best tight end ever

I agree on Winslow... Besides redefining how the position was played... He put up what might be the greatest individual postseason performance ever.  He was everywhere, catching everything, then blocked the field goal that would have won the game with 5 seconds left. 

Sharpe, Newsome, Gonzalez and Casper round out my top 5. 

IndCharger is an idiot and unveiled homer.  He states guys like Tony G. aren't even close to the best ever, but then puts Antonio Gates as second best all-time.  I've got news for you, Tony G. is better than Gates will ever be, and Gates will never get a chance to beat Tony G's records because he won't be effective for as long as Gonzalez has been, and currently remains.

Here are stat comparisons between Gonzalez and Gates that I did in an ealier post:

Career Gates:

Games - 77;  rec - 340;  yds - 4362;  avg. - 12.8;  long - 72T;  TDs - 43

Career Tony G:

Games - 174;  rec - 820;  yds - 9882;  avg. - 12.1;  long - 73T;  TDs - 66

Gates has a lot of catching up to do to equal Tony, and Tony is still going strong.  I know, I know. Gates has played six fewer seasons than Tony.  You're right!  So let's compare seasonal bests in these stats.

Receptions AG:  1. 89 in '05;  2. 81 in '04;  3. 75 in '07;  4. 71 in '06;  5. 24 in '03

Receptions TG:  1. 102 in '04;  2. 99 in '07;  3. 93 in '00;  4. 78 in '05;  5. 76 in '99

Notice Tony G. has three seasons of reception totals that beat Gates' best.  And all these weren't at the beginning of his career, either.  He led ALL tightend in receptions last season with 99.

Yards AG:  1. 1101 in '05;  2. 984 in '07;  3. 964 in '04;  4. 924 in '06;  5. 389 in '03

Yards TG:  1. 1258 in '04;  2. 1203 in '00;  3. 1172 in '07;  4. 917 in '01;  5. 916 in '03

Notice again Tony G. has three seasons of yardage totals that beat Gates' best.  And again, these weren't all at the beginning of his career.  Here too, he led ALL tightends in yards last season with 1172. 

Avg. AG:  1. 16.2 in '03;  2. 13.1 in '07;  3. 13.0 in '06;  4. 12.4 in '05;  5. 11.9 in '04

Avg. TG:  Tie-1. 12.9 in '00 and '03;  3. 12.6 in '01;  Tie-4. 12.3 in '04 and '06

Should probably throw out Gate's 16.2 avg. in '03 as it was based on only 24 catches on the season.  Adjusting for that, Gates' top two seasons barely edge Tony G's and Tony G's 3rd and 4th season averages barely edge Gates'.

Long Rec. AG:  1. 72T in '04;  2. 57T in '06;  3. 49T in '07;  4. 48 in '03;  5. 38 in '05

Long Rec. TG:  1. 73T in '99;  2. 67 in '03;  3. 57 in '06;  4. 42T in '02;  5. 39 in '05

Even though Gates has a career avg. slightly higher than Tony G, Tony G's top three longest receptions in a season exceed Gates' top three longest receptions in a season.  Furthermore, Tony G. has averaged 4.7 receptions for 56.8 yards per game in his career which beats Gates' average of 4.4 receptions for 56.6 yards per game over his career.

TDs AG:  1. 13 in '04;  2. 10 in '05;  Tie-3. 9 in '06 and '07;  5. 2 in '03

TDs TG:  1. 11 in '99;  2. 10 in '03;  3. 9 in '00;  Tie-4. 7 in '02 and '04

This is the only season by season best category that Gates beats Tony G, but not demonstrably.  Gates is currently 23 TDs behind Tony G. in a career which is still a long way to go.  I really doubt Gates will be as effective for as long as Tony G. has.  And unlike Gates and Witten, for example, Tony G. has not for a long time been considered to have much of a supporting  cast.  Tony G. has been double-teamed more than any other tightend, especially in the red-zone.

