Darren Sproles is All-Purpose for Chargers

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

San Diego Chargers running back/return specialist Darren Sproles had a busy night. With starting RB LaDainian Tomlinson limited to just five carries because of a nagging and potentially serious groin injury, Darren more than picked up the slack as the San Diego Chargers beat the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 tonight in an AFC Wild Card game. Darren had a whopping 328 all-purpose yards — 105 yards on 23 carries; 45 yards on five receptions; and he averaged 25 yards on seven punt and kickoff returns. It was the third most all-purpose yards in NFL playoff history. Chargers receiver Chris Chambers summed-up Darren’s stellar performance after the game:

“He was a busy guy tonight and he just kept making plays. You see a guy like that work so hard and you just get so happy for him individually. He gave this team a huge lift tonight.”

OK, what Chris means by “a guy like that” is that Darren is just 5-6 and 181 pounds. Generally speaking, being that short would not encourage a person to pursue a career as a professional athlete unless they were going to be a jockey. And naturally, the knock on Darren has been and will always be his size. So he has to prove people wrong on a daily basis. One of the first comments I heard after this amazing performance was that he could never hold up week after week, carrying the ball 20-25 times per game as a full-time starter. I beg to differ. Because of his height (or lack therefore) and incredible quickness, he’s able to avoid a lot of the crushing hits that would sideline any player that handled the ball that many times per game. He’s certainly not slight of build like a Roscoe Parrish (receiver, Bills) or DeSean Jackson (reciever, Eagles). The Chargers should find a way to keep Darren. He and L.T. provide a potent one-two punch at the running back position. But if they don’t, I think Darren can thrive anywhere in the popular dual RB role so many teams are employing these days. Whatever happens, I believe he may have already cashed-in based on tonight’s performance.

Source: Chargers.com, Photo: Newscom