Skip to main content

Darren Sproles' Legacy

(via phillyvoice.com)

By Constantine Martin
Twitter: @gusmartin321

On Sunday, 13-year-veteran running back Darren Sproles announced that the 2018 season would be his last in the NFL.

The spunky 5'6" speedster has been dazzling San Diego, New Orleans and Philadelphia fans for longer than most running backs last in professional football. With his time finally coming to an end, it's important to reflect on how the smallest man on the field always seemed to play bigger than his competition.

Sproles was drafted 130th overall in 2005 by the then San Diego Chargers. While he didn't see the field on offense much his rookie year, only accumulating 90 yards from scrimmage, he was immediately thrust into being the team's primary kickoff returner and rotation punt returner and gained 1,696 all purpose yards, which was a strong indication of how his career would play out.

An ankle injury sidelined Sproles for the entirety of his sophomore campaign, but as the seasons went on, opposing teams started to see flashes of what this little guy could do.

When you watch Sproles, you never feel like his size or inconsistent usage in the team's offense ever hinders him on the field, and as a result he pops off the screen when you watch him bolt for big runs or make a timely catch. He's always felt like a guy his team could rely on.

In his career, Sproles was never utilized as the lead back, always being rotated in the mix or used as a passing threat on third down, so his box scores never garnered significant attention.

What did make you look twice was his all around production in the running, receiving and return games. Sproles gained over 19,000 all purpose yards in his career, led the league in punt return touchdowns and yards in back-to-back seasons and also led the league in all purpose yards in 2011.

Not a small feat.

He also made the Pro Bowl in three consecutive seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, although one could argue he deserved a couple more appearances. But that's fitting for a guy that never really got the respect or attention I feel he deserved.

Sproles has scored 59 touchdowns in his career, racked up solid rushing and receiving yards and consistently been one of the NFL's elite special teams returners. Whenever I watched Sproles play, I was always excited, amazed and joyful witnessing him bolt past giants and make it look easy, and I was happy to see him win a ring in 2018 with the Eagles, even though an injury allowed him to play only three games last year.

When Sproles' finally hangs his cleats up and says goodbye, the league, and I, will surely miss him. He was a professional through and through, never failing to be there when his team needed a spark. I'd categorize him as the NFL's version of a NBA 6th man.


Based on the graphic above from an article on bleedinggreennation.com by Lee Stifford, it doesn't seem like Sproles has the stats or the hardware to make it into the Hall of Fame. But his many fans and teammates will never forget the great seasons he's provided them, and hopefully he can shine on the gridiron a few more times during his final ride.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fly Eagles Fly - The NFL's Next Dynasty

By: Scott Edwards Twitter: @scottedwards18 When looking at the NFL, you begin to think, who’s next? Who is the next team to become a dynasty? Tom Brady’s career is winding down, and it seems as though the Patriots empire is beginning to as well, so who else would be better suited to take the dynasty title at this point than the Eagles? The team that defeated the reigning dynasty of the NFL in the Super Bowl may be the team that can become the next one. The team is led by now 3 rd year QB Carson Wentz, who was bound to win the MVP award in his second season until a torn ACL ended his season prematurely. With numbers of 3,296 passing yards, 33 TD, and just 7 INTs, it is hard to imagine that Wentz will only improve has he gets older. Wentz is an unbelievable athlete who possesses pure accuracy, a beautiful spiral on his ball, and an absolute cannon for an arm. The arm-sleeved QB brings an undeniable swagger to the field game in and game out, leaving you in awe after see...
4 comments
Read more

Deshaun Watson Injury Shakes Up the NFL

     One day after the Houston Astros won the World Series in game 7, their star qb, Deshaun Watson of the Texans, went down with a non contact ACL injury, ending his historic rookie year. With Deshaun Watson now head to IR, along for the ride is the hopes of a playoff run for the Texans. Watson was doing more for this team in the half of a season he played than any Texans QB from the past 5 years. Watson is tied for the lead in passing touchdowns with 19 and is coming off a game in which he shredded the vaunted Seahawks defense. In that game, he became the first player EVER to put up over 400 passing yards, 4 tds, and over 50 rushing yards. The Texans have relied on their defense for the past few years, but after injuries to Watt and Mercilus, the Texans offense was forced to step up and did so in a major way under the lead of Watson. His injury all but crushes any hopes the Texans had of seeing the postseason.            Wats...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Return of Josh Gordon

If you were to google this headline, I'm sure you would find at least a dozen articles about this story, but all different seasons. Could this finally be the year Josh Gordon makes his triumphant return to the National Football League? The 26 year old receiver hasn't touched the field since the 2014 season. He's super talented, making the pro bowl in 2013, but his career has been derailed by a crippling drug problem. I was a big Josh Gordon fan, always keeping up with the news to see if it's worth making a waiver claim for him in fantasy. I drafted this guy last year and really expected a return in the 2016 season. After Gordon checked himself into rehab, I gave up, and thought for sure that marked the end of his career. Then he goes and drops that video this year pouring his heart out to the internet, trying to come back. Well it activated what little sympathy the commissioner had and they decided to reinstate him. It's conditional, though, which means he won...
Post a Comment
Read more