two best tightends i ever saw in my lifetime, i want to say tony but shannon sharpe i think pushed that out of reach,he kicked that shit out the last couple years of his career..so,, Joe Buck got me thinking about is Gonzalez the best,but sharpe got rings,im going sharpe over gonzalez.fuck it
2. "both big targets too," In response to Reply # 1
never realized as gonzalez has aged how big that muthafucka got,but shannon looked just like a black fuckin horse too, im 6'3 but those guys where well,, .,TARGETS,
5. "I would take Sharpe for sure, Gonzalez was kind of a specialist" In response to Reply # 0
Sharpe was also a guy who turned it in big spots, I didn't get that sense from Gonzalez but I am sure some Chiefs fans will get mad and tell me otherwise.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
32. "that's an overstatement but he did get a lot better over time" In response to Reply # 8
he worked at his blocking and improved over the span of his career. i guess specialist was a little unfair but let's not make him out to be walter jones either.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
33. "i didnt say anything remotely close to that lol" In response to Reply # 32
Im saying that starting in the early 00's he was the best blocking TE in the league for years.
And unlike a lot of the other high producing TE's of the recent past, he never had to be subbed out for a blocker. Alge Crumpler and Todd Heap were the same way, but they werent as good as Tony G was.
Thats why he was the GOAT. He never stopped getting better, because it is true that he wasnt great in the beginning.
13. "he also played with the kind of teammates that help create big spot opps" In response to Reply # 5
I mean I get what you're saying and everything but Gonzalez was prolly the best player on his team for about six or seven of the years he played for two franchises with pretty moribund modern histories.
Shannon Sharpe spent the first nine seasons of his career on the receiving end of John Elway passes, after an injury-shortened campaign in the one post-Elway season during his original Bronco run, he then spends two seasons on a Raven teams carried by a pantheon defense featuring Ray Lewis at his absolute apex, then finished it out on a couple of Bronco squads where Portis was putting up Priest-Holmes-in-KC numbers.
It ain't hard to tell which career scenario grants a tight end more opportunities to make those big plays and indelible memories in big games.
10. "Tony G and its not close in my mind" In response to Reply # 0
I can acknowledge pro-Ray Lewis guys, but for my money Tony G was the best position player in the NFL for most of his career. Meaning no one played their own position as well as Tony G played his.
He wasnt much of a blocker in the beginning, but starting in the late 90's he turned into the best run blocker among everyday TEs. Come the early 2000's he started lighting people up and the best game I ever saw him play was a game I was at in 2003 when the Chiefs beat the Falcons 56-0 on 8 rushing TDs. He caught not a single TD but Priest Holmes and Derrick Blaylock got the edge everytime they wanted it, because the contain was usually on the ground.
No question for me, id rather have him than any TE ive ever seen play.
15. "Shouldn't there be a "Great player on a bad team" discount though?" In response to Reply # 14
>Like others said above, Sharpe was great but benefited from >his teams. Tony WAS the team for many a season. > > >______________________________ >http://i.imgur.com/81XSukd.jpg
16. "Ben Coates at his peak " In response to Reply # 0
___________________________________ "WASP of the year: even if he isn�t a WASP, Oakley. Sailing? Check. In a yacht club? Check. Used the term �summer� as a verb instead of a noun? You betcha!" -thejerseytornado
22. "Sharpe IMO and let's not forget about the old-time tight ends" In response to Reply # 0
Tight end was a different but still very important position back in the day. I don't like that the discussion is confined to these modern guys like Gonzalez, Gates, Gronk, et al as if receptions are the sine qua non of the position. Even if you think that, Winslow has to be in the conversation. Before him you had John Mackey. Maybe the most complete tight end by most accounts was Ditka. I don't know a lot about Charlie Sanders, but I know he was a beast.
Guys who I think are not GOAT status but are underrated are Dave Casper and Keith Jackson. Jackson was a helluva threat and on teams that seldom had good receivers. Casper's resume stacks up against anyone's.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
1) its the golden era of the position. TE's are asked to do more than they ever have been before, and for the first time ever a number of teams' best athletes are tight ends.
2) that actually works against guys IMO. When people talk about Gronk, Witten, Gates, Graham, etc. ...those guys are not high level inline blockers. Gronk is decent (NOT as good as Tony G), Greg Olsen is pretty good, and Witten is at least willing. But most of the rest of the high achieving TEs are hybrid players.
Even you fell victim to that up above when you called Tony G a specialist. He sort of was, in that his specialty was playing TE.
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