NFL

"I personally think he's ready to take that next step," Turner said. "That means, to me, the production goes way up, and he's more of the guy that is on the field most of the time." It's in Turner's nature to utilize a true workhorse back (see Emmitt Smith, LaDainian Tomlinson, Frank Gore, Ricky Williams, Stephen Davis), and the Chargers' offseason actions strongly suggest they believe Mathews is ready for a massive workload. "He's well on his way, from what he's doing offseason-wise, to have a great year," observed RBs coach Ollie Wilson. "He's in the best shape I've seen since he's been here."