San Diego Chargers' Antonio Gates skips tests, goes by how knee feels

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates is old school.

Despite having a sprained MCL, he declined to undergo an MRI to learn of the injury's severity. Instead, he is relying on how his body feels to tell him if he's ready to play or not.

Gates, 35, was close to playing last week against the Oakland Raiders but decided before the game the knee wasn't right.

"I'm playing it by ear," Gates said. "I'll see how it feels Wednesday or Thursday. If I still can't go, then I'm going to try and look at it to see what the root of the problem is, what's really going on. Right now, it's a feel thing. I know my body."

Gates suffered the knee injury two weeks ago when the Chargers fell to the Green Bay Packers.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers certainly would like to have Gates in the lineup on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens' pass defense used to be good, but that's no longer the case and that's how the Chargers likely will attack.

Rivers is on an epic stretch of success with four straight games of at least 300 yards passing. The Ravens are allowing a 104.1 passing rating, which is fourth worst in the NFL, and they're giving up 8.4 yards per pass play, which is third worst.

San Diego safety Jimmy Wilson, who could start again on Sunday with Eric Weddle still nursing a groin injury, knows the Chargers could really use a win

"We're about as low as we can get; everybody has to have thick skin," he said. "Correct ourselves, get back to it, get back to the grind. We're men, we can't run from it. We have a whole season to play."

NOTES: The NFL held a town hall meeting in San Diego on Wednesday, giving fans the chance to voice their opinions on the team's prospective move to the Los Angeles area. "There is nothing we can really do about it," QB Philip Rivers said about fans asking him what's going to happen. "What I can control, I'm having a hard enough time getting that done. We're trying to find a way a win to a football game. But you certainly can appreciate all the support. Our time spent here in this community is special, over 10 years, so you know what the team means to the town." ... ILB Denzel Perryman (biceps) was injured during Sunday's game and didn't practice Wednesday. ... ILB Joe Mays, a free agent, was signed for more depth. ... FS Eric Weddle (groin) didn't practice after not playing Sunday. ... ILB Manti Te'o (ankle) has missed two straight games and didn't work at practice.