Tight end Tony Gonzalez decided to play one final season for the Falcons because he wanted to make more run at a Super Bowl.
Instead, it’s looking as if Gonzalez might endure one more disappointing season, the kind he thought he left behind when he bolted the Chiefs for the Falcons in 2009.
The Falcons lost 30-28 to the Jets Monday night to drop to 1-4. They are long shots to even make the playoffs now, much less win a Super Bowl.
“This is something I’ve never dealt with as a Falcon,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve done this in Kansas City, but I’ve never dealt with it as a Falcon. But they way I dealt with it in the past is—I’ve been here before—you’ve got to dig even deeper and come our ready to go because that’s what is expected of you.
“I know that’s what the fans expect, what the coaches expect, what the owner expects and we have to expect that of ourselves.”
More than any Falcons player, Gonzalez knows what it’s like to suffer through a sorry season.
In his years with the Chiefs, Gonzalez played on teams that started 1-6 and 1-4 (twice) before finishing with losing records. His 2007 Chiefs team started 4-3 before losing nine consecutive games to end the season.
Given their talent, it seems inexplicable that the Falcons could suffer such a slide. Then again, it didn’t seem likely they’d lost four of their first five games, even considering some mitigating circumstances.
All of Atlanta’s losses have been by a touchdown margin or less. The Falcons have suffered injuries to key players, especially on defense. The offense still has been productive, if inconsistent with scoring touchdowns in the red zone.
The bottom line is the Falcons are 1-4.
“What are we going to do, sit here and feel sorry for ourselves?” Gonzalez said. “I’m not going to throw my hands up and say, ‘Season’s over.’ I’m going to believe and expect my teammates to believe we are going to turn this thing around after this bye week.
“It’s still in our hands. It puts us behind the eight ball but if we go out and do our thing, I’m confident we can turn it around. That’s they way I’ve got to believe.”
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