didn't think about it," Gonzalez said of retiring. "I'd be a fool if I didn't think about it; just trying to be prepared a little bit. But you think about it and then you detach from it."

Gonzalez, who turns 35 in February, doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Last week, he became the first player in league history to catch 60 or more passes in 12 consecutive seasons. He has 62 catches for 591 yards and five touchdowns this season.

"Right now, I feel great, though," Gonzalez said. "I can tell you if it came down to coming back next year, I could do it easily from a physical standpoint."

The league's shaky labor situation is a concern. If there is a lockout, Gonzalez is not sure where that would lead him.

He's also not a proponent of the proposed 18-game schedule, which is a part of the labor negotiations.

"I can do it for one year," Gonzalez said. "But it makes no sense from a fan's point of view or from a player's point of view. If they do it, obviously it's just for money. There are other ways to gain that money."

Lessons from Brees

Rookie Sean Weatherspoon and safety William Moore learned some lessons from facing New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees earlier this season.

The Saints caught Weatherspoon off guard when they flexed out the tight end to his side and left a wide receiver in the slot for him to cover.

"I know he's going to try and find me and find a mismatch," Weatherspoon said. "They have Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas. They have guys who can get out and run."

Weatherspoon has a plan for Brees this time.

"When you're in zone coverage and he's looking the other way, you might want to stay fixed over there because he'll come right back to that spot and hit it right in front of you and pick up 15 yards," Weatherspoon said. "He's definitely a quarterback that is capable of making a lot of plays."

Weatherspoon could also find himself on Bush, who didn't play in the first game.

"You definitely have to know where 25 is," Weatherspoon said.

Brees caught Moore playing off Jeremy Shockey in the red zone, and his pass resulted in a touchdown.

Fourth-down magic

The Falcons have converted 11 of 13 fourth-down attempts (84.9 percent), which leads the NFL.

"We have a plan in place for if we have one yard to gain, three yards to gain, five yards to gain or six yards to gain," coach Mike Smith said. "I try to keep the coaches abreast in terms of if we have a situation where we're going to go for it on fourth down."

Smith remembers how he was criticized for not going for a fourth-and-1 at Pittsburgh's 5-yard line with 3:28 to play. Matt Bryant kicked a 23-yard field goal to tie the game 9-9.

The Falcons lost 15-9 in overtime on a 50-yard run by Pittsburgh's Rashard Mendenhall.

Etc.

Defensive end John Abraham has 12 sacks this season, which is third in the league. He has 10 sacks in his past nine games and has 101.5 for his career. ... Quarterback Matt Ryan's passer rating is 90.5, which is sixth in the NFC. ... The Falcons have scored 31 touchdowns on 51 red zone trips. ... The Falcons 19 interceptions are tied for third in the league.