RB Curtis Brinkley, San Diego Chargers

HT: 5-9, WT: 208, Born: 9-20-1985, College: Syracuse, Drafted: ---

2013 Projections

2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Brinkley led all San Diego backs in offensive touches, with 13. His ten rushing attempts didn’t really go anywhere as the Raiders bottled up the offensive line and prevented any holes from opening up. But out of the active backs for San Diego, Brinkley just looked the best with the ball in his hands. He didn’t appear able to make anything happen on his own and the Oakland defense was very stout especially in the red zone, but if Brinkley gets his blocks he looks shifty enough to make things happen.

Week 2 - Brinkley got the majority of the early opportunity to act as the team’s featured back in place of the recovering Ryan Mathews, but didn’t do much with his opportunity. He looked pretty shifty and elusive in the open field, but he didn’t get much room to roam. That doesn’t bode well for a guy whose game is predicated on making people miss and not bowling them over. Over the course of the second half, Brinkley gave way to backup RB Jackie Battle. Battle saw four fewer carries than Brinkley but totaled 26 more yards on the ground. More importantly, he moved the pile and punched in two scores. Brinkley also coughed up the football at the end of one run, but the ball bounced harmlessly out of bounds. It’s doubtful that the fumble had anything to do with the distribution of carries, as it appeared to be strictly based on who was more effective. If Ryan Mathews is going to miss any more time, it would appear that it will be Battle and not Brinkley who will be the main beneficiary of the extra action.

Week 15 - With Ryan Mathews out of the game with injury, the recently reacquired Brinkley was in line for a much bigger workload. However, the Chargers trailed by several touchdowns for most of the game and so there wasn’t really much of an opportunity to do much on the ground. Brinkley did look good in limited work, averaging seven yards per carry. It remains to be seen who will get the lion’s share of the rushing duties now that Mathews is expected to miss the rest of the season, but it can be assumed that Brinkley will be a fairly big part of the gameplan.

Week 16 - With the injury to Ryan Mathews, it was believed Brinkley might see a more significant role. He didn’t get his first touch until midway through the second quarter, a handoff for a minimal gain. That was also his last offensive touch of the game.

Week 17 - Brinkley had a nice inside run midway through the second quarter for seven yards, but totaled just three yards on his other two carries.