Tony Gonzalez, a Hall of Fame tight end for the Chiefs and Falcons and now a Fox pregame analyst, talks about everything from Daniel Jones’ big debut and how the tight end position has changed to the best way to confront bullies.

Q: What are your thoughts on Eagles-Packers on “Thursday Night Football”?

A: Aaron Rodgers has not put up those big numbers like he can and like we’re all accustomed to seeing, so once this offense gets going and he starts playing where he’s throwing 300, 400 yards, which he hasn’t done yet, this team could be the best team in the NFC. They got this great defense this year, it’s the best defense I’ve seen from a Packer team in a long time, and they can run the ball. And on the Eagles side, how do they feel with those injuries and miscues that they had last week?

Q: What are your memories of Fox pregame studio sidekick Michael Strahan on the football field?

A: Just a complete player. Even though he’s got the [single-season] sack record and all that stuff, he was somebody that was very good against the run as well. He could go there … when I say go there, I mean he could get crazy a little bit (laugh). Like mean. Which is good. I think that’s the hallmark of a Hall of Fame player where they can take their game to that extra level, they’d be relentless, and that’s what he was at times. When he took his game to that level, he was very, very tough to stop.

Q: What are your thoughts on Daniel Jones?

A: I would be excited if I was a New York Giants fan. Let’s see how he does, though, that’s only one game (chuckle), but he looks great. He’s looking as advertised, the sixth pick in the draft. He’s gonna be a New York Giant quarterback for a long time if he can do half of what he did in his opening day.

Q: Why is Tony Gonzalez a Hall of Famer?

A: I think consistency, that’s one thing that I look back over my career. You could count on me catching around 80 balls a year or whatever, almost eight, nine touchdowns. And I only missed two games out of 17 years, I’m pretty proud of that, too. I was satisfied, but I always wanted to keep learning more, I wanted to keep getting better. No matter where I left off the year before, or the game before, it was always, “OK, let’s see how far I can take this.” I love to read, I love to research things. … I love to learn. It wasn’t just the football field, it was nutrition, it was: OK, what’s the latest exercise? If you have that attitude of curiosity and love for what you do — and I loved catching footballs, the other part of football I could go without — then your game is gonna be really, really good.

Q: From reading books about Vince Lombardi, what resonated with you?

A: Well, at that time, obviously I was coming off the horrible second year of my career. The thing that stood out is the intensity and the relentless pursuit of success. As a child athlete and the high school and college athlete, they talk about hard work and you work hard, but you don’t realize how hard the best of the best work. And really that comes with loving what you do. The way I took it is that he really loved coaching, loved excellence — it was more of a love of excellence probably than love of coaching. And that’s what I kind of felt. I was like, “I gotta fall in love with the art of success, what it takes.” Because once you fall in love with that, need for discipline kind of disappears, I always say. You don’t stay after practice and get those hundred catches, you’ll go out before practice and get those hundred catches, which I never did before.

Q: Is there a tight end in today’s game who reminds you of you?

A: Everything evolves. When I look at these guys, they really don’t have to block as much as we did. I know I’m gonna sound like that old crusty guy, “Well back in my day, we had to block,” but it’s really true. But it is different offenses, so a lot of these guys are not asked to stay on the field. I never, ever came off the field when I played, especially for about 10 years straight, I don’t think I missed a snap on offense, unless it was something crazy. I think [George] Kittle from San Francisco is that type of guy.

Q: If you could pick the brain of any tight end in history, who would it be?

A: Probably [former Colt] John Mackey. And I had a chance to pick his brain a little bit. He gave me some good advice about the position, but I would have loved to have talked to him a little bit more about the nuances of being a tight end back in the day. I believe every generation has great things, and I would love to bring that back to the modern era, I guess, what he thought about the position.

Q: What advice did he give you?

A: One of ’em was about blocking, and how to quickly strike the guy before he strikes you.

Q: How would you describe your on-field mentality?

