Former Falcons and future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez has returned to his old haunt of the Georgia Dome. Not to play, mind you. Rather, he’s a member of the travelling CBS circus for the Thursday night game between his old team and the Tampa Bay Bucs.
A couple things that didn't make the cut in the AJC story on Gonzalez and his new career as a network analyst:
No, he still doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring, the one trinket that eluded him over a 17-year playing career. His last chance ended with the miserable 4-12 Falcons season of 2013.
Here’s how Gonzalez has processed that: “I’m OK with it. It’s a team game. There are a lot of guys who weren’t very good who were on good teams and have a ring.”
Having lost 15 pounds since retirement, his body is grateful to be away from the field. But Gonzalez said he has found just as much relief on the mental side.
“I don’t have to get crushed after a loss anymore. I had gotten a lot better at that as I got older. But when I was young, I was devastated by every loss we had,” Gonzalez said. “I really expected to win every time I stepped on that field. And I think every good player expects to win and you take the losses hard.
“I’m happy now I get to win every week. I’m always winning with J.B. (James Brown), Coach(Bill) Cowher, Boomer (Esiason) and Bart (Scott). I’m undefeated. I have a feeling we’re going to go 16-0 this year.”
On the challenges of his new gig: “That’s the hardest part, being in front of that camera and being yourself, don’t be a robot, give your opinion, don’t second guess anything, talk. Which can get you in trouble sometimes.”
And one analyst’s message to the Matt Ryan bashers out there: “The reason we were so bad last year was because we couldn’t protect Matt. Yes, people got hurt. But Matt didn’t have time, he had a bad year so everybody was looking at Matt like he wasn’t as good. Are you kidding? That guy is one of the best in the business. I like being able to say that now.”
