Sproles

[LosGatosEnFuegos]

Just wondering who's making a move for him on the WW this week and what they're paying for him.

 

I'm an LT owner and believe I'll need to spend a little over $25 out of $100 to get him but am unsure about it. LT's situation doesn't scream go pickup Sproles for a lot of dough to me.

[bluedog]

Per rotoworld:

 

After missing Wednesday's practice, LaDainian Tomlinson reiterated that his toe is feeling "better than last week."

"If I'm judging by last week, I should be able to play," LT said. "With another day of rest and treatment, it's feeling a little better. I'm just going to play it by ear. I'm hoping that it's going to make big progress this week and by Monday night hopefully I'll be as close to 100% as possible."

 

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not a LT owner, but picked up Sproles 2 weeks ago when i first heard about the toe injury. Are there better options on the WW? if not why not have insurance for LT in case he misses any time with this lingering injury? Personally, i always back up my studs at RB.

Edited September 18, 2008 by bluedog

[LosGatosEnFuegos]

Per rotoworld:

 

After missing Wednesday's practice, LaDainian Tomlinson reiterated that his toe is feeling "better than last week."

"If I'm judging by last week, I should be able to play," LT said. "With another day of rest and treatment, it's feeling a little better. I'm just going to play it by ear. I'm hoping that it's going to make big progress this week and by Monday night hopefully I'll be as close to 100% as possible."

 

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not a LT owner, but picked up Sproles 2 weeks ago when i first heard about the toe injury. Are there better options on the WW? if not why not have insurance for LT in case he misses any time with this lingering injury? Personally, i always back up my studs at RB.

Well, the reason not to go for him would be if you have a blind bid waiver wire and need to spend $$$ to get him?

 

I'm worried that you could copy and paste LT's statement for every week of this season. But that not only makes him unreliable, it makes Sproles unreliable also and not worth owning in conjunction with LT.

['canes2004]

Well I see the e-mails going back and forth between 2 guys in my local arguing with the commish on who's first in the waiver order. Both of them have Sproles queued up.

 

The stampede is on.

[Chargerz]

I don't care what LT is saying about how his toe feels, and I certainly don't believe anything the Chargers say about injuries anymore. The fact is toe injuries can linger for weeks to months. Sproles will, therefore, be VERY involved in the offense for the near foreseeable future. You can bank on it.

[detlef]

Everyone who's picking ahead of me in waivers in both leagues I'm in. That's who's buying.

[myhousekey]

Sproles = long gone in my leagues. If not in the draft he was plucked off the WW in week 1.

[Roo]

I actually drafted this guy in the last round. He's a bolt of lightning. (ba dumm chhh)

 

You have to after this guy unless you feel really deep at RB. The fact that LT barely even got going before the toe acted up means 1 of 2 things in my mind:

 

1. They'll rest LT so he gets back to health. Not only is that still iffy with toe issues, but you'll have Sproles getting 15 carries per game for awhile.

 

2. LT will try to run on it and be sub par and leave games early etc. So Sproles will still have a short term increased role, and potentially a long term starting job.

 

He's always been pretty capable of making big plays. If LT is out, they'll probably bring the 3rd stringer up to help spell Sproles - but still obviously worth a roster spot.

[Grits and Shins]

I snagged him in 2 leagues.

 

In my local redrafter I cut LaMont Jordan for him.

 

In my salary cap league I spent $37 out of $500 to get him and cut that dead beat Laurence Maroney

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

Missed him in waivers. I'm the LT owner. Just picked up Hester just in case.

[Randall]

Me. I got the 2nd priority. Bryant Johnson went first.

[hooknladder]

i bought in...i drafted him. here's a rather large, recent article,,,,,,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a little man, Sproles packs a powerful punch

Friday, September 19, 2008

 

Defenders know about Darren Sproles' speed, but Chargers running backs coach Ollie Wilson said what they don't know is "he is probably one of the strongest guys we've got on the team. He's got such power."

Sean M. Haffey/Union-Tribune Darren Sproles' smile might be construed as shy, considering Sproles is a man of so few and such soft-spoken words.

 

But it might be that his is a smile of perspective, of knowing something that others don't, something he has always known.

 

It was this smile that spread across Sproles' face as he addressed this week just why it seems so difficult for large NFL defenders to tackle him – all 5-feet-6 and 181 pounds of him.