A: The majority of my career it was, I like to say controlled aggression, in a level of confidence that was unshakable. Because that’s what you have to have. That’s another hallmark of anybody who does well in any business, especially sports. And when you stepped on that field, or when the ball’s in the air, that’s my ball and there’s nothing you can do about it. And I’m The Man. You have to feel that way, as arrogant as that sounds, that’s controlled.

Q: Do you consider yourself the best tight end in history?

A: I think you can make the case for me, you can make the case for other guys too. Because I don’t believe in “the best ever.” I don’t believe Tom Brady’s the best ever, I don’t believe Peyton Manning’s the best ever. I believe it’s your best ever. Whatever you believe. There’s no consensus as far as I’m concerned. Do I think I’m the best? I think I can make a strong case for that, yes.

Q: How heartbreaking was losing the 2012 NFC Championship game in Atlanta to the 49ers after taking a 17-0 lead?

A: It still sticks with me. There’s some things that you don’t ever get over. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it. I’ll accept it, and I’ll say it is what it is. When you’re that close to your dream, but it slips away, it’s a tough pill to swallow. You also have to look at it and say well it is what it is and I guess it’s supposed to be that way. Who knows what would have happened if we did go to the Super Bowl? Who knows what type of person I would have turned out to be?

Q: Boyhood idol?

A: Around eighth grade it was basically basketball players. I loved Bo Jackson, two-sport guy. … I’m thinking of the posters I had on my wall, put it that way. It’s Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson were the main guys.

Q: What drove you as a kid?

A: I think my mother. My mother was a big influence in my life, and my older brother Chris. You probably know about the bully story [eighth grade], I never wanted to disappoint them ever. I wanted them to be proud of me. I wanted to have fun too. I won’t have the discipline to do it if it’s not fun for me.

Q: What would you tell kids today that have been bullied?

A: I would say, obviously, tell somebody if it’s getting out of hand. But also you gotta face it. That bully situation taught me to look fear right in the eyes. Before that I wasn’t a good football player, for two years I quit and then didn’t even really play. And it was because I was afraid. You need to go up to that bully and say, “What’s up? We got a problem, let’s solve this thing.” Obviously you prefer to talk it out, but you have to be able to accept that you’re gonna get your ass kicked sometime. And that’s part of life, that’s part of growth. Obviously you don’t want to get physical, but it’s gonna happen again in life in other areas where you’re gonna be afraid, it’s gonna be tough. But you gotta go through that, and once you come out on the other side of that, that’s where life takes off. That’s why I always say life takes off on the other side of that fear.

Q: You have four children. What was it like winning this year’s Father of the Year award from the National Father’s Day Council?

A: That’s one of the most prestigious awards I’ve ever won. I think that’s the key to our societies around the world, that if you have good parents, you’re raising good human beings. Honestly, that’s a life well spent right there, let alone whatever type of legacy you want to leave … but if you’re raising good kids, that’s something you should be really, really proud about. It’s not just you, it’s all of us, we’re all in this together.

Q: Describe your mother, Judy.

A: She is an open heart, a rock, tough. She’s gonna build you up magnificently, but she’s also gonna be brutally honest. Not lovingly honest, she’ll be brutally honest.

Q: What excites you about your podcast, “Wide Open with Tony Gonzalez”?

A: I get to bring these movers and shakers on, and really help people that are going through tough times. People that maybe entertain people, maybe they’re not even going through tough times, it’s just really interesting to learn from people that have been there and done extraordinary things, and take away their tricks, their lessons, their rituals from every perspective — from nutrition, from meditation, to also how to think, how to run a company, how to do whatever it is that they do, because there’s a formula for success. I have no doubt about it, that everybody has the power to be extraordinary in their own right, in whatever way they choose to. I love bringing that to the world, it’s something I’m obsessed about. I think people are really gonna get a big kick and enjoy listening to these stories.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: Jesus, Martin Luther King, [Frank] Sinatra.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: “Forrest Gump.” I can teach a whole summer class on the lessons you can learn from “Forrest Gump.”

Q: Favorite actor?

A: Leonardo DiCaprio.

Q: Favorite actress?

A: Meryl Streep.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: A suckling pig, with some type of scalloped potatoes with olive oil and broccoli and garlic.