I know that the Cheifs' season is over, but I just can't stop beating this dead horse. Today I read on espn.com that they extended Tony Gonzalez's contract for another 5 years for "terms that were not disclosed." Rumor has it that it is a record sum for a tight end. Great. Let me tell you the two main reasons why this sucks:
1) Why are we paying a large sum of bread to a tight end? When was the last time that a tight end won MVP? How about a tight end leading a team to the Super Bowl? I know, I know - never. There is no reason to pay huge money to a tight end. Granted, he is in the top 3 in the league with Antonio Gates and Todd Heap. I also know that he has broken and will break a lot of team receiving records. His talent is not the question - it's his position. It's like giving a punter a record deal - he may be great at what he does, but he's not going to carry a team on his back. The only way I can justify this is that Mi Cocina must have thrown in some dough to keep him in town for celebrity face time in the "VIP" area.
2) The Chiefs have so many needs right now that it is ridiculous to overpay a tight end. We should be using him as trade bait and getting draft picks or tackles (offense and defense), wide receivers and somebody that can play quarterback. You probably could have gotten a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick for him, or a better-than-average receiver. You have Chris Wilson that has proven (when he's in the game) that he can play the position and Jason Dunn is one of the best blocking tight ends in the business. We've needed receivers for years, but Carl just continues to ignore this. I just don't get it.
The most humorous part of this deal was that, yesterday, Carl and Herm both said that there will be drastic personnel changes in the off-season. Well, this is a great start! My dad said that Carl is more concerned with getting hall of fame guys than winning championships. This is a great point, with the likes of Gonzalez, Will Shields and Willie Roaf. We are getting players right now, but not a team (see Patriots and Saints). Until Carl sees this, or starts to care, we as fans should not be surprised with mediocre seasons and early playoff exits.
Oh, and on a somewhat related note, if Dante Hall is still on this roster by summer, I quit.
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I have a lot of problems with this contract. You're absolutely right, it's ludicrous to overpay a tight end when we have some many pressing needs. Uh, offensive line, wide receiver, defensive tackle, quarterback...is Carl even alive? Maybe he's gone the way of Al Davis.
The second part to this is that we're not only overpaying a tight end, we're overpaying a guy who can't possibly be productive for another 5 years. We're paying him Antonio Gates money, but in reality, who would you rather have for another 5 years?
28 hours until the season premier of 24 Season 6. I'm stoked.
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