Antonio Gates News: Pro Sports Daily

Gates was limited in Chargers practice Wednesday.

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November 5

San Diego Union-Tribune

"Chargers Pro Bowl center Nick Hardwick took yet another step toward a return to the lineup Wednesday. For the first time since sustaining an opening-game injury to his left ankle, Hardwick delivered snaps during live practice and may be available for Sunday's game against the New York Giants at East Rutherford, N.J. "There's a possibility," head coach Norv Turner said. "We'll see where he's at (today), whether he has any setbacks. I think it'd be hard for him to play this week, but maybe he could play in an emergency situation." As it is, Hardwick is ahead of the schedule that was projected for him, especially after he underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments Sept. 23. His snaps were ..."

Antonio Gates charges up lucky student

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November 1

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"It was just after 8 a.m. on Tuesday when the black stretch limousine angled its way off Valley Parkway and through the twisting roads of a small apartment village. This place seemed forgotten. Patches of its grass had been worn to dirt. Barbecue grills and old bicycles rusted in patios framed by strings of pumpkin lights. Paper skeletons faded on a front door. A San Diego Chargers flag hung limply outside another. Nobody was outside when Chargers Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates stepped from the limo, climbed up the stairs to Unit 18, the apartment with the blue and gold lightning bolts and the illuminated "Chargers Country" sign in its living room window. Gates, wearing his dark blue ..."

Miami Dolphins face another All-Pro tight end in San Diego's Antonio Gates

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September 25

Miami Herald

"The media mob around Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder's locker already had delivered the expected salvo of questions about San Diego All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates. A latecomer asked Crowder what the Dolphins needed to do against Gates that they didn't do against Atlanta's Tony Gonzalez and Indianapolis' Dallas Clark. ``Cover him! Y'all know what cover him means?'' an exasperated Crowder roared. ``Cover the guy! Don't let him catch the ball. Tight ends can't catch the ball. That's our job to stop him from catching the ball. Anything else about Gates? I don't know what shoe size he wears. I don't know what kind of shirts he wears. Anybody else want to ask something about Gates?'' There ..."

Antonio Gates back in Detroit to share his success story

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June 11

San Diego Union-Tribune

"Antonio Gates admits he made his share of mistakes growing up. He said he was involved in drugs, performed poorly in school, got kicked out of school and was involved in his share of fights. Now, he's one of Detroit's success stories as an all-pro tight end for the San Diego Chargers. And his rags-to-riches story is sure to resonate with the nearly 400 youth football players who will participate in the second annual Sound Mind, Sound Body camp that runs through Saturday at Wayne State. "Whenever I go out there on Sundays, a little bit of Detroit remains with me," Gates said during a telephone interview from San Diego. "I think of my brother and sisters. I think of what I went through to ..."

Gates guts it out on bum ankle

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January 4

San Diego Union-Tribune

"When it comes to outstanding - and gritty - efforts by a tight end in a playoff setting, the Chargers already had an award-winning performance. Kellen Winslow, at Miami, 1982. Now they have two. Playing on a high ankle sprain that medical experts said will take four to six weeks to heal, Antonio Gates caught eight passes for 87 yards Saturday night, including two catches that set up the tying field goal and one in the overtime touchdown drive. "I did what I could, I didn't try to overdo it," was how Gates described his effort against Indianapolis. Gates was speaking long after everyone else had cleared out of the Chargers locker room. He had just returned from the training room where ..."

Gates learns patience is a key part of formula for success

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December 22

San Diego Union-Tribune

"Antonio Gates is going to be a bust, but not in the pejorative sense. The Chargers' prolific tight end is destined to have a bronze likeness placed on permanent display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What was once probable has become inevitable. All that remains to be seen is the scheduling. Gates caught two touchdown passes in the Chargers' 41-24 thrashing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday afternoon, and in so doing surpassed two major milestones. The first of his two touchdowns was the 50th of his career, a feat no tight end has accomplished faster, and that same 15-yard catch pushed him past the 5,000-yard mark in cumulative catches. Of the seven tight ends thus far enshrined in ..."

