Gonzalez enters Hall with 3 DBs who tried covering him
CANTON, OHIO >> At one end of the room sat Tony Gonzalez. All the way across it was Ed Reed.
Sometimes in the past, that’s as close to each other as the two new Hall of Famers cared to be.
Same thing for Champ Bailey and Ty Law when it came to covering Gonzalez, the game-changing tight end and matchup nightmare for defensive backs.
They’re all part of the class of 2019 that will be inducted Saturday night. On Friday, they spoke about each other — and the honor of entering the pro football shrine together.
“It was a hassle dealing with Tony,” said Reed, a fivetime All-Pro for Baltimore as a ball-hawking safety and member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, as were Gonzalez, Bailey and Law. “Tony was tough. You needed somebody else to help you. I’d tell Terrell Suggs, ‘You got to hit him before you pass rush.’
“Tony was crafty, big, tough to get around, a basketball guy.”
True. Gonzalez was a two-sport star at Cal. Clearly he chose the right profession, making six AllPro teams, catching more passes (1,325) than anyone except Jerry Rice, and becoming the most accomplished tight end in NFL history.
Entering the Hall with three exceptional DBs was striking for Gonzalez, whose ability to outrun linebackers and outmuscle or even outjump safeties and cornerbacks made him a dominant performer for 17 seasons.
“I loved it because he was the best,” Bailey said of his matchups with Gonzalez while both were in the AFC West, the tight end with Kansas City, the cornerback with Denver. Rarely did defensive coordinators ask cornerbacks to take on Gonzalez, but Bailey had the smarts, skill and temperament to do so.
“Tony was not necessarily fast, but fast enough. It was kind of refreshing for me to go against a bigger guy, not one of those (tight ends who play like wideouts). I knew if the ball ever came his way, I had to worry about that big body (Gonzalez played at 6-5, 250, Bailey at 6-0, 195) and try to make a play. I never got a pick on him. He was one of the best.”
Gonzalez echoed those thoughts about Reed, Bailey and Law, who was a teammate in Kansas City in 2006-07.
“Ed was the only safety (of the three), and he was a top guy,” Gonzalez said. “I loved going against him and seeing how I stacked up. I won some and lost some.
“I went the most against Champ, twice a year, because the Broncos would match him against me a lot. Man, that was tough.
“Ty was my teammate for a while and I learned a lot, how hard he worked at the game.”
The four were joined in an interview session by fellow enshrinees Kevin Mawae, a dominant center for 16 seasons — and, yes, a player on the 2000s All-Decade team — Johnny Robinson, Gil Brandt and the family of late Broncos owner Pat Bowlen.