There is no "i" in team however it should be noted that there's one very large reason the San Diego Chargers and Ladainian Tomlinson (my picks) are breaking off so many runs and having such a successful offense season. The answer is one if given 5 guesses you probably couldn't answer as well. Lorenzo Neal.

Neal, in his 13th season out of Fresno State is a batteringram. While not an threat on offense he works his magic in otherways by springing running backs for larger gainers by absolutely leveling opposing linebackers. If you don't believe me just watch some time. Neal always seems to get his helmet on somebody elses and he is rarely the one to get knocked backwards.

Neal's story is an interesting one. This ageless wonder wasa rookie back in 1993 with the Saints and was actually the featured back. In his second game of the season he busted his ankle and was done for the season. Who knows what this guy would have turned out to be as a tailback as his average through 2 games was 8.3 yards per carry.

Oddly enough, the gentle giant claims that the ankle injury was a blessing in disguise and that it actually moved him to a position that extended his career. He said there's no way he'd have lasted this long as a running back. Since his injury, he hasn't missed a game in 12 years.

Speaking of lasting a long time, this guy is a closet workout freak which can also be attributed to his lengthy NFL careeer.

As a player, this guy does some great things that simply don't show up in the boxscores, hence the reason for this article (To alert you to check out teams fullbacks because they do indeed have quite a bit to do with a teams run game). Check out some of these feats:

He's blocked for big name RB's such as Adrian Murrell, Warrick Dunn, Mike Alstott, Eddie George and Corey Dillon. All had tremendous year's following Neal through the line. Since 1997, all of his backs have rushed for 1000 yards or more! It would make one ask why teams let him go? The answer is ugly. They don't want to pay big bucks for the FB position. Pretty ridiculous considering that his results speak for themselves.

With that being said, Neal has taken the ultimate compliment and moved on each time getting a better raise in pay.

His stats aren't going to wow anybody:

In 13 years he's averaged less than 1 carry per game.
He's played for 6 different teams in 13 season.
He leaves a team and the running backs stats get WORSE.
He has 5 career rushing touchdowns.

With that being said, why this guy has only been to the NFL Pro Bowl 1 time in 13 years is beyond us. We can however  confidently say that we do believe San Diego realizes the valueof the big battering ram and we don't expect him to be going anywhere soon.

We'll leave you with this.... If your betting on or against a team that has a strong run game, be sure to checkout the injury status of the teams fullback as well as how good/badthat fullback blocks for his tailback.

Disclaimer: A crappy offensive line makes thisall a moot point.

Until next time, good luck in your action!