Little big men carry Saints past the Lions

Reporting from New Orleans -- Haven’t San Diego Chargers fans suffered enough?

No, there was more pain to be had, right there on their TVs Saturday night from the Superdome.

While their team was sitting home, eliminated from the playoffs again, there was little Darren Sproles, once one of theirs, once among their pride and joy, once the Chargers’ choice as a franchise player, picking up his new team and helping carry it to a second-round NFL playoff game.

Sproles is 5 feet 6, is listed as weighing 190 pounds -- probably with sandbags in each pocket. Sproles’ real weight is an unmeasurable, but figure that his heart goes about 145.

The Saints beat the Detroit Lions, 45-28, but there was a point as late as the fourth quarter when they led by a mere 24-21. The Saints were about to stall, with fourth and two at Detroit’s 40, with 11:56 left to play. Drew Brees -- another former Charger, by the way, who happened to have a bit of an impact in this game -- pitched to Sproles, who looked trapped but bounced left for three yards, and the drive continued.

Then, two plays later, Brees shuffled a short pass to Sproles, who squirmed 12 yards to the 17, then took a deep breath, went back in the huddle, came out and took a handoff. Again, it looked as if Detroit had him hemmed in, but he bounded away, made a cut and was in the end zone before you could say, “Why in heaven’s name would the Chargers ever let him go?”

It was Sproles’ second touchdown of the night, but it certainly wasn’t the first time the NFL’s mighty mite had been a hero in a playoff game. Most memorable was the Chargers’ 2009 game against the Indianapolis Colts, when he rushed for 105 yards, scored the winning touchdown that eliminated Peyton Manning, and ended up with 328 all-purpose yards, at that time third-best ever in an NFL playoff game.

Saturday, his all-purpose yardage was 143, including 51 rushing. But his timing was bigger than his totals.

This game, with Brees and the Lions’ Matthew Stafford impersonating Old West gunslingers, featured 1,038 yards of total offense, tying a postseason record. Brees and the Saints got the best of it, of course, with 626 yards, a postseason record. Brees passed for 466 of that.

The previous total offense record? That was 610 way back in 1963, by the Chargers. Yes, more indignities.

When Sproles decided he would leave for New Orleans last summer, it coincided with the departure from the Saints of another Southern California star, Reggie Bush, who felt he needed a new start. It is interesting that all those multiple-offense things the Saints created for Bush, they are now using for Sproles.

And how did that work out? Is Sproles out-Reggie-Bushing Reggie Bush?

Well, Sproles set an NFL record for all-purpose yards this season with 2,696. The four-year, $14-million contract he signed in June now looks like a great deal. It probably looks the same way in San Diego.

Besides being one of the league’s best players, Sproles remains one of its quietest. He had a stuttering problem as a youngster and was actually grateful he finished only fifth in the 2005 Heisman Trophy voting out of Kansas State because, had he won, he would have had to make a speech on national TV.

When he was born, he weighed 10 pounds, or about 5% of what he weighs now. For awhile, his nickname was “Tank.” Now, he just runs around and past guys with those nicknames.

Philip Rivers, who replaced Brees as Chargers quarterback in 2006, used to joke about what it looked like when he handed Sproles the ball.

“I’d see him go into the line, then kind of disappear, and then come squirting out,” Rivers said. “Being so short is an advantage for him. Nobody seems to be able to get down low enough to tackle him.”

Sproles was his typical man-of-few-words after the game.

Asked about the game’s turning point, he said, “It was when we came out in the second half and scored.”

He knew better. He knew it was in those few minutes when he took over and scored for the 31-21 lead. But he would be the last player in the NFL to point the spotlight on himself.

In addition to Sproles, Brees had a huge game, as did receivers Marques Colston and Jimmy Graham.

Brees completed 33 of 43 passes three for touchdowns. Colston caught seven for 120 yards and Graham, the second-year tight end who caught 99 during the season, caught seven for 55 yards and a touchdown. Cornerback Jabari Greer had two interceptions.

“It was a good win for us,” Saints Coach Sean Payton said. “It was an especially good second half of football.”

And the catalyst for that was . . .

Sproles and Co. will take their highly proficient offensive act to San Francisco to play the 49ers next weekend, and their goal will be to break hearts, not leave theirs there.

That means good news for Chargers fans, the kind they haven’t had much of in some time now.

Seeing Darren Sproles play again is only a short plane ride away.

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