TE Antonio Gates
I don’t care if Antonio Gates is 49 years old; until the day he retires, No. 85 will scare the crap out of me every time he lines up against the Denver Broncos.
After all these years, I’m almost positive that he and Philip Rivers have developed some sort of mind-meld. On third downs, I swear all Rivers has to do is throw it to a random spot on the field, and Gates will be there; he could be 35-yards away, but his old and creaky legs will find a way to track down the ball.
And after a few injury riddled seasons (from plantar fasciitis, no less), Gates has returned to his same dominant self over the last season-plus. He may not be the athletic freak that helped start the trend of basketball players converting into tight ends over a decade ago, but he still has the ability to win with his superior football intelligence, which is just as scary.
But what’s most worrisome about the Broncos matchup against Gates this weekend is that T.J. Ward won’t be there to slow him down. And while Ward isn’t necessarily the best coverage safety in the league (Pro Football Focus has him ranked 35th in that category), David Bruton is even worse (72nd).
For as great as this defense is, it’s one weakness is in covering the tight end — Football Outsiders has Denver ranked as the 15th best defense agains the TE — and now they’re playing shorthanded. All you have to do is look at how Tom Brady and Scott Chandler carved the Broncos up on that final drive of regulation to understand how big of an issue it could be.
Right now, with all the injuries the Chargers have sustained, Antonio Gates is their offense, and it’ll be interesting to see how Wade Phillips chooses to defend him on Sunday.
