Tony Gonzalez is ready to take a backseat to wins with Atlanta Falcons

Tony Gonzalez, AP Photo/John Bazemore

Tony Gonzalez isn't looking to save anyone or anything else.

A few days after Independence Day last year, Gonzalez was out eating dinner with his family in Huntington Beach, Calif. when the what-would-you-do moment came.

Realizing that the man eating dinner behind him was choking and no one in the restaurant was doing anything about it, he did exactly what he does on the football field: read and react and make a play.

However, that time the play was the Heimlich maneuver, and the choking man, Ken Hunter, credits it with saving his life.

Speaking to the Associated Press last year following the incident, he said "Tony saved my life. There's no doubt."

With Atlanta's AM 680 (The Fan) on Wednesday, Gonzalez recalled the incident and tried to downplay it.

"He was sitting there and he was choking. And I'm looking around and everybody's looking at each other like 'Who's going to do something?'" Gonzalez said. "So I figured I might as well give it a shot and it worked out."

It's funny how things work out.

Hunter, a San Diego Chargers fan, one of the Kansas City Chiefs' (Gonzalez' former team) AFC West rivals, said "I'm Tony's No. 1 fan now."

A year ago when the 10-time Pro Bowler asked out of Kansas City, Atlanta was believed to be a destination. However, Gonzalez was clear in his desire to play for a Super Bowl-caliber team and at that time Atlanta didn't appear to fit that category.

A year later and Gonzalez is attending OTAs in a Falcons uniform and talking about winning the Super Bowl with this Atlanta team before his career ends.

What a difference a year makes.

But these days the future Hall-of-Fame tight end isn't worried about the past--statistics or feelings. At 33, he knows time is dwindling as he chases that elusive first playoff win and ultimately the Super Bowl.

And now he believes he's in the right place to do just that.

On Atlanta's AM 790 (The Zone), also on Wednesday, he expounded on his opportunity with the Falcons.

"I'm jumping up and down inside. It's a great opportunity," Gonzalez said, but added that no one is going to roll over for the Falcons and their impressive offense. They still have to put in the work required to be the best, but he believes the culture is right in Atlanta for that to happen.

"It's so enthusiastic out here. These young guys, they want to play well. There's no attitudes on this team," Gonzalez said of his new teammates. "I've been really impressed with everybody from top to bottom, from Arthur Blank to the guys that maybe are not even going to make the team. It's been real impressive to be around such a good environment."

Unlike in Kansas City, he knows he will not be the focal point of the offense and he's both accepted and embraced that idea. When talking about the Falcons' offense he points to the quarterback Matt Ryan, and Pro Bowlers Roddy White (receiver) and Michael Turner (running back).

"I don't have to come here and catch 85, 95 balls a year like I'm accustomed to out there in Kansas City. I named off all those great players, those guys are capable of going downfield and let's use them as much as we can," Gonzalez said. "I'm here for like third-and-five and third-and-six and being used in the red zone. Whenever they deem it's necessary for me, I'll be ready to step up and play. There is no reason why I need to go out there and catch 100 balls anymore. This is a balanced offense and it's like pick your poison when you're playing against us on defense."

His numbers will likely decline in 2009, but his impact will still be monumental to the team's offense.

Gonzalez' head coach in Kansas City from 2001-05, Dick Vermeil, told 790 in April (the day Gonzalez was traded to Atlanta) that the tight end is the "complete package" and is "equivalent to a 25-year old player right now."

Vermeil describes a player whose professionalism and work ethic is unrivaled. Even if Gonzalez doesn't a catch a single pass for the Falcons in 2009, his influence will be felt in the locker room and on the practice field. This young Falcons team will notice his preparation and commitment to perfection and take note. "If it worked for him, maybe I should do it," they'll think.

But his impeccable injury history (two missed games in 12 seasons) implies he'll be around to catch some passes. But as he says, hopefully it'll be in third-down conversion opportunities and in the red zone where his 6'5", 251 pound frame poses a touch matchup for jump balls in the end zone.

A quarterback's completion percentage is not just a statistic of the number of passes completed, but also a measure of how efficient he is with the football. Ryan's 2008 61.1 % completion percentage will likely go up in '09 with Gonzalez around. He may not make many big plays, but he'll help keep Ryan and the offense efficient and on the field moving the chains.

Those are the kind of quiet accomplishments that make teams winners and Gonzalez is ready to win.

He was one of my all-time favorite players that I ever coached," Vermeil said of Gonzalez. "He's a great football player. A great human being. Winning is extremely important to him. Losing absolutely rips him apart."

Losing, and losing a lot, is the only thing he's experienced in the last few seasons.

While he had a personal comfort zone from all his years in Kansas City, all the losing and starting over finally took its toll.

"It's important to me to at least take a shot at it (winning a Super Bowl) and be on a good team," he told 790. "And that's why I'm here."

He doesn't view himself as the savior of the franchise. He's just here to help an already talented team win.

They say numbers don't lie. If you look at Gonzalez' stats there's no argument that he's one of the best, if not the best, tight ends in the history of the NFL.

But now on the other side of his brilliant career, the only numbers that matter are wins.

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