Chargers' Ryan Mathews ready to step in LaDainian Tomlinson's shoes
The San Diego Chargers have been so close to being world champions. Since 2004, they have earned five AFC West Crowns and secured two-first round playoff byes. Conversely, the Chargers have been one-and-done both times during those byes, including last season’s loss to the New York Jets.
As a result, San Diego has undergone a football “facelift” and has gotten rid of a few familiar faces and replaced them by new ones that will have big shoes to fill. This is certainly the case for the Chargers first-round pick on Fresno State’s Ryan Mathews, who rushed for more than 1,800 yards in 2009.
Mathews will be under scrutiny, considering the fact that he is the man that will replace a future Hall-of-Famer, running back (RB) LaDainian Tomlinson. During his tenure in San Diego, Tomlinson took home MVP honours in 2006, and was arguably the best player in the NFL in the past decade and possibly in Chargers history.
Questions of toughness started to surface after Tomlinson was often seen on the sideline during playoff games. His production numbers have also been decreasing as Tomlinson was coming off his worst year as a pro. He averaged just over 3 yards per carry, and the Chargers, which were once a dominant team running the ball, were second to last in 2009.
Although Mathews may not be the talent that Tomlinson was when he first entered the league, the rookie can certainly exceed the recent production of Tomlinson.
“I’m bringing in a little bit of new blood,” said Mathews at the league’s rookie symposium this month.
“I think I’m going to do a good job. I’m not here to replace L.T. [Tomlinson] I’m just here to help the team win, and that’s what I’m going to do," he added.
Coach Norv Turner thinks that a much younger and healthier Mathews will succeed in a system where an aging Tomlinson struggled late in his career.
“Ryan, being a younger guy, has the ability to stay healthy—stay on the field. Injuries slowed L.T.’s production. The biggest change in our running game, and it shows up in a lot of areas, we’ve not had as many long runs—runs over 10 yards and 20 yards—we’ve not had very many in the last two years,” said Turner.
“I think with Darren [Sproles] and Ryan, we’ll get more of those kinds of plays," he added.
Sproles hasn’t turned up big numbers in the running game last season and running out of the back field does not cater to his strengths. The diminutive Sproles averaged only 3.7 yards per carry. Whereas, catching the ball from the running back position makes it very hard for defenders to cover him due to his speed and 5ft 6inch in frame. Defenders struggle to warp their arms around him and often lose him in traffic or behind his offensive linemen.
In 2009, Sproles had 45 receptions for 497 yards and averaged a staggering 11 yards per catch. This is when he is at his best, in the receiving game, so it is more likely that it is the rookie Mathews who is the one who gets the long runs.
Sproles and Mathews have the ability to become an excellent duo similar to Tennessee’s 2009 “smash and dash” tandem of Chris Johnson and LenDale White.
If Mathews can bring back a decent running game to the Chargers’ explosive offence, that may be the very last missing piece to get this franchise over the hump. Meaning San Diego should come out on top in a relatively weak AFC West conference and produce another 11 wins during the regular season. If that happens, they may end their playoff drought and finally go the distance.
Norv Turner
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