 

“They think I'm so small they can just run up to me and hit me without wrapping me up,” Sproles said.

 

Of course, it is more than that. He is exceptionally strong, shifty and quick, and he is difficult even to find in traffic among the giants who play around him.

 

But there is definitely something to the idea that no matter what their coaches tell them, what they know is true, their brains might just trick these defenders who have trouble tackling Sproles.

 

“Sproles is, it's kind of hard to put into words, man,” Broncos safety Marlon McCree said. “You watch him on the field and then you go out and play against him – it's two totally different things. His speed isn't really deceptive, because you know he's fast. But you don't know he's that fast until you try to tackle him. Those little legs get going, and boy he can fly.”

 

McCree was the man who bounced off Sproles as Sproles gained 18 yards running through the line in the third quarter Sunday at Denver. On the next play, Sproles ran through the arms of linebacker Nate Webster at the beginning of his run from the 48 to the 4-yard line, a play brought back on a holding penalty to the 33 for a 15-yard gain.

 

“He's got a lot of power,” said McCree, who spent the 2006 and '07 seasons in San Diego. “He packs a good punch, now. His legs are real big. If you look at his thighs, he's got good quad strength. He can pull away from you, run away from a tackle. He's a good back.”

 

Yes, finally, there seems to be a consensus. Sproles is a bona fide NFL running back.

 

A year ago, with Sproles coming off a season lost to a broken ankle and with a new head coach, there was a question whether there would be room on the Chargers roster for him. He won that spot with a strong preseason and showed coach Norv Turner there was room for him from time to time on offense as well.

 

Coming into this season, with former backup running back Michael Turner gone to Atlanta, Sproles acknowledged he was motivated by his perception that there were doubts he could be a No. 2 back.

 

While it remains to be seen, likely somewhere else after this season, if he will ever be a featured back in the NFL, Sproles has shown he can contribute greatly to this Chargers team as LaDainian Tomlinson's backup.

 

While the Chargers didn't run much Sunday in Denver, Sproles came on in the second quarter to spell Tomlinson and his ailing right big toe. By that time, Sproles already had returned a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown.

 

He would go on to run seven times for 53 yards and catch two passes for 72 yards, including a catch in the flat and 66-yard run through and across almost the entire Broncos defense en route to the end zone.

 

It was a play just like those he has been making for four training camps and preseasons and in the middle of every week during his previous two regular seasons.

 

“That's how he practices,” quarterback Philip Rivers said. “He makes those runs in practice. ... You throw him one like that out there in practice and he runs for about 60 yards, even if they may have had him tackled or trapped him. He finishes those runs, so it's not by mistake that he makes them in the game.”

 

It's not. And it has to with something else Rivers said: “There's no guy that earns it more than he does or deserves it any more than he does.”

 

One thing running backs coach Ollie Wilson noticed this spring was that when he looked out on the practice field during the day, Sproles was often out on the grass fielding punts from the JUGS machine or working on something.

 

And then there is his work in the weight room.

 

Sproles is slight, but there is a reason his nickname since he was young has been “Tank.” His thighs appear to be as big as his waist.

 

His measurables from the NFL combine in 2005, where he lifted more weight and ran the 40-yard dash faster than any other running back, don't matter much anymore. What has helped him improve is increased patience waiting for holes and increased vision of the field.

 

But his work ethic and what he does in the weight room are no less impressive now, or less important. Teammates and coaches say it is impressive to watch the small man lift with such force, and it transfers to the field.

 

“The thing (defenders) don't know is he is probably one of the strongest guys we've got on the team,” Wilson said. “He's got such power. ... He's got great power, great strike. That explosion when he's running, it's like throwing up a dumbbell. People get shocked. They don't know he's that hard. And then he's so damn quick. But his power is the thing.”

 

Comments

[LayLow]

Sat, Sep 20 Kevin Acee, of the San Diego Union-Tribune, reports San Diego Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson (toe) will start the team's Week 3 game, though it is not certain how much he will play.

[Riffraff]

If McFadden, Stewart, Washington, Norwood, and LenDale can be viable fantasy starts against the Chiefs, so can Sproles. Get him in the line-up week 10.

[Chaim.Witz]

If McFadden, Stewart, Washington, Norwood, and LenDale can be viable fantasy starts against the Chiefs, so can Sproles. Get him in the line-up week 10.

 

I thought we were supposed to turn back the clocks only one hour.....