National Football League

Gates, Miller in battle of the tight ends

Published Oct. 10, 2010 10:14 p.m. ET

foxsports

When it comes to stopping Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, Oakland defensive coordinator John Marshall has suggestions, not solutions.

"He's really a great player," said Marshall, whose team hosts San Diego today. "He's a veteran player that knows how to get open. You've got to change coverages on him, put the right people on him, sometimes double him, roll coverage to him, have people around him, bang him around."

The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Gates is a six-time Pro Bowler who has caught a touchdown pass in eight consecutive games - the longest streak by a tight end in NFL history. He leads the league with six touchdowns and is fourth with 386 yards on 24 catches.

And yet Gates hasn't even won the tight end matchup against the Raiders the last three years. Zach Miller has five straight games against the Chargers with five or more catches, and he is making opposing coaches rewind and play back game tape as well.

"He runs all the routes, and he's gotten a great feel for the defense and getting open and finding the soft spots," San Diego coach Norv Turner said. "And the scheme is awfully tight-end friendly and allows the tight end to do a lot of things. And the quarterback is looking to throw him the ball."

The 6-5, 255-pound Miller stays after practice with quarterback Bruce Gradkowski to work on routes and adjustments, and it has paid off. He had a career-high 11 catches for 122 yards against Houston last week and is 18th in the NFL in receiving yards with 278 on 22 catches.

"The last couple of years, I felt like there were times where I could have been used more, but I was either blocking or just not as big of a focal point," Miller said. "Then, defenses were able to take me away once I started having success. They started really keying on me. It was tough."

But this year, receivers Darrius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy are taking defenders deep, leaving Miller room to operate in the middle of the field. And running back Darren McFadden's hot start running and catching also helped.

"Defenses can't drop underneath the routes I'm running," Miller said. "They can't get their linebackers back because they have to be ready for the back coming out. Darrius is going deep. ... Murphy is continuing to improve. ... It's nice having those weapons around you because teams can't just say, 'Hey, stop 80, stop 80.' "

Like No. 80 Miller, No. 85 Gates is especially dangerous on play-action plays after his team has established its running game. Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert lead a 10th-ranked ground game 132.3 yards per game and free up the former Kent State basketball star to go one-on-one with linebackers and safeties.

The Raiders have had success against Gates the last three years see chart, but that is relative as they have lost all of those games 13 straight. Safety Michael Huff has done well matched up with Gates, and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha takes some shots at the big fella every game.

Still, Raiders coach Tom Cable said Gates has gotten even better this season. He makes each route look the same, until the point at which he makes his break.

"Mentally, I've grown," Gates told Sports Illustrated. "You can only do so much physically. You can only run so fast and jump so high. Mentally, there is an unlimited capacity on how you can grow."

San Diego's Antonio Gates might go down as one of the best tight ends ever, but he has been outdone by Oakland's Zach Miller when the teams have met the past three seasons:

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Spotlight on: Rolando McClain. The rookie middle linebacker did not play well against Houston and had a short week of practice as he went back to Alabama to deal with a death in the family. McClain will have his hands full with running backs Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert and won't be asked to deal with tight end Antonio Gates much.

Injury notes: Running back Darren McFadden, guard Robert Gallery and outside linebacker Quentin Groves are out with hamstring injuries, and the Raiders also lost defensive tackle John Henderson for a while with a foot injury.

1. Handle the Chargers' pressure: Linebacker Shaun Phillips had four sacks last week and has 11 1/2 in his career against Oakland, the most against any opponent.

2. Slow the San Diego running game: The Chargers definitely got the memo that Houston ran for 249 yards against the Raiders last week.

3. Safeties Michael Huff and Tyvon Branch have to show up. They can help either by slowing San Diego tight end Antonio Gates, making an interception or tackling a running back somewhere in the vicinity of the line of scrimmage.

-- San Diego

QB Philip Rivers: 1,328 yards, 62.4%, 9 TDs, 4 INTs

RB Mike Tolbert: 281 yards, 5.5 yards/carry, 3 TD

RB Ryan Mathews: 159 yards, 4.7 yards/carry, 1 TD

TE Antonio Gates: 24 catches for 386 yards, 6 TDs

-- Raiders

QB Bruce Gradkowski: 695 yards, 54.7%, 4 TDs, 4 INTs

RB Michael Bush: 53 yards, 5.3 yards/carry, 1 TD

TE Zach Miller: 22 catches for 278 yards, 2 TDs

- Vittorio Tafur