Ryan Mathews, Chargers' New Hot Shot, Ready to Step Into L.T.'s Shoes

SAN DIEGO -- I went to Charger Park with an empty notebook, looking for dope on the team's new Hot Shot, and it's good that I'm quick with the pen because Chargers linebacker Stephen Cooper hit me fast with the money quote.

"He's a little bit like L.T. -- but more physical," Cooper said of Ryan Mathews, without being asked about LaDainian Tomlinson. "Honestly, Kansas City has a lot to look out for."

Southern California's NFL team will open its season in Flyover Land against the Chiefs on Monday night, and the Hot Shot will be among the better reasons to watch.

He's fresh. With Tomlinson wearing Jets green after nine years in Chargers blue, Mathews steps in wearing No. 24, or L.T. plus three. The rookie knows the Chargers shed draft picks last April to reach up and draft him 12th overall. He cheered for L.T. and wore No. 21 at Fresno State, but if he's sentimental about succeeding The One, who was voted greatest Chargers player by fans a year ago, it wasn't evident as his NFL debut drew closer.

"They drafted me because they needed help on the run game," Mathews said on Wednesday. "I think that's why they brought me in. That's what I'm going to do."

We should know soon how this will turn out.
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"With running backs, you can tell in one day," said Chargers fullback Jacob Hester, who played tailback for LSU.

It appears the Hot Shot can play, unless the Chargers are terrific fibbers.

"He hits the hole," Hester said. "And he wants to learn."

"He can really see the field, that's what has impressed me," said receiver Buster Davis, a first-round pick in 2007 who remains a mystery.

"He's sharp, he's real sharp," said coach Norv Turner, who on draft day described the Hot Shot as "extremely special."

Yet, don't be surprised Monday if Mathews runs over one of his own blockers. He's done that a few times already.

Don't be shocked if he blows a blitz read and a Chief races past him into the backfield. It happened in a preseason game.

Nor would it be stunning to see Turner send the ball to his athletic fullbacks, notably Mike Tolbert. Or to air it out.

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Sooner or later, though, Mathews should add speed and power to San Diego's woebegone rushing game, one that a year ago ranked near last in several categories. At some point, Mathews should gain the yards that a 30-year-old Tomlinson was leaving on the field last year. Because running the football is a young man's game.

Turner seldom is animated when talking to reporters, but he was pretty exercised 10 days ago when he talked about the Hot Shot running past a Saints linebacker in New Orleans. The play came in a preseason game, yet it was the lone preseason game that resembled real football.

Here's Turner:

"The 3rd-and-1 where the ball gets pitched to him and the linebacker had a great angle, and I think the linebacker expected to make the tackle for a two- or three-yard loss, and Ryan turned those jets on, and he just blew by him and turned the corner, and then it turns into a 16 yard gain -- that play is a great play to see, and to see his physical skills."

Sounding like a man who just got a fancy sports car, Norv kept talking.

"But it's more significant than that," he said, drawing the dots large and close enough for anyone to connect. "All of a sudden now, the guys coaching those outside perimeter people are saying, 'Hey, you've got to stay wide, you've got to make sure he doesn't get on the edge.' Now, they're not squeezing, and some of those inside running lanes are going to be much better."

Chargers offensive linemen were blamed a year ago for not creating running lanes, so if Turner is correct about defenses having to account for Matthews' speed, the blockers may have better angles to do their jobs now.

However, the Chargers may not be able to stretch and pressure defenses in other ways that they did last year en route to a 13-3 record, because salary disputes have stripped them of left tackle Marcus McNeill and wide receiver Vincent Jackson. You'd still want quarterback Philip Rivers over any other AFC West quarterback for your Fantasy League team, but you'd want him more if those two were still on the team. A 6-foot-5 pass-snatcher who ran past cornerbacks, Jackson opened up space down field for tight end Antonio Gates, and elongated Rivers' throwing windows. McNeill ably protected Rivers' blind side.

"One thing I see is, he's trying to be Ryan Mathews. He isn't trying to live up to the great expectations that were set high by L.T."
-- Chargers QB Philip Rivers All the more reason for Mathews to get up to speed quickly. One reason the Chargers wanted him so badly was they expected him to earn his NFL paycheck as a rookie. They liked that Fresno State's offense fairly mirrored their own diverse attack. They also cited intangibles that accentuate the 218-pounder's fast feet.

"He doesn't get rattled," Turner said. "He doesn't get real excited. He's got a very good game day demeanor."

"He likes football, he likes to work," said Rivers, the son of a football coach.

The Chargers wouldn't be the first club to ballyhoo a rookie a bit because it behooves tams to build the confidence of a young player who's under so much scrutiny. Privately, they've counseled him to make sure he runs with his pads low on Monday night, as veteran defenders weren't always bringing full force in preseason games. At times in those exhibitions, it appeared the rookie, who is 5-foot-11 1/2, ran a bit more upright than is conducive to long-term health in the brutal NFL.

Happy talk aside, however, Rivers has deduced that Mathews doesn't need much bolstering from teammates,

"One thing I see is, he's trying to be Ryan Mathews," the quarterback told FanHouse. "He's keeping it simple. He isn't trying to live up to the great expectations here that were set high by L.T. He's going to be himself."

What awaits Mathews on Monday night are soaring adrenaline levels, which could induce Turner to get him the ball sooner than later, if only for the rookie's sanity.

WAC games so excited Mathews that he joked that "hugging the toilet bowl" was part of his pregame routine. This won't be a WAC game on Monday. And he'll have to wait extra long for kickoff, which arrives at 9:15 p.m CT.

"I'm going to remember this game the most, because it's the first one, my first actual real game," he said. "I'm just going to take what I can get out of it. I'll go out there and I'll play my hardest. I'll do what I can to help my team to win.

"I think I'm doing well. I think I'm right where I'm supposed to be. I know everything I'm supposed to do when I'm on the field. I've just got to perfect it now. "