SI/Peter King on Tony Gonzalez

Green was a Pro Bowler in '96 and '97, when he was 36 and 37. Now, that may have been by reputation or injuries to others or what-not, but I would think that means he was as good as Barber is today at 37.

Blanda's best quarterbacking years came in his mid-30s, although granted, that was in the early AFL. His kicking became more accurate in his 40s.

Nitschke was a Pro-Bowler at 34.

Van Note was still a starter at age 39, and hadn't missed a game in 9 seasons.

I'd say those guys were just as good as they were back then.

 

By extension, I guess you're arguing that you don't think PEDs have all that much to do with today's NFL. I find that to be hopelessly naive.

 

Mandarich was an absolute beast coming out of college at 6-6, 315. That's borderline size for a starting tackle in the NFL these days. Ridiculous.

 

Shit, watch the 1980 Lakers and the 2012 Lakers and it does not take a Mensa member to see what has happened to the players.

 

Reminds me of an SI article on Bill Romanowski back in '98:

By dumb luck we have caught Bill Romanowski between workouts. Already this morning Romanowski, a Denver Broncos outside linebacker, has spent three hours on a track, refining his sprint mechanics, and 30 minutes working out in the deep end of a pool—all under the watchful eye of Randy Huntington, his high-performance coach. Soon Romanowski will begin a three-hour weightlifting session, so now is our chance to make small talk. Banner headlines in the morning papers blared the news: JUDGE THROWS OUT SEXUAL HARASSMENT SUIT AGAINST PRESIDENT. But politics and Paula Jones leave Romo cold. If you want to see him come alive, bring up zinc.

"Zinc is our most anabolic mineral," says Romanowski, who takes 25 milligrams of it, along with 400 milligrams of magnesium, each night. Why zinc? "If your zinc levels are low," he says ominously, "you'll have low levels of testosterone." He provides SI with a scoop of dubious provenance: "Seventy percent of pro athletes are deficient in zinc"—ergo, in testosterone. Not Romo. "I get my blood and urine tested every three months," he says. "I want to make sure my minerals are in balance."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1012921/index.htm

Also an inset that outlines his supplement regiment:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1012927/index.htm

 

In this day and age if you are writing a story about career longevity of a pro athlete, its a glaring omission if you don't deal with the question of PED's and pain killers. This story would make Tom Verducci blush.

 

I'm sure there are PEDs in the NFL. But to make it out like every old guy is on PEDs is just as bad.

I was pointing out how poor the premise was for King's story. Such as this quote:
"This is a new era in the NFL, with maniacally prepared players thriving in what used to be their NFL dotage."

It's not necessarily a new era. As I pointed out, there were old guys who played well in their waning years prior to 10-15 years ago. And the fact is, players now are making so much money, they can afford to train year-round. 20 years ago, except for the top stars, they worked offseason jobs. 30-40 years ago, they all worked offseason jobs.

If he really wanted to explore the premise, he could have focused on the difference in eras, and yes, the influence of PEDs.

 

I don't think you can really compare guys of previous eras to this one. The new rules protect receivers from taking the vicious kind of hits those guys were forced to endure. That alone will add a few good years on the backend of a career.

 

Peter King School of Math and Writing: Looks nice on paper, but 99 percent? No. That leaves 17 current NFL players who could beat Green. At age 52.

 

Everything I've heard about Gonzalez points to an ultra-healthy diet that he's adhered to pretty much throughout his career. But yes, the writing does bring up the suspicion of PE's at least...my guess is that HGH is the drug of choice through the NFL...that's why we have super-sized athletes and these nagging injuries. Interesting how testing for that was on the table during contract negotiations, but that no trustworthy test could be developed. I'm waiting for an NFL reporter to talk to some labs about that one.

 

If only a reliable HGH test could be found!

Oh.

espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7093437/top-scientists-endorse-hgh-test-letter-nfl-union

 

Just to be clear, 20 years ago was 1992, and no, most players then did not work off-season jobs. More like 40-50 years ago. The average NFL salary in '92 was in the $400,000-$500,000 range.