Time to Panic? Antonio Gates
I'm not sure how to react to the most recent article on Antonio Gates' toe. On one hand, he's still feeling a "high level of discomfort." He says the pain is tolerable, but it's there. On the other hand, he's running routes again. The local beat writer says Gates looked close to "All Pro" form. Everyone plays in some sort of pain, so how close is Gates to being ready to go?
According to CBS' Clark Judge, both Gates and the team expect him to be ready for Week 1. Even Gates was quoted last week saying, "I'm about 75-80 now. If there were a game today I probably could play, but I wouldn't be 100 percent."
In our video Chargers preview a while back, I said we should re-evaluate Gates in mid-August. It's now mid-August, and we still don't know what we are dealing with. Gates put up his strong totals from last season without being close to 100% for the final five weeks. He still put up 984 yards and nine scores.
I can understand why Fantasy Nation likes Jason Witten and Kellen Winslow more than Gates this season. I disagree, but I see them all within a few picks of each other in the fourth round. I can't understand Gates going much later though. As Chris Wesseling writes: "Swing for the fences -- championship banners fly forever."
Comments
I've read so many different views and opinions of TE's. I have had trouble because I owned both Witten and Winslow last year, a pure windfall. I know the TE class is deep...
Where would you guys draw the line with TE1 vs. WR2?
An example would be the likes of Gates/Winslow vs. Boldin/Marshall/Calvin Johnson/Harrison...
Posted by: Storm | August 15, 2008 10:17 PM