SCHULTZ’S SHORT TAKES

1. SALUTE TO TONY GONZALEZ: At the time that the Falcons made the decision to allow Tony Gonzalez to miss most of training camp, I questioned whether it was the right decision. I still question it because I believe it's wrong to have a team leader not be in camp for what was being billed as a potential Super Bowl season. That said, Gonzalez was a treasure to watch for most of the year and his career. After a slow start, he went on to have a remarkable season, especially for a 37-year-old, finishing with 83 receptions (four in his finale) and eight touchdowns. Coach Mike Smith said afterward, "It's been an honor and a privilege to coach, in my opinion, the best tight end to ever play the game." That designation would be hard to dispute.

2. FREE AGENT WATCH LIST: The Falcons' offensive line was typically miserable, allowing nine Carolina sacks. It's remarkable quarterback Matt Ryan escaped with all of his major organs. The leader of the Panthers' sack attack was Greg Hardy, who had four, and if the Falcons are wondering the easiest way to get better on defense, it might be signing him. Hardy, in his fourth season out of Ole Miss, is a free agent after this season. He had a career-high 15 sacks in the regular season after a previous career high of 11 last year. Carolina would like to re-sign Hardy but agent Drew Rosenhaus is playing hardball. Go figure. Signing Hardy would strengthen the Falcons' pass rush while weakening a division opponent.

3. OFFENSIVE LINE (CHAPTER 377): The Falcons allowed nine sacks Sunday. They allowed 44 this season, which likely will place them among the 10 worst teams this season. They were unable to sustain a rushing attack again. There's no reason to detail everything that went wrong with the offensive line this season — we've been over that — but here are two points that should sum up the entire mess: Second-year tackle Lamar Holmes, whom the team believed was ready for a starting role, went against Hardy and was eaten for lunch. Garrett Reynolds, who began the season as the starting right guard, was inactive for Game No. 16. This entire offensive line needs to be rebuilt. It needs to be priority one for general manager Thomas Dimitroff, even over improving the pass rush.