"Running back/kick returner Darren Sproles, who was dubbed "Mighty Mouse" at Kansas State, adds an extra dimension to the Chargers offense with his explosive speed.

Here he comes to save the day. Dazzling and diminutive, Darren Sproles is lightning in a bottle cap, mayhem in miniature, the small wonder of the San Diego Chargers.

"He did that pose after a couple of scores," Norv Turner recalled. "And I said, 'You look like Mighty Mouse.' And he said, 'Well, coach, that's what they called me at Kansas State.' And I told my kids about it and they went on YouTube. They had never seen the cartoon. It's before their time. Obviously, everyone watched Mighty Mouse in our generation."

Strange as it might seem, the Chargers head coach was once a child. Stranger still, a Mighty Mouse bobblehead belonging to his son, Drew, survived the family's many moves. When Nancy Turner found the figurine in a box, she asked her husband to present it to Sproles as a souvenir.

The redoubtable rodent now occupies a place of honor atop Sproles' locker at the Chargers' Murphy Canyon complex, where, presumably, Mr. Trouble never hangs around.

"It was one of those things that just evolved over time," said Mark Oberkrom, the strength coach who first dubbed Sproles "Mighty Mouse" at Kansas State. "Darren is one of those kids, and still is, who can put the weight of the team on his shoulders. He could absolutely carry the team. He did it physically, he did it emotionally and he did it with his leadership.

"On and off the field, he is the best kid to ever wear a purple uniform."

Listed, optimistically, at 5-feet-6, Sproles appears on the Chargers depth chart as the second-string running back behind LaDainian Tomlinson. Yet the scope of his skills, the range of his roles and the specific issues presented by the New York Jets could afford him a chance to carry the Chargers a considerable distance in today's divisional playoff game at Qualcomm Stadium."