This Charger Has Been Around the Block Awhile

Although he typically lines up in front of LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego fullback Lorenzo Neal is unquestionably the man behind the Man.

In each of the last nine seasons, Neal has paved the way for a 1,000-yard back -- Tomlinson, Corey Dillon, Eddie George, Warrick Dunn and Adrian Murrell -- yet he himself has never run for more than 175 yards in a season.

As the Chargers head into Sunday’s game at Indianapolis, as important a regular-season game as they have had in years, they will be leaning heavily on Neal to help get Tomlinson rolling.

“I’m not an idiot -- LaDainian is LaDainian,” Neal said. “He’d do just fine without me. But he appreciates my effort. If a lineman misses his block, I’m there to pick the guy up.”

In recent years, a lot of teams have gotten away from the concept of a true blocking back. They tend to use a tight end or an H-back in that role, someone who doubles as a receiver, in an effort to stretch defenses. So there are fewer and fewer punishers such as Neal, Seattle’s Mack Strong and Kansas City’s Tony Richardson.

“It’s a dying position,” Neal said. “People say, ‘We don’t need a fullback, we can go with an H-back.’ Those guys don’t really like to hit or blow guys up. A lot of tight ends, if you ask them to go isolate on a linebacker or run a lead draw, they don’t want to do it. Guys will tell me, ‘Lo, I don’t want your job.’ ”

The Chargers (8-5) aren’t in an enviable spot, either. With three weeks to go, they trail Denver by two games in the AFC West and are tied with Kansas City and Pittsburgh for the last wild-card spot. With their playoff hopes hanging in the balance, they play Sunday at the RCA Dome, where the Colts have won a franchise-record 11 consecutive home games. Indianapolis has outscored opponents in its six home games, 160-64, and allowed fewer than 10 points in four of those games.

But Tomlinson, who has rushed for 1,245 yards this season, has scored 25 touchdowns in his last 15 road games, seven in the last two. He knows how valuable Neal’s blocking is, and, evidently, so do the Chargers. Earlier this season, they signed Neal to a two-year, $2-million contract extension.

San Diego looks as if it could be the last stop for Neal, a fourth-round pick from Fresno State who began his career in New Orleans in 1993, then later played for the New York Jets, Tampa Bay, Tennessee and Cincinnati. Even though he made the Pro Bowl in 2002, he was released by the Bengals, then signed by the Chargers.

“What happens with my position is, coaches and general managers start saying, ‘OK, we can get by with the tight end because he can go out and catch balls,’ ” he said. “They feel you’re overpriced. The turnover rate at the position becomes like a revolving door.”

And it’s usually the offense that suffers.

“You’re getting five yards deep and so is the linebacker,” he said. “That’s 10 yards of space. So when you hit, it’s a big collision. Linebackers, guys like [Denver’s] Al Wilson and [Baltimore’s] Ray Lewis, when they see a tight end in there blocking, they’re licking their chops.”

Neal, however, lives for those moments when bodies collide. He says the hits make him feel alive.

“They make me alert,” he said. “Those men out there have bad intentions. And so do I.”

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Before joining The Times in late 2000, I spent the better part of five seasons covering the Oakland Raiders for the San Jose Mercury News. I can vividly remember interviewing Darrell Russell in his three-bedroom apartment in Oakland just before the start of the 2000 season, back before his life and career unraveled.

Russell, who Thursday was killed in a high-speed car crash in Los Angeles, could be funny and engaging. I remember him sprawled on a leather couch, wearing an oversized Chicago Blackhawk jersey, pointing out all the sports autographs he’d collected over the years. More than most players, Russell was a kid, wide-eyed and impressionable.

He talked about his mom, Eleanor, who raised him in San Diego while working as a hairstylist and office administrator. He had bought her a condominium in Marina del Rey. She never wanted a house, even though Darrell had offered one.

“My mom and I have always been real with each other,” he said at the time. “We always tell each other, ‘If we were to lose everything tomorrow, we’d still be happy.’ ”

For me, those memories make Russell’s downward spiral and early death all the more tragic.

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Pittsburgh’s Willie Parker, who went to training camp as the fourth-string running back, needs only 144 yards in the final three games to become the Steelers’ first 1,000-yard back in four seasons.

“I really don’t want to talk about stats, but I can say I haven’t rushed for 1,000 yards since high school,” Parker told reporters this week. “It would be an accomplishment, a long time coming. I don’t want to dwell on it, but I think it would be real special.”

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San Francisco rookie Alex Smith is working around the clock to improve as a quarterback. And that 24/7 effort has netted him a passer rating of ... 24.7.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Paving the way

Fullback Lorenzo Neal has helped five running backs gain 1,000 yards in a season:

Adrian Murrell, New York Jets (1997)...1,086

Warrick Dunn, Tampa Bay (1998)...1,026

Eddie George, Tennessee (1999)...1,304

Eddie George, Tennessee (2000)...1,509

Corey Dillon, Cincinnati (2001)...1,315

Corey Dillon, Cincinnati (2002)...1,311

LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (2003)...1,645

LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (2004)...1,335

LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (2005)...1,247

Source: pro-football-reference.com