NFL  > San Diego Chargers  > Getting rid of Darren Sproles??
January 5, 2009, 10:35 AM
Darren Sproles becomes a free agent after this year. Should the Chargers re-sign him. Or will he go to a new team? What team my opinion is he will be signed to Kansas City Chiefs if the Chargers don't sign him.
January 5, 2009  11:26 AM ET

the chargers will most definitely re-sign him. theyve seen the movie where they let their backup (staring) running back go and im for certain their kicking themselves now especially that LT is hurt and most likely out for the playoffs. if LT doesnt come back next year as the "old" LT then he will be traded or cut at years end...write that down

January 5, 2009  04:02 PM ET
QUOTE(#1):

the chargers will most definitely re-sign him. theyve seen the movie where they let their backup (staring) running back go and im for certain their kicking themselves now especially that LT is hurt and most likely out for the playoffs. if LT doesnt come back next year as the "old" LT then he will be traded or cut at years end...write that down

...LT was ineffective because they didn't resign Lorenzo Neal. I think the lack of a blocking back really hurt the running game this year............

January 5, 2009  05:38 PM ET

WOW, did you watch the game the other night?? You'd be watching the playoff on TV without him.
Now all you have to do is beat Pittsburg, Baltimore beats Tenn.. and your HOSTING the AFC Championship.

January 5, 2009  07:24 PM ET

Sproles is definitely a keeper!! It is insulting to LT to say he can only run well when Lorenzo Neals plays!!! LT has been hurt most of the season.

January 5, 2009  08:02 PM ET
QUOTE(#4):

Sproles is definitely a keeper!! It is insulting to LT to say he can only run well when Lorenzo Neals plays!!! LT has been hurt most of the season.

........ you don't think Neal's departure had anything to do with the diminished running game? I'm not taking anything a way from LT, but having Neal running interference for him was a chief component of their game plan until this year........... I think Sproles is great, but a healthy LT is still a better running back. I sure hope he can get to 100% this offseason.

January 5, 2009  09:09 PM ET

First point is this.....L.T. averaged 1700 yeards per season his first 3 years without Lorenzo Neal. Dont get me wrong Lorenzo is still in my opinion the best blocking fullback in the league but the fact is L.T. was getting it done before he got there. 2nd is if what your saying is true then why is Darren Sproles running like a demon. Shouldnt he have the same problem running the ball without Lorenzo? 3rd the other gentleman was correct, L.T. got a fractured ankle week one and it lasted all the way up until the Tampa Bay game where he ran hard and showed his signature cuts, then 96 yards and 3 Touchdowns against Denver before pulling his groin at the end of the 3rd quarter. Ladainian will be fine....

January 5, 2009  09:19 PM ET

Hey guy, let me correct you here. Mike Turner was backing up L.T. for 5 years. You cant continue to hold on to two great backs. Sooner or later you have to let one go. The Chargers rewarded Turner his release as he deserved to be a fulltime back in this league. Did you forget that the Chargers Franchise Tagged him his last two years there? Of course you didnt but all good. Now fact #1 - L.T. averaged 1700 yards his first 3 years in the league without Lorenzo Neal. Dont get me wrong Lorenzno is still the best blocking fullback in the league now but it wasnt like he wasnt productive before Lorenzno got there. Fact #2 L.T. fractured his toe week one against Carolina and it took all year for it to heal. He was completely healed in the game where the Chargers crushed Tampa Bay and L.T. was doing all his signature cuts that was missing all season, then in the finale against Denver he had 96 yards and 3 Touchdowns until injuring his groin at the end of the 3rd quarter. Next year im expecting a healthy L.T. to come back and continue to pile up records on his Hall Of Fame career. And ending, we will sign up Darren Sproles. Peace guys!

January 5, 2009  09:20 PM ET

Sproles is from Kansas City and attended Olathe North High School / Kansas State University. I would normally say that it is a good fit, but the Chiefs' o-line has huge holes that expose a back like Sproles and the Chiefs already have a speedster in Jamal Charles. They actually are in need of a power back since Kolby Smith got hurt and Lawrence Johnson will soon be arrested for hitting another woman (this would be his 4th) in the KC area (I predict this to happen in the upcoming weeks).

January 5, 2009  09:21 PM ET

sorry for the double response..............

January 5, 2009  09:24 PM ET

Herman Edwards ruined the Kansas City Chiefs. When he got there you guys were the highest scoring team in the NFL with Priest Holmes. You were terrible on Defense which is what I thought he was brought in for. Since then you guys have had one losing season after another. Get rid of Herm.

January 5, 2009  10:08 PM ET

Lorenzo Neal is a great blocking FB!! But I think LT's problems are due to injuries and playing while not at 100%. He was at or pretty close to 100% in the last couple of regular season games, especially vs Denver where you could really see the difference in his explosiveness and change of direction moves. I also think Hester is coming along nicely at FB and his blocking is really improved....and he can catch.

