Chargers hope to avoid key shortcoming
PRO FOOTBALL
San Diego's 5-foot-6 running back Darren Sproles will have to come up big against the Pittsburgh Steelers' blitzing defense.
Reporting from Pittsburgh — The temperature is expected to be in the mid-20s for today's divisional playoff game at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field. For the San Diego Chargers, however, the forecast calls for hot, hot, hot.
Hot read after hot read, that is. Those are the adjustments a quarterback makes at the line of scrimmage when he gets a look at the defense. He sees an opportunity, designates the "hot" receiver, and hits him with a short pass or screen to neutralize a blitz.
The blitzing Pittsburgh Steelers see those all the time, and they will be especially wary of them in this game because of San Diego's change at running back. The logic: Darren Sproles, the 5-foot-6, 181-pound understudy to LaDainian Tomlinson, could be a liability for the Chargers in pass protection because he will be blocking much bigger players. Tomlinson is 5-10, 221.
"I think that 21 is a better pass protector than 43," said Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, referring to the jersey numbers of Tomlinson (21) and Sproles (43). "And they'll probably be scheming ways to keep him off of that job. We would like a matchup between 43 and our 92 (linebacker James Harrison, the 6-foot, 242-pound NFL defensive player of the year), so they're probably going to do the best they can to keep that from happening.
"But [Sproles] isn't a complete zero at pass protecting. Guy that runs the ball as well as he does, he's used to stepping up and hitting people. He'll do a good job."
In San Diego's 11-10 loss at Pittsburgh eight weeks ago, the Chargers' longest play was a short dump-off pass to Tomlinson for a 26-yard gain. The Steelers are anticipating a heaping portion of screens today, mostly to Sproles, because Tomlinson is hampered by a groin injury.
"We see it," cornerback Deshea Townsend said of the common tactic of countering blitzes with screen passes. "A lot of times, they feel like they can figure out where we're coming from. A lot of times when we send five [blitzing players], they don't know which five are coming. If they can't figure it out, they have to go hot. But if they don't go hot, they've got to block it up with their O-line and their running back.
"Our thing is just to put you in third-and-long situations where we know we can send guys from different places. We have blitzes that come from the right, the left, where you don't know if the nickel or the dime or the safety is coming."
