joelbolt
11-05-2006, 11:38 PM
Offensive linemen follow LT into secondary (http://www.chargers.com/news/headlines/offensive-linemen-follow.htm)
By Tom Shanahan, Chargers.com
The key to LaDianian Tomlinson breaking off long runs is springing him past the trenches and into the secondary. That’s when Tomlinson’s one-on-one moves can make a defender look foolish as he turns a 4- or 5-yard gain into 10, 20 or even more yards.
His 41-yard touchdown run Sunday was an example as the Chargers beat the Cleveland Browns, 32-25, to improve to 6-2 on a day he finished with 18 carries for 172 yards and three touchdowns.
Another example was his 51-yard gallop last week in the Chargers’ 38-24 win over the St. Louis Rams when he rushed 25 times for 183 yards with two rushing touchdowns and one touchdown receiving.
But Tomlinson wasn’t alone in running through the Browns’ secondary. Right behind him were his offensive linemen, trailing the play for an end zone celebration and fist bumps.
“It’s hard to score in this league and when you do, you should party,” Chargers left guard Kris Dielman said. “You should go party with your teammates.”
The touchdown parties were delayed until the second half as the Chargers’ offense was limited to a field goal in the first two quarters. But the Chargers found what worked in the second half as Tomlinson had runs of 41 yards for a score, 10, 9, 12, 7 yards for a score, 32 and 8 yards for a score.
“It took a while because we had to wear them down,” Chargers center Nick Hardwick said. “It was a matter of finding what was working against the defense and once we found it sticking with it. It’s one thing to watch film and then be out there and find they’ve made adjustments to their game. It takes time to find what works.”
The Chargers trailed 12-10 at halftime as their only touchdown came on a fumble recovery by outside linebacker Marques Harris in the end zone. However in the second half, the Chargers not only rolled up 235 total yards after 146 in the first half, they sustained back-to-back touchdown drives in the fourth quarter that consumed time off the clock.
“When it was time to make big plays, we made them,” Chargers blocking back Lorenzo Neal said. “But the first half we didn’t come out like we should have. We only had three points by the offense in the first half and that’s not good offense. We had the crowd behind us and with the weapons we have we should have done a better job.”
In the fourth quarter, Tomlinson’s 7-yard scoring run finished a 10-play, 77-yard drive that used 5:04 on the clock for a 24-15 lead with 9:15 left in the game. Later his 8-yard scoring run finished a five-play, 86-yard drive for a 32-18 lead with 3:53 left in the game. Both touchdowns answered field goals by the Browns.
“We’re slowly getting better every week,” Chargers right tackle Shane Olivea said. “We’re running the ball more efficiently and we’re running the ball when we have to so we can close out drives and keep the ball. Last year there were times when we didn’t hold onto the ball when we needed to. You win a couple of games that way and it can make the difference in making the playoffs or not.“
Against the Rams, the Chargers said their improvement at finishing blocks led to the Tomlinson’s big rushing day. The Browns are a bigger defense up front, featuring 365-pound defensive tackle Ted Washington, but the Chargers averaged 8.3 yards per rush as a team and Tomlinson averaged 9.6.
“A lot of times it’s just an attitude, ” Olivea said. “There were certain runs that were 2, 3 or 4 yards in the first half that we knew if we kept at it those runs would be making 7, 8, 9 or 10 yards in the second half. You might be able to slow us down for a half, but you’re not going to do it for a whole game.”
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has had a good vantage point for viewing the holes the linemen are opening for Tomlinson and then watching them trail Tomlinson to the end zone for a celebration.
“Those guys are getting a hat on a hat,” Rivers said. “You don’t have to pancake people for that guy (Tomlinson) to make big runs, but they’re getting pancakes, too. They’re doing a good job and they’re enjoying it. You can see they’re excited. This is back-to-back weeks of a huge running day for LT. It’s going to be scary if we keep fine tuning the passing stuff and the running stuff. The offense is coming together.”
By Tom Shanahan, Chargers.com
The key to LaDianian Tomlinson breaking off long runs is springing him past the trenches and into the secondary. That’s when Tomlinson’s one-on-one moves can make a defender look foolish as he turns a 4- or 5-yard gain into 10, 20 or even more yards.
His 41-yard touchdown run Sunday was an example as the Chargers beat the Cleveland Browns, 32-25, to improve to 6-2 on a day he finished with 18 carries for 172 yards and three touchdowns.
Another example was his 51-yard gallop last week in the Chargers’ 38-24 win over the St. Louis Rams when he rushed 25 times for 183 yards with two rushing touchdowns and one touchdown receiving.
But Tomlinson wasn’t alone in running through the Browns’ secondary. Right behind him were his offensive linemen, trailing the play for an end zone celebration and fist bumps.
“It’s hard to score in this league and when you do, you should party,” Chargers left guard Kris Dielman said. “You should go party with your teammates.”
The touchdown parties were delayed until the second half as the Chargers’ offense was limited to a field goal in the first two quarters. But the Chargers found what worked in the second half as Tomlinson had runs of 41 yards for a score, 10, 9, 12, 7 yards for a score, 32 and 8 yards for a score.
“It took a while because we had to wear them down,” Chargers center Nick Hardwick said. “It was a matter of finding what was working against the defense and once we found it sticking with it. It’s one thing to watch film and then be out there and find they’ve made adjustments to their game. It takes time to find what works.”
The Chargers trailed 12-10 at halftime as their only touchdown came on a fumble recovery by outside linebacker Marques Harris in the end zone. However in the second half, the Chargers not only rolled up 235 total yards after 146 in the first half, they sustained back-to-back touchdown drives in the fourth quarter that consumed time off the clock.
“When it was time to make big plays, we made them,” Chargers blocking back Lorenzo Neal said. “But the first half we didn’t come out like we should have. We only had three points by the offense in the first half and that’s not good offense. We had the crowd behind us and with the weapons we have we should have done a better job.”
In the fourth quarter, Tomlinson’s 7-yard scoring run finished a 10-play, 77-yard drive that used 5:04 on the clock for a 24-15 lead with 9:15 left in the game. Later his 8-yard scoring run finished a five-play, 86-yard drive for a 32-18 lead with 3:53 left in the game. Both touchdowns answered field goals by the Browns.
“We’re slowly getting better every week,” Chargers right tackle Shane Olivea said. “We’re running the ball more efficiently and we’re running the ball when we have to so we can close out drives and keep the ball. Last year there were times when we didn’t hold onto the ball when we needed to. You win a couple of games that way and it can make the difference in making the playoffs or not.“
Against the Rams, the Chargers said their improvement at finishing blocks led to the Tomlinson’s big rushing day. The Browns are a bigger defense up front, featuring 365-pound defensive tackle Ted Washington, but the Chargers averaged 8.3 yards per rush as a team and Tomlinson averaged 9.6.
“A lot of times it’s just an attitude, ” Olivea said. “There were certain runs that were 2, 3 or 4 yards in the first half that we knew if we kept at it those runs would be making 7, 8, 9 or 10 yards in the second half. You might be able to slow us down for a half, but you’re not going to do it for a whole game.”
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has had a good vantage point for viewing the holes the linemen are opening for Tomlinson and then watching them trail Tomlinson to the end zone for a celebration.
“Those guys are getting a hat on a hat,” Rivers said. “You don’t have to pancake people for that guy (Tomlinson) to make big runs, but they’re getting pancakes, too. They’re doing a good job and they’re enjoying it. You can see they’re excited. This is back-to-back weeks of a huge running day for LT. It’s going to be scary if we keep fine tuning the passing stuff and the running stuff. The offense is coming together.”