Hobbled stars are slowing the Chargers offensive output

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October 6

San Diego Union-Tribune

"As varied and rich in talent as the Chargers offense is, it is nonetheless built around the spectacular abilities of two primary players. And those two players, Antonio Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson, are battling injuries they won't let be excuses but that are clearly limiting their effectiveness. Tomlinson, a week after showing so much burst and explosion in gaining 106 yards against Oakland, was again less than himself Sunday. The Dolphins stepped on him, and his big toe was twisted into the ground, aggravating the injury he suffered in the season opener. And Gates continued to battle a hip stinger that yesterday greatly affected his ability to get open. "Obviously there are some ..."

Pearly Gates mortal after all?

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September 12

San Diego Union-Tribune

"In between his first and second games as a decoy in last January's postseason, Antonio Gates was talking about what it was like to be hurt for the first time in his career. Essentially, what it was like to be mortal. "I realize all the things I took for granted," he said at the time. "I realize now how good I've been. I didn't know what I could do that other guys can't." A four-time Pro Bowler, Gates has 15 more touchdowns than any tight end in the NFL over the past four seasons. In that span, his 4,034 yards are second-most in the league among tight ends (behind Tony Gonzalez). Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow is the only tight end in league history to have more yards in his first five ..."

Gates returns to pass drills

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August 20

San Diego Union-Tribune

"Spirits were extremely high on the turf at Chargers Park yesterday, but the late burst of enthusiasm may have had less to do with the imminent end to training camp than the sight of the newcomer to passing drills, a tight end coming off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. "I hadn't put the pads on since the Patriots game," said Antonio Gates, referring to the AFC Championship Game at New England that he basically limped through as an ill-disguised decoy. "It was fun. I was excited. Needless to say, though, I've got a lot of work to do." Gates, the Pro Bowl tight end who's averaged nearly 80 catches and more than 10 touchdowns over the past four seasons, has been brought along ..."

Gates busy making great strides

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August 17

San Diego Union-Tribune

"The best news for the Chargers last night came before their preseason game against the Rams. With Philip Rivers throwing passes, Antonio Gates ran about 20 routes of varying types about an hour before the Chargers commenced their 7-6 loss. "He looked really good," Rivers said. "That's encouraging for us, and for him." Gates ran short and deep, full speed, cutting across the field and came in and out of breaks extremely strong. He walked off the field without a limp and less-than-usual discomfort afterward. "I'll tell you what, it's starting to feel close to normal," Gates said later. "It still gets sore, but the difference is I can go out and do some things . . . I haven't hit a wall. I ..."

Gates says pain 'tolerable' after running routes

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August 12

San Diego Union-Tribune

"Antonio Gates took a significant step in his recovery from toe surgery yesterday. Many steps. Before the rest of the team practiced in the afternoon, Gates ran routes in the morning - taking off and stopping and catching passes and appearing to be close to his All-Pro form. "It looks better than it feels," Gates said later. " . . . It's not as comfortable as it looks. I got through it. The pain is tolerable." Gates is still feeling a high level of discomfort in his left big toe. And even though he's been told by the medical staff that setbacks and stalling is normal, he is extremely frustrated with his level of improvement. "It's about the same as it was last week," he said. "My whole ..."

Gates figuring to make opener

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July 30

San Diego Union-Tribune

"Rehab is going better than he ever anticipated. If it keeps at this pace, with the gains outpacing the setbacks, with him able to manage the discomfort, Antonio Gates believes he will "definitely be ready for the opener." But Gates won't just come back to be back. "This team is too talented and too dedicated to winning for me to come back and not be ready to contribute," said Gates, who had surgery on his left big toe in late February. "I wouldn't shortchange this team. Being out there and playing is one thing, but contributing is another." Gates, who is running and cutting up to twice a day on a side field but has yet to practice, had his fill of being just a stand-in in last season's ..."

Wary Chargers sweating over Gates' recovery

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July 22

San Diego Union-Tribune

columnist Tim Sullivan

"Antonio Gates wants to come back whole. He wants to be what he was. He wants to be the athlete you remember, the tight end for a new millennium, the prototype too advanced for mass production. Five months removed from surgery on a torn plantar plate in his left big toe, Gates is a key variable in the Chargers' 2008 equation and a constant source of concern. Gates said he was able to perceive progress during yesterday's soft launch of training camp, but his participation in the practice consisted of an individual workout on a separate field and his timetable for a return to contact drills remains pure conjecture."