Tony Gonzalez’s last ride is hitting some unexpected speed bumps.
But the veteran tight end still thinks the 1-4 Falcons can make a run. In fact, he expects it.
“I’m not going to sit here, what are we going to do? Sit here and feel sorry for ourselves? I’m not going to throw my hands up and say the season’s over,” Gonzalez said, via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. “We still have a lot of football left to play, and I’m going to believe.
“And I expect my teammates to believe that we can turn this thing around after this bye week, and get a couple of guys back and get healthy. It’s still in our hands. Yeah, it puts us behind the eight ball, but at the same time, if we go out there and just take it one game at a time, I’m confident that we can turn it around. I really am.”
It’s not his fault the Falcons are where they are at the moment, as he’s still playing at a much younger man’s level. But the absence of help on defense (along with an absence of a running game and an absence of enough good players on the offensive line) has left the Falcons in an impossible-looking hole.
“Whether it’s realistic or not, that’s up to you guys to say what you’ve got to say,” Gonzalez said. “But as far as I’m concerned, I’m going to go out there and play my heart out. And I expect that from my teammates, and hopefully we can turn this around.”
Technically speaking, they have a chance. They’re two games out of the wild card chase at the moment, and while the Saints are running away with the division, the Falcons come back from the bye with games against the Buccaneers, Cardinals and Panthers. So getting back to 4-4 is reasonable, but it will take more than just Gonzalez to get them back there.