Antonio Gates

[BennyAndTheJets 0]

Just curious, I believe Gates is going into his 4th NFL year this coming season. Did he do anything at all his rookie year? I don't remember hearing anything about him at all. If not, how did he become such a beast the following year? Did the Chargers just not utilize him well his rookie year, or did he just improve that much?

[RamslovaMartzhata 3]

Gates started blowing up in his 2nd year. In what I regard as speculation that seems very likely to be true, he did not do much in his rookie season because he had not played organized football since high school (he played basketball in college). He had the physical skills, just not the refinement. After he got back in the swing of things we all know what happened next. If you are wondering about Vernon Davis, he can absolutely have a big time impact should he fall into the right situation.

[GeminiV 0]

Just curious, I believe Gates is going into his 4th NFL year this coming season. Did he do anything at all his rookie year? I don't remember hearing anything about him at all. If not, how did he become such a beast the following year? Did the Chargers just not utilize him well his rookie year, or did he just improve that much?

 

He had some decent games near the end of his rookie season, enough to be mentioned as a fantasy sleeper in the off-season. As Martzhata said, he didn't play football in college, which is why he went undrafted and was quiet for most of his first season. The athletic ability was always there, though, and he's picking the game up again at an incredible pace.

[sharkie22 0]

Gates took over in week 10 of '03. Flutie's first start after Brees finally got the hook. Gates was 3/55/1 in that game and over the remainder (7 games) of the season he had 18 rec. / 296 yards /1 TD. He did not play football in college.