Antonio Gates has taken his skills as a basketball player into the NFL, and he has changed the way that we play the tight end position. The problem is that Gates is just one guy on a team that has been afraid to build around its best stars. He plays with Philip Rivers, but Rivers cannot target Gates on every play. The Chargers are hoping that they can be magically saved by Gates, but they have done such a bad job marketing him that we have forgotten how good he is. We almost need to start a petition to get him traded to a better team because it appears that the Chargers are not going to help him and Philip Rivers.
The Chargers are terrible
Antonio Gates has been on good Chargers teams, but he has not been on many of them because the team cannot keep its pieces together for more than a couple years. They always seem to have a problem keeping the people that would make them better, and that causes problems with consistency. The Chargers have been through many coaches, and they have tried every scheme in the world. The problem with the Chargers is that they are not able to give Gates and Rivers the support that they need. These two never have a chance to do anything flashy, and that is why we forget that they are so good. Gates is likely as frustrated as this writer, and that cannot be a fun place to play an entire career in the NFL.
Remarkable consistency
Antonio Gates has been starting and contributing to the Chargers for years, and he rarely gets hurt or misses games. He has been very steady for this team, and they have not paid him back with anything of substance. Philip Rivers is the same way, and these two guys are trapped in LA because they have allowed this team to underperform around them.
This is one of the reasons why people believe that LeBron James is justified in changing teams and demanding more from management. He could have easily ended up in this position had he not demanded more help from the teams he played on.
Too late to change
It is too late to change what Antonio Gates is, but it is not too late for him to go somewhere else.
It would be lovely to see him ask for a trade to a team that is actually contending. Sending him to a place like Jacksonville would be interesting, or he could go to the Titans who are right on the cusp of greatness. Gates could go to the Raiders, and he could put them over the edge. There are many who believe he is better than all the tight ends in the league, but he gets passed over every time because of his franchise.
