In the wake of Hunter Henry’s devastating ACL injury on the first day of offseason team activities
http://www.chargersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-derwin-james-jersey ;, it was prognosticated that the Chargers would have no choice but to bring back tight end Antonio Gates. That was two months ago.Gates remains unsigned and, largely, uncourted by any NFL teams.The Chargers have been the only team that has given any indication of interest in Gates’ services.These comments, however, might have been smoke without fire.Antonio Gates is a Chargers legend.He has fans and he has records, and the Chargers would not be so tone deaf as to not comment on his possible return to the team.In June, team GM Tom Telesco wrote the following during a live chat on Chargers.com:This statement was a perfect blend of ego-brushing and non-commitment, the kind that GMs are hired for and expected to excel at to keep rumors alive but agents wondering.There have been a few more comments, very much identical in substance and tone, but no real news has hit regarding the Chargers tight end plans for 2018.Make no mistake— the Chargers need help at TE.Hunter Henry was their future and their current plan, and those plans just received a nasty ACL monkey wrench to mess up the works.However, if we step back and look a little, this might actually be the Chargers being prudent.Antonio Gates is a legend
Joey Bosa Jersey , but legends are told after the fact.Gates has been largely a non-factor through his most recent 2-year contract.He received about 5.5 million per year through that extension, or $10,036 per yard in 2016 and $17,207 per yard in 2017.Signing Antonio Gates is only helpful in adding a little bit more depth to a stressed position and selling more merchandise at the team store.With a current cap room at 8.5 million, the Chargers actually have the upper hand.They could give Gates whatever it is that he is asking for— no doubt that the Bolts are negotiating more toward the veteran minimum of just over 1 million for a player of his stature.Gates is no doubt aiming closer to his last payday; I would assume around 4 million.It’s become a game of chicken, very much in the spirit of what the Steelers are experiencing with their star RB’s franchise deal.The difference is that the Chargers have a whole lot more flexibility, as their entire offense does not center around this hole in the TE chart.As the clock ticks down toward the regular season, one of the sides will blink.I’m sure that the Chargers would love to have Gates back for 1 or 2 million—that’s basically a steal.Antonio Gates will have to decide if the toll on his body is worth playing at a discount compared to what he’s used to.- Jason “Tight Pockets” Michaels The Tennessee Titans hated the outcome.But they loved the call.The decision by Titans coach Mike Vrabel to go for a go-ahead 2-point conversion against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday doomed Tennessee (3-4) to a third straight loss when Marcus Mariota's pass to Taywan Taylor was tipped by safety Adrian Phillips in the end zone.With the score 20-19 after Mariota threw a touchdown pass to Luke Stocker on fourth down with 31 seconds left, Vrabel had the option of playing it safe and heading for overtime by kicking an extra point. But there was no doubt in his players' minds that he was right to go for the win."I love the call, everyone in this locker room loved the call," wide receiver Tajae Sharpe said. "We wanted to be aggressive no matter what, and that's what we did. Unfortunately it just didn't go our way."Vrabel's decision is likely to be second-guessed outside the Titans' locker room, though
Authentic Austin Ekeler Jersey , especially after the element of surprise disappeared when Tennessee's first attempt at the 2-point conversion was negated by a defensive holding penalty.The momentum was also in the Titans' favor as they had rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half and had largely managed to control the Chargers' high-powered offense aside from two long touchdown passes by Philip Rivers.Vrabel said playing with a banged-up offensive line after right guard Josh Kline limped off during the final drive was "a consideration" when making the call. Although he also said he had already made the decision before Kline's injury."When that drive started I thought in my mind that if we scored, when we scored, and it was less than 40 seconds we were going to go for 2 and win the game," Vrabel said."If it was a minute and 30 (seconds), we kick the extra point and we go and play defense. ... I got a lot of faith in my players converting third downs and converting those situations. Marcus was doing everything we needed to do to keep the plans alive. So I'm not going to second-guess the call. It just didn't work out."Mariota finished with 237 yards passing and one touchdown, but also regretted an interception thrown from the Chargers 10-yard line on a play that began with 39 seconds left in the first half. A touchdown would have put Tennesee ahead 13-10 at halftime, but they instead found themselves trailing 17-6 after Rivers hit Mike Williams on a 55-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the second half.Rivers also threw a 75-yard score to Tyrell Williams on the Chargers' first play from scrimmage as Los Angeles came up with the big plays that eluded Tennesee.Like Sharpe, though, Mariota defended Vrabel's decision to go for 2."I love that he has confidence in us to go make that. We just didn't execute," Mariota said. "I should've done a better job maybe extending the play, knowing it was the last play. There's definitely more I wish I could've done. But that being said, they did a good job of covering it."
