An Update on my Favorite Bolt

The absence of Nick Hardwick as the anchor of the Chargers offensive line has been evident since his ugly injury in week one when Raiders defensive lineman Gerard Warren fell on his lower leg and rolled him up awkwardly. Scott Mruczkowski has done an admirable job filling in for the Pro Bowl center weathering the storm and keeping the Chargers alive in the AFC playoff race. Probably the most missed aspect of Hardwick’s game is before the snap of the ball as he calls out protections and gets everyone else on the line on the same page. His experience has been greatly missed for the past month and a half as the Bolts have surrendered 15 sacks and 28 hits on Philip Rivers.

Good news has been surfacing concerning the progress of Hardwick’s rehabilitation of his surgically repaired ankle as he has been working on the side in practice for the past week and a half and just Wednesday joined his teammates in individual drills for the first time since the injury. When asked about his ankle and what the prognostication is, Hardwick said: “I still don’t know exactly where I’m at. (I’ve got to) keep taking small steps forward and eventually I’ll find myself on the field. It was an exciting step in the progression but a very small step.” The original timetable laid out by the Chargers training staff estimated that Hardwick would miss upwards of eight weeks from the date of his surgery.

Head Coach Norv Turner still didn’t have any rough estimate as to when the Bolts expect to see Hardwick back out on the field in action on Sundays. Turner was upbeat about seeing Hardwick out on the practice field though and slowly working his way back into the swing of things as he said: “He’s making progress. It’s another step in getting to where he wants to be.” No one in the organization is ready to put a prospective return date out there, but Hardwick himself is quite optimistic in how he is approaching the process. He has been pushing himself hard through the rehab process and when asked his thoughts on how things will unfold he said: “I’ve got some goals in mind but they’re not hard deadlines. I’m just seeing where it takes me. I’m going to work as hard as I can and try not to miss any opportunities. I’ve got a long ways to go still.”

Hardwick said sayonara to his protective walking boot that he had been wearing since having surgery nearly two weeks ago and has been gradually increasing his workload since. He said that the main obstacle in the rehab is how the injury responds in the recovery process and he will know more about that after another workout with the team tomorrow. Hardwick said: “I’ll go stress it again tomorrow and see how I feel. I’m pushing hard. We’ve got good athletic trainers, a good staff in there that are helping facilitate the process. I’ve been working extremely hard. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”

This is the best possible news for the Bolts to have weathered the storm without Hardwick to this point and still be within striking distance of the first place Broncos. His return will help this team so much to regain a rhythmic passing attack and have a certain level of comfort and relaxation for the offensive line as a unit. Hardwick is one of the more underrated centers in the league and his absence has been something difficult for San Diego to deal with not only from a pass protection perspective but in run blocking as well. Even though he is one of the lighter centers in the league, Hardwick is deceptively strong at the point of attack and always initiates contact with the defensive lineman across from him first. Although his return is most likely still a couple of weeks away, the Bolts have to be excited about the idea of having their offensive continuity rejuvenated as well as having their anchor back in place.

Tags: Nick Hardwick, Norv Turner, Philip Rivers, Scott Mruczkowski