Browns' Winslow is the mouth that roars

By: JAY PARIS - Staff Writer | Thursday, November 2, 2006 11:16 PM PST ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- Quick, where do you rank All-Pro Antonio Gates among tight ends? Anyone say third-best? Someone did, and he will be on Jack Murphy Field when the Browns arrive on Sunday.

Kellen Winslow is back in town, but his words arrived earlier in the week.

"I look at it like it's a heavyweight match; it's me vs. Gates,'' Winslow said. "I want to be the best tight end out there. I got to go do it out on Sunday. Tony (Gonzalez) is right behind me. Gates is right behind me. So I got to stay on top.''

On Winslow's list, he's Frank Sinatra ---- A-No. 1, top of the heap.

"The best overall,'' Winslow stressed. "I'm trying to be the best. I said I was the best. I am the best. And I'm going to prove it on Sunday.''

The Chargers' second-ranked defense will have a say in that. But Winslow, a Scripps Ranch High product, already longs to get strong safety Terrence Kiel in single coverage.

But Winslow, whose 40 catches leads all tight ends, isn't expecting such a mismatch. Instead, the way he toots his horn, one expects all 11 Chargers defenders to track him.

Winslow paces the Browns in receptions, receiving yards (393) and touchdown catches (three).

"I know what I can do,'' he said. "They know what I can do. The defensive coordinator knows what I can do. They're not going to match me up man for man. They're going to double me. They're going to do what they did to Tony. They're going to try to double him on third down and the red zone, and I'm ready for that. Double coverage can't stop me.''

What has slowed Winslow is a series of injuries. He played just two games in his rookie season before breaking his leg. Then the former first-round pick sat out last year after a serious motorcycle accident.

But his mouth is 100 percent, and Winslow is running it at full throttle. Never mind his Browns are among the NFL's dregs with a 2-5 record, saddled in the AFC North cellar.

"When you play for the Browns right now you don't get a lot of pub,'' Winslow said. "I don't even know if they know what I'm doing. It doesn't even matter. I've got to prove it against a good team like the Chargers."

The elder Kellen Winslow was in his own galaxy in the Chargers' Air Coryell era. He revolutionized the tight end position and landed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But his biggest accomplishment might be this: He humbles his boastful son.

"I'm not even on his level, man,'' theÝ younger Winslow said. "He's not even human. I can't compare the two.

"My skills are different from my dad's. I compare Tony to my father. I think I'm a different type of breed. I'm not really a tight end; I'm kind of a receiver. Tony's more big body, big frame. My dad ---- big body, big frame. I'm kind of in between.''

What of Gates being called the second coming of the first Winslow in Chargers fans' eyes? Don't even go there, Winslow's son said.

"I got all the respect for Gates, but he'll never be my father,'' he said. "Nobody will. I won't. He's on a whole other level. He made the tight end position.''

The Browns' Winslow won't make Gates uptight. He absorbs the comments and shrugs.

"He reminds me more of a Tony Gonzalez moreso than myself,'' Gates said. "I'm a little bit thicker, and he's a little more slender and tall. We're just different.

"The bottom line is that he does whatever it takes for his team to win and I do whatever it takes for my team to win. I think that's the similarity that you would come across ---- outside his daddy was a San Diego Charger; he grew up in San Diego and I play in San Diego."

San Diego grew on Winslow at an early age. If nothing else, Gates betters him in that regard.

"I've always wanted to play in that stadium,'' Winslow said, envious of Gates. "I've always dreamed of playing in that stadium.''

CHARGERS NOTES - The local TV blackout has been lifted for the Chargers game Sunday against the Browns. It can be seen on Channel 8, with kickoff at 1:15 p.m. ... DE Igor Olshansky (knee) couldn't complete practice Thursday and it's unlikely he will play Sunday. LB Shaun Phillips (calf) and S Clinton Hart (hip) also didn't work. Phillips won't go Sunday, with Hart having a slightly better chance of suiting up. ... WR Eric Parker has been productive; he just can't reach the end zone. He has gone 43 catches without a score, which is the fourth-longest streak of any active receiver.

-- Contact staff writer Jay Paris at jparis8@aol.com.