In the wake of Hunter Henry’s devastating ACL injury on the first day of offseason team activities http://www.chargersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-derwin-james-jersey ;, it was prognosticated that the Chargers would have no choice but to bring back tight end Antonio Gates. That was two months ago.Gates remains unsigned and, largely, uncourted by any NFL teams.The Chargers have been the only team that has given any indication of interest in Gates’ services.These comments, however, might have been smoke without fire.Antonio Gates is a Chargers legend.He has fans and he has records, and the Chargers would not be so tone deaf as to not comment on his possible return to the team.In June, team GM Tom Telesco wrote the following during a live chat on Chargers.com:This statement was a perfect blend of ego-brushing and non-commitment, the kind that GMs are hired for and expected to excel at to keep rumors alive but agents wondering.There have been a few more comments, very much identical in substance and tone, but no real news has hit regarding the Chargers tight end plans for 2018.Make no mistake— the Chargers need help at TE.Hunter Henry was their future and their current plan, and those plans just received a nasty ACL monkey wrench to mess up the works.However, if we step back and look a little, this might actually be the Chargers being prudent.Antonio Gates is a legend Joey Bosa Jersey , but legends are told after the fact.Gates has been largely a non-factor through his most recent 2-year contract.He received about 5.5 million per year through that extension, or $10,036 per yard in 2016 and $17,207 per yard in 2017.Signing Antonio Gates is only helpful in adding a little bit more depth to a stressed position and selling more merchandise at the team store.With a current cap room at 8.5 million, the Chargers actually have the upper hand.They could give Gates whatever it is that he is asking for— no doubt that the Bolts are negotiating more toward the veteran minimum of just over 1 million for a player of his stature.Gates is no doubt aiming closer to his last payday; I would assume around 4 million.It’s become a game of chicken, very much in the spirit of what the Steelers are experiencing with their star RB’s franchise deal.The difference is that the Chargers have a whole lot more flexibility, as their entire offense does not center around this hole in the TE chart.As the clock ticks down toward the regular season, one of the sides will blink.I’m sure that the Chargers would love to have Gates back for 1 or 2 million—that’s basically a steal.Antonio Gates will have to decide if the toll on his body is worth playing at a discount compared to what he’s used to.- Jason “Tight Pockets” Michaels The Tennessee Titans hated the outcome.But they loved the call.The decision by Titans coach Mike Vrabel to go for a go-ahead 2-point conversion against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday doomed Tennessee (3-4) to a third straight loss when Marcus Mariota's pass to Taywan Taylor was tipped by safety Adrian Phillips in the end zone.With the score 20-19 after Mariota threw a touchdown pass to Luke Stocker on fourth down with 31 seconds left, Vrabel had the option of playing it safe and heading for overtime by kicking an extra point. But there was no doubt in his players' minds that he was right to go for the win."I love the call, everyone in this locker room loved the call," wide receiver Tajae Sharpe said. "We wanted to be aggressive no matter what, and that's what we did. Unfortunately it just didn't go our way."Vrabel's decision is likely to be second-guessed outside the Titans' locker room, though Authentic Austin Ekeler Jersey , especially after the element of surprise disappeared when Tennessee's first attempt at the 2-point conversion was negated by a defensive holding penalty.The momentum was also in the Titans' favor as they had rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half and had largely managed to control the Chargers' high-powered offense aside from two long touchdown passes by Philip Rivers.Vrabel said playing with a banged-up offensive line after right guard Josh Kline limped off during the final drive was "a consideration" when making the call. Although he also said he had already made the decision before Kline's injury."When that drive started I thought in my mind that if we scored, when we scored, and it was less than 40 seconds we were going to go for 2 and win the game," Vrabel said."If it was a minute and 30 (seconds), we kick the extra point and we go and play defense. ... I got a lot of faith in my players converting third downs and converting those situations. Marcus was doing everything we needed to do to keep the plans alive. So I'm not going to second-guess the call. It just didn't work out."Mariota finished with 237 yards passing and one touchdown, but also regretted an interception thrown from the Chargers 10-yard line on a play that began with 39 seconds left in the first half. A touchdown would have put Tennesee ahead 13-10 at halftime, but they instead found themselves trailing 17-6 after Rivers hit Mike Williams on a 55-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the second half.Rivers also threw a 75-yard score to Tyrell Williams on the Chargers' first play from scrimmage as Los Angeles came up with the big plays that eluded Tennesee.Like Sharpe, though, Mariota defended Vrabel's decision to go for 2."I love that he has confidence in us to go make that. We just didn't execute," Mariota said. "I should've done a better job maybe extending the play, knowing it was the last play. There's definitely more I wish I could've done. But that being said, they did a good job of covering it."