Can the San Diego Chargers survive without Antonio Gates?

As reported by Dan Hanzus of NFL.com, San Diego Chargers’ star tight end Antonio Gates has been suspended by the NFL for the first four regular season games of the 2015 season. Gates will be sidelined without pay for violating the league’s policy and program for performance-enhancing substances. The question now becomes how can the San Diego Chargers keep their offense clicking without the services of their eight-time Pro Bowler?

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Offensively speaking for the Chargers, the cupboard is far from bare even without their main red zone threat in the lineup. Veteran signal caller Phillip Rivers is coming off of a great season which saw him rack up 4,286 passing yards and 31 touchdowns. San Diego’s two starting receivers from last year, Malcom Floyd and Keenan Allen, combined for 1,639 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

In addition to Floyd and Allen, San Diego also has intriguing tight end prospect Ladarius Green on the roster. As a fourth round selection in 2012, Green has flashed some promise as Gates’ backup. The 6-foot-6 inch former track athlete has started 14 games the past two years, and at the tender age of 25, looks to be the heir apparent as the Chargers’ new starting tight end.

It is also worth mentioning that San Diego’s selection of Melvin Gordon III in the first round of the 2015 draft now looms even larger than originally planned. Gordon led the nation in rushing last year with 2,587 yards and figures to give a huge boost to the Chargers’ dreadful 30th ranked rushing attack. Furthermore, being that Gates was always known to be a weak in-line blocker, I think his absence will actually help to re-establish San Diego’s ground game.

May 26, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; (EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) hands the ball off to running back Melvin Gordon (28) during organized team activities at Charger Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Schedule wise, two of the Chargers’ first four opponents were playoff teams from a year ago. Detroit and Cincinnati qualified for the postseason, while Minnesota and Cleveland did not. In my opinion, San Diego’s schedule in Gates’ absence does not exactly read like a murderer’s row of opposition. Therefore, I think it is very realistic for the Chargers to win at least two and maybe even three of their first four games without Gates.

I understand how great of a player Antonio Gates has been for the San Diego Chargers and he is obviously one of Rivers’ top targets. With 10,014 career receiving yards and 99 touchdowns to his resume, Gates has Hall of Fame credentials and will go down as one of the most dynamic offensive tight ends in the history of football. However, in terms of wins and losses, I do think that the San Diego Chargers can manage without him for a four game span.

Dec 28, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) throws a pass against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Also working in San Diego’s favor is the fact that Rivers and Gates have been teammates in the starting lineup together since 2006. When two players have that much experience playing together, their overall chemistry is unlikely to be affected by a minor layoff. The combination of Rivers and Gates have played in a total of 134 regular season games and nine playoff games with Rivers as the starting quarterback. Therefore, I anticipate that this pair can pick up right where they left off as soon as Gates is available in week five.

Regardless of the excuses or explanations coming out of Gates’ camp as to how he tested positive for PEDs, I think that a 13-year NFL veteran should be aware of which substances are banned by the league. Antonio Gates is either selfish for knowingly taking a banned substance that could result in a suspension, or downright foolish for not knowing that one of his supplements was banned by the NFL.

Dec 7, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (11) has a word with San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates (85) after the Chargers final play of the game at Qualcomm Stadium. The Patriots won 23-14. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Whatever the case is, this is obviously not an ideal situation for the San Diego Chargers to be facing. The Chargers are coming off a disappointing end to their 2014 season which saw them miss the playoffs following a divisional loss on the final week of the season. Keeping pace in the AFC West with improved Kansas City and Oakland teams, not to mention a juggernaut Denver team, will be an uphill climb. However, I feel as though the Chargers have enough help on offense to hold down the fort until Gates returns.

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