Bolts’ backups filled in the blanks all season

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Friday, Jan 25, 2008
By Tom Shanahan, Chargers.com

The Chargers have proven since 2004 – the year the Bolts began their run of three AFC West titles in four years – that they possessed unique depth on their roster to replace injured starters at key times in key games.

Now the talented roster, from veteran nose tackle Jamal Williams to rookie backups Legedu Naanee and Jyles Tucker, have gained the experience from a three-game playoff run to the AFC Championship game.

“We had about five guys that had been this far in the playoffs before the New England game,” said Clinton Hart, the Bolts’ fifth-year safety that played his first full season as a starter. “Now we’ve got a full team that has played in this kind of hype and this kind of atmosphere. You have to go through the experience to be able to deal with the emotions and the crowds on the road. Our young guys didn’t understand that magnitude of a game like this, but now we do.”

Every knowledgeable football fan watching the Chargers’ AFC playoff games against Indianapolis and New England knows that running back LaDainian Tomlinson was injured and replaced in the backfield by the balanced 1-2 punch of Michael Turner’s power and Darren Sproles’ quickness.

The big guys up front in the Bolts’ offensive line might have missed it for a play or two. They say they don’t always notice whether it’s a starter or a backup in the game.

“When we’re doing the no-huddle thing, we run a play, make our blocks and then you help up whoever’s on the ground,” center Nick Hardwick said. “Those guys back there (Turner and Sproles) were ready to rock. Whoever is back there, we do our job the same way and they make cuts off our blocks.”

Hardwick was being slightly whimsical, but the fourth-year center’s point is the Chargers have a long track record of backups coming in and performing as starters.

In the Indianapolis game, backup quarterback Billy Volek, acquired in a trade with the Tennessee Titans early in the 2006 season for a sixth-round draft pick in 2007, replaced Philip Rivers in the fourth quarter and directed the game-winning touchdown drive, scoring on a one-yard sneak.

Turner, drafted in the fifth round in 2004, powered his way for 17 carries and 71 yards. Sproles, a fourth-round pick in 2005, turned a screen pass designed in the playbook for Tomlinson into a 56-yard touchdown catch-and-run.

Against New England, Turner (17-65) and Sproles (3-34) combined for 99 yards rushing. Naanee, a fifth-round draft pick, was injured during the New England game, but against Indianapolis he took a short pass from Volek on the game-winning drive and turned it into a 27-yard gain to the Colts’ 15-yard line. The Chargers have high hopes for Naanee in the future.

And fifth-year fullback Andrew Pinnock, a seventh-round pick in 2003, blocked for all of them. Pinnock replaced injured Pro Bowler Lorenzo Neal during the Bolts’ win Dec. 9 when Neal was hurt.

“These guys are pros,” Neal said. “We’re thankful for the job management has done with our depth. (General Manager) A.J. Smith, (team President) Dean Spanos and (Executive Vice President of Football Operations) Ed McGuire have done a great job of bringing talent in here. This team has depth and it got us through some adversity.”

Turner was a restricted free agent last offseason, but Smith made moves to keep him with the Chargers in 2007. First, he placed the highest possible tender on Turner. It gave Turner a big raise, but more importantly to the Chargers, it meant any team attempting to sign Turner would give San Diego first- and a third-round draft picks as compensation.

When Smith didn’t hear any trade offers to his liking for Turner and the free agency period expired, Smith made a point of telling Turner not to worry about a mid-season trade.

“He didn’t want me to think I might be gone in Week 3,” Turner said. “He wanted my head clear so I could concentrate on being a Charger and contributing to this team. He’s made good draft picks and trades for this team. That’s why he got a contract extension.”

And the play of Turner, Sproles, Naanee, Pinnock and others is just the offensive side of the ball.

Defensive examples of backups replacing injured starters during the winning streak start with defensive lineman Jacques Cesaire, a fifth-year pro signed as an undrafted free agent in 2003. Cesaire has replaced injured starters at all three defensive line positions so often that he has the experience of a starter.

Similarly, defensive lineman Ryon Bingham, a seventh-round pick in 2004, has been able to fill in at all three positions in the defensive line.

Second-year nose tackle Brandon McKinney, an undrafted free agent in 2006, replaced Jamal Williams when the Pro Bowler was held out of the final two regular season games to rest injuries for the playoffs.

Third-year outside linebacker Marques Harris, an undrafted free agent in 2005, has filled in for outside linebackers Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips both when they’re injured and during a regular rotation.

And when Harris was hurt in final home game against Denver, Tucker, an undrafted free agent on the practice squad until midseason, replaced Harris in the regular-season finale at Oakland and earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors with three sacks and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

“None of us think of ourselves as backups,” Pinnock said. “We approach the game as starters knowing we have to be ready to go in at any minute. We rally around each other and support each other. We understand the importance of being ready.”

Sproles was drafted primarily as a kickoff and return man, but he has expanded his role as a running back. When the Chargers were routing the Detroit Lions and Tomlinson was pulled from the game, Sproles got all the carries because Turner was injured. Sproles finished with 25 carries for 122 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

“When we played Detroit and we got that lead and played Darren Sproles on every down and let him do the things he can do,” Head Coach Norv Turner said. “It kind of brought back that feeling of, ‘We’ve got to get him in and use him on some plays and let him have a chance to contribute.’ ”

Sproles said he has learned since his rookie year to be more patient. When he showed up as a rookie, he ran circles around defenders in mini-camp. But when the pads were on in game situations, he didn’t prove to be as elusive.

He missed 2006 with an injury, but he’s scored touchdowns on a kickoff return and punt return in addition two rushing touchdowns this year.

“When I first got here, I was going too fast,” Sproles said. “I learned you’ve got to wait for stuff to form in front of you. In college I could outrun guys. I learned here I have to wait for blocks.”

And as Hardwick says, sometimes he finds himself helping up Sproles or Turner when he expected it to be Tomlinson.

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