So, to sum up; Tony G. is not only the best all time, he is the best right now as evidenced by by his leading the league in receptions AND yards in the most recent season (and that was on an offense that finished 31st in the league).  Gates was 4th in receptions and yards last season.  

But wait! Tony G. has also been the most consistent.  Here is where the top six tightends have ranked in both receptions and yards for the last four seasons:

2007 rec:  1. Gonzalez; 2. Witten; 3. Winslow; 4. Gates; 5. Cooley; 6. Daniels

2007 yds:  1. Gonzalez; 2. Witten; 3. Winslow; 4. Gates; 5. Cooley; 6. Daniels

2006 rec:  1. Winslow; 2. Gonzalez; 3. Heap; 4. Gates; 5. Shockey; 6. Witten

2006 yds:  1. Gates; 2. Gonzalez; 3. Winslow; 4. Crumpler; 5. Heap; 6. Witten

2005 rec:  1. Gates; 2. Gonzalez; 3. Heap; 4. Cooley; 5. Wiggins; 6. Witten

2005 yds:  1. Gates; 2. Gonzalez; 3. Shockey; 4. Crumpler; 5. Heap; 6. Cooley

2004 rec:  1. Gonzalez; 2. Witten; 3. Johnson; 4. Gates; 5. McMichael; 6. Crumpler

2004 yds:  1. Gonzalez; 2. Witten; 3. Gates; 4. Johnson; 5. McMichael; 6. Crumpler

Notice that for the last four seasons, the worst Gonzalez has finished among tightends in receptions and yards is 2nd, and finished 1st in both categories twice in the last four years.

Case closed!

My top 5 TEs are Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Kellen Winslow, Witten and Todd Heap.

Head....yawn are you done yet.  Gates is better. Who else is KC throwing to. Ususally he is the whole team. WOW good job copying down stats, congrats. Hey Marc Jackson has more assists than magic johnson, Marc Jackson is a superior point guard.

Best ever is Tony Gonzalez. He gets the numbers and is outstanding every year even with subpar QBs and no great WRs.

My top 5 TEs are Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Kellen Winslow, Witten and Todd Heap.

How old are you 10 or 11 years old. Like I said Tont G. couldn't carry Winslow bags into the Stadium. Winslow played with 3 great recievers and a great running back. And he still had the numbers. Listen anyone arguing against winslow is a PURE TARD.

Look back to my top 5. Any NFL historian or expert will agree with that list. You said todd heap..hahahhaha. Right there proves you total ignorance to this thread. Whitten...wow, why don't you put up Dallas Clark whle you're at it.

Get it fixed,son.

> head

The Homer here is you, Gates is better. And the proof is in the career numbers, Gates has play in half as many games and isn't that far behind  25 TD 4500 yards and 90+ games to do it? Come on Gates will easily make that mark if he stays healthy.

Hey IndCharger,

Are you that meathead, wannabe-tough-guy, Lambert wimp?

Who else has KC to throw to?  I could ask the same question for the Chargers.  Who else has wussy-boy Rivers to throw to than Gates and his binky, LT.  Bowe outperformed all of the Charger receivers last season, coming just shy of 1,000 yards.  Tony G. had over 1,000 yards, so KC almost had two, 1,000-yard receivers last year.  What did San Diego have?  Their top-two receivers recorded 623 and 555 yards receiving, respectively.

And just so you know, Rivers is all Hype.  He had only the 18th best quarterback rating last season at 82.4.  This, while almost 1 in 3 of his pass completions went to runningbacks - mainly LT - his security blanket.  The Chargers only had the 20th best offense last season, and without LT, the Chargers offense is pure garbage.  The only reason this team is considered good is because last year they had a turnover margin of +24 - the highest last season and second highest in league history.  Heavily due to the defense (which only finished 14th) which bailed out the mistake-prone Rivers.

Good luck duplicating that this season.  The Chargers will be lucky - LUCKY - to reach 10 wins this year.  That is why the AFC West is up for grabs, and the Chiefs (and even the lowly Raiders) have a shot at the division.