"When it comes to stopping Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, Oakland defensive coordinator John Marshall has suggestions, not solutions.

"He's really a great player," said Marshall, whose team hosts San Diego today. "He's a veteran player that knows how to get open. You've got to change coverages on him, put the right people on him, sometimes double him, roll coverage to him, have people around him, bang him around."

The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Gates is a six-time Pro Bowler who has caught a touchdown pass in eight consecutive games - the longest streak by a tight end in NFL history. He leads the league with six touchdowns and is fourth with 386 yards (on 24 catches).

And yet Gates hasn't even won the tight end matchup against the Raiders the last three years. Zach Miller has five straight games against the Chargers with five or more catches, and he is making opposing coaches rewind and play back game tape as well.

"He runs all the routes, and he's gotten a great feel for the defense and getting open and finding the soft spots," San Diego coach Norv Turner said. "And the scheme is awfully tight-end friendly and allows the tight end to do a lot of things. And the quarterback is looking to throw him the ball."

The 6-5, 255-pound Miller stays after practice with quarterback Bruce Gradkowski to work on routes and adjustments, and it has paid off. He had a career-high 11 catches for 122 yards against Houston last week and is 18th in the NFL in receiving yards with 278 (on 22 catches).

"The last couple of years, I felt like there were times where I could have been used more, but I was either blocking or just not as big of a focal point," Miller said. "Then, defenses were able to take me away once I started having success. They started really keying on me. It was tough."

But this year, receivers Darrius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy are taking defenders deep, leaving Miller room to operate in the middle of the field. And running back Darren McFadden's hot start running and catching also helped."