DMD Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 This is what was feared about taking Gates this year... http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/se...ialist-tuesday/ An uncomfortable reality for Gates As Antonio Gates seeks more input regarding his still-ailing right foot, wondering why it is the pain remains so severe, a possibility no one wants to consider hovers like a dark cloud that may or may not burst. Even if Gates says his future is only a matter of how he will get back to full strength and not if, any concern has merit, if only because of who it is about and what he has meant to the Chargers. To even be contemplating such a question is a compliment to him. Gates has for seven seasons been among the best tight ends to ever play in the NFL, doer of unprecedented feats, destined for immortalization in the form of a bronze bust in Canton, Ohio. But now, as the man who has proven his toughness again and again is again out for an indefinite period, we must consider the highly uncomfortable, almost unthinkable possibility: Is this the beginning of the end? Gates shook his head from side to side before he answered. “No,” he said. “I think physically you get an idea about where you’re at by going out and playing and running around. Prior to the Patriots game, I felt like I could still be who I am. The way I was running around in New England … Practice wise, I’m running around, I feel fast. So, to me, I just always, you know, I’ve always been optimistic on everything.” Gates said the pain presently is not as severe as it was last season when he played almost two months with a torn plantar fascia before finally having to sit the season’s final four games. An MRI on his foot last week, Gates said, “looked great.” Still, he plans to see a foot specialist on Tuesday and is considering further examination by the doctor who performed his foot surgery following the 2007 season. “It gets frustrating,” Gates said. “… (Seeing more specialists) I think I get the satisfaction of knowing that it’s not anything that would hinder me from my career.” Gates said the issue comes down to committing to playing now and enduring the weekly pain and “cycle” of uncertainty over whether he will play or resting for another three to five weeks or longer and hoping that is enough so that when he comes back he can finish the season without interruption. “I think those questions are still in the air,” he said. “… Rest can definitely help, but it’s a combination of, at what point is the worst-case scenario for me? Is it going to be a situation where if I rest it ain’t going to make a difference if I come back and run, because you have to get through the scar tissue? “It’s always up to me and how much pain I can tolerate. And I think to me, that’s the most deceiving thing about MRI, because they tell you how you (are) structurally. But they can’t, no one can just tell you how you feel.” According to Gates and others in the organization, scar tissue has built up in Gates’ foot over the past year since he tore his plantar fascia. During the offseason, rest made his foot stronger but activity since the start of camp has caused discomfort. Twice in August, he tore the scar tissue, had to sit and then felt even better when he returned. He tore it further in the fourth quarter of the Sept. 18 game at New England. “I think you tear the scar tissue, it’s like you take a step back and then you get stronger and that’s what I watched myself do,” he said. “… It’s kind of like you’re constantly doing it and you’re stretching it.” A doctor who has not examined Gates wondered on Monday if the wear and tear on Gates' foot, including his compensating by playing through plantar fasciitis last year, may have contributed to other injuries in the foot. “It doesn’t sound like rest is going to be the answer,” said Dr. Phillip Kwong, foot and ankle specialist at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. “He did have the offseason to rest; there wasn’t much of a preseason. That was an extended period of rest.” The 31-year-old Gates was the Chargers’ leading receiver every year from 2004 to ’09 and wasn’t last year by a smidge because he didn’t play in six games. Since Philip Rivers became the starting quarterback in 2006, he has thrown 566 passes in Gates’ direction and completed 376 of those passes to his favorite target. Gates' 537 total receptions rank sixth all-time among tight ends. His 69 touchdowns are second. Chargers head coach Norv Turner said Monday that Gates could return as soon as this Sunday, but he did so with something less than conviction. While Gates has by playing with severe injuries in two postseasons and last season shown he is willing to do whatever it takes to play, he seemed on Monday more inclined to be patient. “People say, ‘Oh, it’s just scar tissue, why don’t you play?’ ” Gates said. “And it’s just, my scar tissue might not be like the norm when you constantly take medication, you constantly doing things to keep playing and keep playing and keep playing. So maybe it’s just, uh, you know ... “I do want to be me in the game. I think that’s the bottom line for me. I don’t want to go be just, you know, just go out there and just be out there. I want to be able to run and do the things that I can do.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearBroncos Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I spent allot of capital on Gates hoping that this wouldn't happen, but I also knew in the back of my head that the potentail for this was more than possible. A risk that bit me in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheMan_5 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Is Mcmichael a viable replacement? I don't know, but I'd have to think SD's offence will eventually begin to show more signs of life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 Is Mcmichael a viable replacement? I don't know, but I'd have to think SD's offence will eventually begin to show more signs of life. In the same way when you get your car worked on and they give you an economy car with dents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MustOfBeenDrunk Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 In the same way when you get your car worked on and they give you an economy car with dents. Love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenthug Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 The frustrating part is Gates owners will be playing the waiting game every week. Will he or won't he play? When the Chargers have late starts, it's going to be crapshoot. Between Gates and Britt, my team is crumbling before my eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 In the same way when you get your car worked on and they give you an economy car with dents 4 flat tires. Fixed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delusions of grandeur Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I tore my foot playing basketball as a teenager, back when they really didn't check for tears and they just threw a cast on it. To this day, when I stand for a long time on my feet or even go on a short hike, I will go to bed in tremendous pain, and wake up barely able to walk on it. The pain subsides pretty quickly the next day, but I cannot imagine playing pro football with a more serious ailment that continues to be re-aggravated. This was precisely the reason I also passed on Gates this year, because I know good and well what "lingering" means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilthorp Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I've had surgery on my right foot for spurs and other growths - need it on the left as well. Bad feet are ridiculously nasty, very painful, and cut my athletic ability down significantly. I feel for the guy, but he's done. What you knew of him is no longer valid. I would not be surprised if it's actually career ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delicious_bass Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I have owned Gates on at least one of my teams the past few seasons. He has helped those teams win a lot more than they lost. Lot of people would say keep going back to that well til its dry. Typically, I would. When I read there were still lingering effects/problems with the feet coming into the season, though, I figured this was the year to let someone else have him. I did not want to be the guy who pulled up the empty bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Strictly from a fantasy football view, this could be a big opportunity for owners to get Gates very cheap & stash him away for their playoff run. With Finely, Moore & Dickson already on my team I'm making an offer to the Gates owner, who's already desperately tried to trade me for a TE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I tore my foot playing basketball as a teenager, back when they really didn't check for tears and they just threw a cast on it. To this day, when I stand for a long time on my feet or even go on a short hike, I will go to bed in tremendous pain, and wake up barely able to walk on it. The pain subsides pretty quickly the next day, but I cannot imagine playing pro football with a more serious ailment that continues to be re-aggravated. This was precisely the reason I also passed on Gates this year, because I know good and well what "lingering" means. :dropsdelusionsofgranduerfrommytaxisqaud: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rattsass Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I have been a Gates owner consistantly through the years, but I am in complete sell mode at the moment. Dangled him out there last week in my dynasty but couldn't get a sniff, so I think I may have held on just a bit too long. Still, can't complain. Dude has carried me many a week over the last 8 years. Sucks that his body is failing him so young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delusions of grandeur Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 :dropsdelusionsofgranduerfrommytaxisqaud: Your loss. You could have had a poor man's slower, less athletic, white version of Noel Devine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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