Gonzalez: Falcons will make heavy duty noise this year

In an interview with 790 The Zone in Atlanta, Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez talked about the offseason, the draft and the goals for the 2010 season.

On the Falcons goals for this season:

"“I just really feel that with the talent that we have on this team now, we are going to be able to go out there and make some heavy duty noise in this league next year. When I say that, I am talking about playoffs, I am talking about Super Bowl. I am not going to make any predictions but I do feel that if we can stay healthy and go out and work it the right way and we keep getting on the same page and some guys step up and start playing the way that they are capable of it is going to be an exciting season for us next year. I am looking forward to it.”"

Confidence in the offseason is nothing new among NFL teams, but Gonzalez has a legitimate case for the Falcons. An 11-win playoff season in 2008 raised the expectations heading into 2009. Injuries derailed their chances but they still managed to win nine games. The Saints and the Falcons are the clear class of the NFC South and I am looking forward to the release of the NFL schedule to see when those games will take place.

On the upcoming draft:

"“Yeah I have got my eye on it. This is my team. I want to make sure that I know what is going on at least at some point.”"

It’s no surprise that an NFL veteran on offense isn’t really keeping tabs on what the team does on defense. Gonzalez making redzone catches is the most important thing.

On what happened in 2009:

"“Well I think that it is a combination of that with injuries with Matt going down, Michael Turner going down. A couple of offensive lineman going down. Kind of a snakebit season from that point but even then, even still there is no excuse. … If we can stay healthy we are going to have a damn good football team.”"

For thousands of Falcons fans this season can’t come soon enough. A chance to redeem themselves and show the NFL what a healthy Atlanta squad can deliver this season.

For the full transcript, check out Sports Radio Interviews.