January 5, 2009  10:36 PM ET

Get rid of Sproles? No chance. Not for a year at least, until they realize that getting rid of Lorenzo Neal was a real bone-headed move, especially with LT moving into his late 20s (he's 29 now I think) and on the downside of his career. LT's injuries haven't helped - they made a difficult situation impossible for him. Sproles is able to hide behind the corn-fed beefsters we have at O-line and pfffft....he's in the end zone. I'm sure that the Bolts would have loved to have kept Michael Turner, who had such a great season with Atlanta. They should have foreseen the impact of the loss of Lorenzo Neal. None of this is meant to take away from the O-line; but Lorenzo Neal was the general in front of LT.

January 6, 2009  12:54 AM ET

The Chargers should resign Sproles and trade LDT

January 6, 2009  04:17 AM ET

Originally the Chiefs said back in the 05 draft that if Darren Sproles were left in the third round, then they would've taken him without hesitation. Instead we got a punter, Carl must've thought we'd be using him a lot when Vermeil left. And now that we already traded Dante Hall our special teams has been a mess ever since. If I were the Chargers, I'd resign Sproles before my Chiefs get him.

January 6, 2009  09:10 AM ET

SIGN DARREN.HE MIGHT BE NEXT MIKE TURNER.GOOD TEAM PLAYER AND HAS HEART.HE IS PROVEN IN PLAYOFFS

January 6, 2009  09:21 AM ET

Lorenzo Neal is solid, but LT is mainly in decline because he's at the age where all backs decline. Chargers should resign Sproles as the change-of-pace back and returner, but he's too small to be the main man. In retrospect, they would've been better off holding onto Turner and phasing out LT, but hindsight is always easier.

January 6, 2009  09:52 AM ET
QUOTE(#5):

........ you don't think Neal's departure had anything to do with the diminished running game? I'm not taking anything a way from LT, but having Neal running interference for him was a chief component of their game plan until this year........... I think Sproles is great, but a healthy LT is still a better running back. I sure hope he can get to 100% this offseason.

it seems sproles can find running lanes and alleys without neal

January 6, 2009  10:45 AM ET
QUOTE(#5):

........ you don't think Neal's departure had anything to do with the diminished running game? I'm not taking anything a way from LT, but having Neal running interference for him was a chief component of their game plan until this year........... I think Sproles is great, but a healthy LT is still a better running back. I sure hope he can get to 100% this offseason.

I am glad someone sees the value of Lorenzo Neal. As a Saints fan, I've seen a lot of games where Lorenzo Neal just destroys oncoming defenders paving the way for his running back to get big gains. All this guy does is lead block for 1,000 yard rushers. Look at how much better the Baltimore Ravens running game was this year with Lorenzo Neal, and thats with McGahee being hurt/garbage most of the year. As far as the Chargers keeping Sproles, they should and probably will. They let their #2 HB go last year and look what he did this year. If Sproles should go elsewhere, he needs to be on a team where he will be utilized properly. He has a skill set very similar to Brian Westbrook, but he's faster.

January 6, 2009  11:03 AM ET

I think LT will be fine with an offseason to heal. I believe he tried to play through injuries
this season because of all the critcism he got for not playing in the AFC Championship game in 2008. He should have taken a few games off (same with Gates), healed up, then came back healthy and strong. This is no different than the average joe, who feels a cold coming on and instead of staying home for two days, continues to go to work. Then it becomes full blown pnuemonia and he misses a week or two. Let LT heal, give Sproles more carries next season (about a 65-35 split, me thinks) and involve him more in the passing game.

 
January 6, 2009  01:24 PM ET

Heck no Chargers shouldnt get rid of Darren Sproles the man is amazing. He is a little tank. He adds a much needed spark to the Chargers. He is such a threat on special teams, screen passes, and in the back feild. He could be a everydown back but we already lost Micheal Turner why lose Sproles to. id rather play with him then to play against him. He has stepped up so big in LTs absence. he is such a compliment to LT in the back feild. we wouldnt be trading a player we would be lossing a really important asset to our team

Comment

Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.


The Si.com Cover Hub Go to the Cover Hub

Stub Hub

The 2009 schedule has been released. Search for tickets!

Truth & Rumors

MOST POPULAR

  1. 1
    McDaniels takes jab at NFL Network
    Views
    13782
    Comments
    1378
  2. 2
    Sources: Big Ben having second thoughts
    Views
    5153
    Comments
    559
  3. 3
    Report: Halladay would welcome Yankees trade
    Views
    12386
    Comments
    333
  4. 4
    Who's Red Sox shortstop now?
    Views
    25176
    Comments
    203
  5. 5
    Giants DE takes it out on teammates
    Views
    48163
    Comments
    125

Most Active Users

Comments + Blog Posts + Throwdowns

  1. 1
    Chico 2.0
  2. 2
    BBK - Now it's all football
  3. 3
    rstowe
  4. 4
    gigi_iv
  5. 5
    Never NDing Struggle

Message Boards

  1. NCAAF > General NCAAF

    Your team sucks
    Views
    650
    Replies
    32
  2. NFL > Dallas Cowboys

    Good game against a Bad Team
    Views
    385
    Replies
    31
  3. NFL > General NFL

    Should the Bears give up on…
    Views
    206
    Replies
    45

Blogs

SI.com

Swimsuit

SI Photos