Maybe the solution to the wide receiver problem for the New York Giants is not a wide receiver after all, but a tight end. Specifically future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez.
Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez is still grumbling about wanting an opportunity to play for a Super Bowl, an opportunity that -- even in the anything-can-happen topsy-turvy world of the NFL -- is unlikely to happen while playing for a Kansas City franchise that has won six games over the last two seasons, and just hired a new General Manager, and has yet to hire their new head coach.
There was a lot of noise approaching last year's trade deadline about Gonzo being traded somewhere, both the Giants and Green Bay Packers were rumored destinations. At the time teams squawked at the high price (reportedly a second round draft pick), and Tony squawked at the Chiefs for being stingy and not letting him go play for a winner.
If Gonzalez was upset he didn't let it show in his on-field performance, the dominant tight end of our generation posted another 1000-yard season to go along with 10 touchdowns. This while playing with quarterback Tyler Thigpen, whom you probably only know, if you know him at all, from the last round of your fantasy football draft. So the 32-year old certainly still has some All Pro juice left in the tank.
And All Pro juice is exactly what the Giants need. Current tight end Kevin Boss hasn't been bad -- in fact he outproduced the loudmouth Shockey last season -- but Big Blue's aerial attack was clearly missing someone who could strike fear in the hearts of opposing defensive coordinators. Someone who can create mismatches on a regular basis, and be a go-to guy when the offense was in the red zone. All those roles were usually held by thigh-killer Plaxico Burress, but Gonzalez has been doing all those things effectively for the Chiefs for years.
If the Giants lose Burress, and can't find a big play wide out to replace him, Gonzo might be the best stopgap solution to keep the chains moving. And maybe Boss doesn't need to be the odd man out; the run-oriented offense probably wouldn't suffer much from featuring more two tight-end sets.
This year the Giants have an extra second-round draft pick, ironically enough from jettisoning their last Pro Bowl tight end, in their quest for an impact playmaker it might be wise for them to use it to bring in another, better Pro Bowl tight end for 2009.
