What has happened to Antonio Gates? (1 Viewer)

[BoltzNBrew]

Pre-season happens

 

[Despyzer]

To answer the original question "What has happened to Antonio Gates?", the QB that helped Gates along to elite TE status is gone. He will now be working with a new QB who has virtually zero experience as an NFL starter. While he should still be considered a top flight fantasy TE, the only realistic expectation for Gates is that his numbers will go down this year. To think otherwise is myopic. Don't expect last years numbers.

You are choosing to overlook one important fact about Gates: He is still learning his position and how to play football. Previous to joining the Chargers, he had never been a TE and hadn't played football since HS.To think that Gates' numbers will only go down as he becomes appreciably better is what seems myopic to me.

 

[satch]

To answer the original question "What has happened to Antonio Gates?", the QB that helped Gates along to elite TE status is gone. He will now be working with a new QB who has virtually zero experience as an NFL starter. While he should still be considered a top flight fantasy TE, the only realistic expectation for Gates is that his numbers will go down this year. To think otherwise is myopic. Don't expect last years numbers.

You are choosing to overlook one important fact about Gates: He is still learning his position and how to play football. Previous to joining the Chargers, he had never been a TE and hadn't played football since HS.To think that Gates' numbers will only go down as he becomes appreciably better is what seems myopic to me.

I think that's a bit of a stretch. Sure, every player can always learn something about their position, but the transition and chemistry curve from Brees to Rivers will negatively impact Gates numbers far more than any positive impact from Gates "learning his position".Brees and Gates built an incredible chemistry. Gates and Rivers do not have that chemistry. They may develop it, but they may not. Rivers may end up like Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning or somewhere in between. This is the point. We don't know and only time will tell. This is exactly why we should expect Gates numbers to decline at least until we find out if Rivers is capable of learning the system and running that offense.

 

[Despyzer]

To answer the original question "What has happened to Antonio Gates?", the QB that helped Gates along to elite TE status is gone. He will now be working with a new QB who has virtually zero experience as an NFL starter. While he should still be considered a top flight fantasy TE, the only realistic expectation for Gates is that his numbers will go down this year. To think otherwise is myopic. Don't expect last years numbers.

You are choosing to overlook one important fact about Gates: He is still learning his position and how to play football. Previous to joining the Chargers, he had never been a TE and hadn't played football since HS.To think that Gates' numbers will only go down as he becomes appreciably better is what seems myopic to me.

I think that's a bit of a stretch. Sure, every player can always learn something about their position, but the transition and chemistry curve from Brees to Rivers will negatively impact Gates numbers far more than any positive impact from Gates "learning his position".Brees and Gates built an incredible chemistry. Gates and Rivers do not have that chemistry. They may develop it, but they may not. Rivers may end up like Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning or somewhere in between. This is the point. We don't know and only time will tell. This is exactly why we should expect Gates numbers to decline at least until we find out if Rivers is capable of learning the system and running that offense.

How long do you think Gates has been in this league? You do know this is only his fourth year, right? This will only be his third as a starter. As far as chemistry, check out some of MT's posts on this subject.