Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
But by trying to argue that we can't talk about what Tony Gonzalez didn't do in the post-season you're tacitcly arguing that we also can't talk about what Travis Kelce has done in the postseason.
And if you want to play the 'what if' games (which again, I don't care for doing; just too speculative), 'what if' Travis Kelce doesn't get pulled for the concussion protocol that didn't exist in TG's era? The Titans had no answers for him and the key play in that game was Orson Charles dropping a 1st down that would've iced the game that hit him right between the numbers.
Suddenly Kelce is 2-2 w/ 350ish yards in 4 games - right in line with his career post-season averages.
Again - Travis Kelce has historically raised his level of performance in the post-season whereas Gonzalez has seen his post-season performance decline from his regular season standards.
Of course opportunity matters, but Kelce's been a person who has consistently risen to the level of the challenge in the post-season. Tony Gonzalez, relative to his OWN standards, simply hasn't. That's gotta be relevant.
To try to say "Well Kelce has Mahomes..." is almost as insulting as saying "Well Mahomes had Hill..."
Kelce, prior to Mahomes, had 1 game where he wasn't outstanding and it has another 'what if' element to it - 'what if' Maclin hadn't mangled his knee and Bill Belichick wasn't content triple-teaming Kelce and letting Albert Wilson and Jason Avant beat him. I mean Gonzalez at least had Rison (in his odd comeback season) and Eddie Kennison (criminally underrated) keeping defenses a bit more honest in those playoff games.
In the end, you've gotta give credit for what was actually done. And what Kelce has done in the post-season has been nothing short of spectacular.
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Kelce has been incredible in the postseason. He only needs 152 yards to pass Julian Edelman and slide into #2 all-time behind Jerry Rice.
I'm all for giving Kelce praise for what he's accomplished; I am just not OK with putting Gonzalez down for not enjoying the same success. You can argue that he didn't elevate his play in the postseason but the stats show that Kelce really didn't either before Mahomes came to town.
Kelce in the four seasons prior to Mahomes:
Averaged 73 yards and 0.25 TDs per game.
Kelce in four seasons with Mahomes:
Averages 90 yards and 1 TD per game.
I mean, that is a
significant difference. If Kelce isn't lucky enough to be on the team that drafts Patrick Mahomes, it's possible that we're all in this thread saying "Yeah, he's definitely a Hall of Fame talent but just never put up the numbers in the postseason to put him above Gronk, Gonzalez, etc."