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9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
From hoops to Hall of Fame: Antonio Gates' unique NFL journey to Canton
Antonio Gates thought his path to a Hall of Fame career would have been in basketball. Instead, he became one of the best tight ends in NFL history. Gates will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, getting elected to Canton without playing college football. He played his entire 16-year career for the Bolts and finished with 116 receiving touchdowns, the most by a tight end in NFL history. 'My journey was probably the most unique journey in all of football because I came in as a former basketball player, not knowing what to expect,' Gates said. 'Some of those guys who are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, they wanted to be Pro Football Hall of Famers when they were 14 years old. I wanted to play in the NBA. That was my dream. Like I said, I still haven't wrapped my head around it all.' Gates played both football and basketball during high school at Detroit Central. Nick Saban recruited Gates to play football at Michigan State, but he didn't play as a freshman. Gates also wanted to play basketball, but Saban disagreed. Gates transferred to Eastern Michigan, then to two junior colleges, and eventually to Kent State. It was at Kent State that Gates reached national prominence. He led the Golden Flashes to the Elite Eight in the 2002 NCAA Tournament as a junior and an Associated Press All-America honorable mention selection as a senior after averaging 20.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Even though Gates was convinced he would get drafted in the NBA, at 6-foot-4, scouts saw him as an undersized post player. However, Tim Brewster, who was the Chargers' tight ends coach in 2003, saw in Gates the size and speed that he thought would make him a great tight end. Brewster saw Gates during a private workout and immediately began making his pitch to Marty Schottenheimer and the Chargers' front office to sign him as a free agent. 'A lot of people like to take credit, but Tim is the number one reason why I am in the Hall of Fame,' Gates said. 'He found me, believed what I could become, and was around me constantly. He really got me into a position where I look up, and I was All-Pro my second year in the field.' After having 24 receptions for 389 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, Gates had a career-high 13 touchdowns in 2004 en route to the first of three straight Associated Press All-Pro honors and eight consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl. He also had 81 catches for 964 yards. Even though he was catching a lot of passes, Gates' route-running didn't always get high marks from coaches. 'What I was doing as a rookie and in my second year was considered nontraditional. I would play well, but grade out bad because I creating a lane. And unfortunately, when you're creating something that's never been done or seen, it gets scrutinized. I would use my instinct to make the play.' Many of the things that Gates did with shape routes, pivot routes over the ball and tight ends releasing at the line of scrimmage are commonplace today with Kansas City's Travis Kelce and San Francisco's George Kittle. Gates utilized his basketball skills on the football field, as catching the ball at its highest point is similar to rebounding in the paint, as well as boxing out on the hardwood and trying to get open against a defensive back. Gates might have been outsized as a power forward, but he had an advantage going up against defensive backs who often were smaller than he was. Gates' career flourished under Norv Turner, the Chargers coach from 2007 through '12. Turner lined Gates up in different spots and also used more two tight end sets. Gates' route-running also improved under Turner and with Philip Rivers as the quarterback. 'He had to win on his route-running and his ability to separate and his understanding of coverages and all those things. Philip is as good a passer as there's been in a long time, but Philip wasn't going to move around and make a lot of plays off schedule,' Turner said. Gates finished with 955 receptions for 11,841 yards. He had 21 multi-touchdown games, the most among tight ends. Of his 116 touchdowns, 39 came on third down, which is tied for third all time. He had eight seasons with at least eight touchdowns and was a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 2000s. Gates said the biggest thing he is looking forward to is being able to thank the people who helped him get to Canton. 'I've always been in a space where from a popularity standpoint, people know my name. It's my chance to thank everyone else,' he said. 'Although you are the face and the focus point, it's truly not about you. You're letting everybody understand what it took to get to this point and who were influential.' ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former Patrick Mahomes teammate makes admission on Tom Brady
Former Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu gave an honest response when asked if he believed quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the greatest of all time. While he does think the three-time Super Bowl champion is closing in on that title, he isn't ready to put him ahead of former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. "I would say he's a great quarterback, but greatest of all time, I think that's still reserved for Brady," Mathieu said on Up & Adams. "And I think with Brady, that's just longevity. That's respect. That's just playing against this guy on the biggest stages. He was one of the most competitive, accurate. He just had a single mindset to win—win by any means necessary. He was always a challenge to go up against. Being the greatest of all time, I don't think it's like an eight, nine, 10-year thing." Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, has beaten Mahomes twice in the postseason—once in the 2018 AFC Championship Game and once more at Super Bowl LV. He also won a Super Bowl with two different football teams after leaving the Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Mahomes is still only 29 years old and not completely out of the race. Mathieu acknowledged his former teammate might one day go down as the greatest of all time if he stays on his current trajectory. But that's a big hill to climb in a league where teams improve every year. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook. This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Former Patrick Mahomes teammate makes admission on Tom Brady
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Blue Jays place All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk on the 7-day injured list with a concussion
DETROIT (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays placed All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk on the seven-day injured list with a concussion on Sunday. In a corresponding move, the club recalled catcher Ali Sanchez and activated him for the series finale against the Detroit Tigers. The 26-year-old Kirk was pulled in the fourth inning of Saturday's 6-1 victory over the Tigers after he took a foul tip off his face mask. He was replaced by Tyler Heineman. Kirk began Sunday sixth in the majors with a batting average of .304. He has seven home runs and 47 RBIs in 88 games this season. ___ AP MLB:
