Antonio Gates doesn’t sound like he’s finished.

Not now, when things are about to be good.

“My thing when I decide (whether to play another season) is, ‘Do we have a legitimate chance?’ ” Gates said recently. “I feel like we have a legitimate chance. I know the cliche. But I’m saying, legitimately, we should have a chance. Top to bottom, what we we’re going to be able to do, what we’re still able to do now even with the guys we’ve lost. I feel like in my heart we have a chance to win a Super Bowl next year. I feel like I deserve that. That’s what I want. I’d prefer to win it here because I’ve put so much time and effort into this place.”

It’s difficult sometimes to get that 36-going-on-66-year-old body out of bed, to practice on another Wednesday, to take more hits on Sundays. Losing makes it harder.


But he’s energized by what he envisions rising from the ashes of another losing season.

Amid the rubble, Gates sees the formation of something special, something like only he and the other Chargers player who was around for the good old days can recall.

”We’re going to be set up like we were in ’06 to ’09 — that run,” Philip Rivers said.

Yes, the Chargers quarterback referenced the talent that carried the Chargers to four straight AFC West titles and the NFL’s third-best regular season record in that span — and probably should have achieved more.


Yes, that kind of roster.

And, you know what, he’s not the only one. There is reason to believe that the silver lining can turn into gold.

Really, this team could be so good, it might not matter who the head coach is. (Fans never thought Norv Turner could coach a lick, yet his team went to the playoffs three straight seasons. And Mike McCoy took what would seem to be an inferior roster to the playoffs in 2013.)

Huh? What? A 5-7 team with unabashed optimism about next season?


Yes.

Because, strange as it might sound, anyone paying passing attention to the Chargers knows that three of their six most impactful players have been on injured reserve for most of the season, four more starters missed at least six games apiece and, all told, the Chargers have lost more games to injury than any other NFL team.

“The most impressive thing is we’re winning with guys we weren’t depending on going into the season,” safety Dwight Lowery said after the Chargers beat the Houston Texans on Nov. 28. “It’s unbelievable how much depth we have on this team to allow us to still have opportunity to win games when we don’t have guys we were seriously depending on. Imagine if we had some of those guys.”

The Chargers are imagining that for 2017. It shapes an organization-wide feeling that they aren’t far away from where they want to be.


They knew what they would be missing when their stars went down. What they weren’t sure about is what they would gain.

If Keenan Allen had not torn his ACL in the season opener, the Chargers would have had no reason to explore the breadth of Tyrell Williams’ talent.

If Danny Woodhead hadn’t torn his ACL in the second game, the Chargers would have no idea that Melvin Gordon can actually be an effective pass-catcher.

If Manti Te’o hadn’t gone down with a torn Achilles tendon in the season’s third game, the Chargers wouldn’t be sure what Jatavis Brown can do.


It is more difficult to see a positive from the ACL injury that limited Jason Verrett to four games. Casey Hayward was going to play plenty anyway and was making big plays before Verrett was lost. Still, defensive back depth has certainly been discovered.

And, in fact, the future returns on the bad breaks should be abundant throughout the roster.

The Chargers would hardly know who Korey Toomer is if not for the attrition at inside linebacker. Now, he figures to be a significant part of their plans in 2017.

They know far more than they could have expected about what Adrian Phillips, Trevor Williams and Craig Mager can (and can’t) do as they ponder the future makeup of their secondary.


They know the scope of Dontrelle Inman’s abilities as they consider how to bolster the receiving corps. In Isaiah Burse, they have even found a punt returner who catches the ball and advances it.

All the turnover has been unfortunate. Those veteran players are missed. Thin ranks have certainly contributed to rank fourth quarters. Inexperience has a knack of showing up at the worst times, or it simply adds up to a letdown.

“This isn’t to say we wouldn’t be better with Danny or Keenan and any of those other guys,” Rivers said.

Williams doesn’t have Allen’s elusiveness and sure hands in tight spaces. Gordon can’t block or provide the change of pace all on his own that Woodhead can. Brown doesn’t have the knowledge Te’o possesses.


Missing those abilities is why Chargers players are almost certainly going their separate ways so soon in January.

But because of the young players being given the opportunity to grow, the Chargers will reconvene in the spring as a better team for having been worse.

They will know that Tyrell Williams can outrun almost anyone on a crossing route and give Rivers a large, deep target to open up the offense, that Gordon is durable and trustworthy and that Brown’s quickness can be counted on for frequent game-changing plays.

“There are going to be mistakes made when you have younger players in there,” Lowery said. “When you have speed to make up for mistakes, it doesn’t really nullify it, but it’s give and take.”


The Chargers have had to give more this year. They’ll take the anticipated payoff next year.