"We must refrain from saying Darren Sproles isn't earning his keep. This is more about the Chargers keeping him from earning it.

Really now. The Chargers' running back isn't very big, but that doesn't mean he can be made invisible, that he has to disappear at times on the football field. Sproles is dangerous, and NFL teams must prepare for danger, be he 6-foot-6, which he isn't, or 5-foot-6, which he is.

This is a high-caliber, expensive, full-metal jacket bullet the Chargers have in their bandolier that hasn't been used enough during their miserable 1-2 start. You don't fire blanks when you have Darren Sproles.

Not that the protean running back is complaining publicly . That isn't his style, and you get the feeling through his body language that he isn't comfortable talking about his use -- or lack of it -- this season.

"That's the way it is," he says. "If they need me to block, I'll block. If they need me to get downfield, I'll get downfield. I just go out and do my job. If they give me the ball, they give me the ball."

So give him the ball.

Now in his sixth year, Sproles signed a tender during the off-season that will pay him $7.283 million, second among The League's backs to Reggie Bush's $8 million in New Orleans. Sproles will make $13.904 million over the 2009 and 2010 seasons, making him the highest paid ball carrier over that span.

In the loss to Seattle, he played a lot, but was used mostly as a blocking back. He had one carry (not enough) for 16 yards (not bad) and one catch (not enough) for 10 more (not bad). Thus far, he has 10 touches (returns not included) for 128 yards. Help me out here. That's a whole lot of dough per try from scrimmage."