GONZO CLOSE TO RETIREMENT FROM FALCONS

Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez is nearly certain he will be retiring from the NFL sometime after the 2012 season.  At least he said that he is 95% sure that the upcoming season will be his last, but also said that he wasn't ruling out playing in 2013 either.  He didn't come right out and say it, but rest assured that he is eyeing up his future days as an Atlanta Armchair Quarterback.

"I've had a great run," he said. "I don't want to be one of those players toward the end of their careers — and nothing against guys that have done it like that in the past — but I want to make sure that I'm at the top of my game when I do go out."

Some of those players in the past have made their early retirement proclamations after a long season, typically players don't announce retirement plans a couple of days into training camp.  That said, maybe Gonzo is sincerely planning on making this his farewell tour.

"Sometimes you have to call it quits, and I'm just one of those type of guys that I can't handle being average at this sport because I've been at the top for a while," Gonzalez said. "I hope that's not coming off as cocky, but it's just the way I operate. I don't want to come out there and be somewhat of a role player."

After dropping that surprise announcement, Gonzalez insisted that he didn't want to publicly discuss retirement again until the end of the season.

"I don't want to be a distraction to myself, first and foremost," he said. "I don't want to play games in my head. I'm sticking to it, and we'll know at the end of the season. We have a long time before that day even comes."

If and when he retires, Gonzalez will  undoubtedly be a first ballet Hall Of Famer.  Of the eight modern-era tight ends that have already been inducted, only one played longer than Gonzalez, and that was Jackie Smith of the Dallas Cowboys.  Smith played until he was 38 and like Gonzalez, stayed around in the hopes of winning a championship.  

To the delight of Steelers fans, Smith dropped a touchdown pass from Roger Staubach in the end zone as the Cowboys loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers by four points in Super Bowl XIII.

The Atlanta Falcons are not likely to get to the Super Bowl and probably won't get a sniff of the playoffs either.  That said, we probably won't be treated to any infamous high-profile missteps or drops in the post season from this soon-to-be-legendary player. 

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