Welcome to New York, LaDainian Tomlinson. I told you you should have waited a little longer before getting a New York Jets tattoo. You may end up not enjoying your stay. The New York Post is already on LT’s case, and the Jets have yet to even practice in pads. Here’s what NY Post writer Bart Hubbuch wrote about the running back in his article, courtesy of Pro Football Talk:
Even without pads or contact, it didn’t take a grizzled NFL scout to notice in the Jets’ recent workouts that Tomlinson just doesn’t look like the same player who terrified opposing defenses with his slippery moves and sublime hands for nine seasons with the Chargers. Tomlinson appears bulkier and definitely a step (or three) slower than he did in his prime, which is to be expected from a running back who next week turns 31 — increasingly the point of no return in the NFL — with his incredible amount of mileage.
And here’s what Hubbuch claims an accomplished G.M. had to say about Tomlinson:
If you watch the films from the end of last year, the guy had nothing left,” a general manager with multiple Super Bowl rings said last week. “It’s not a knock on him personally. All those carries are going to catch up to anyone.”
The bottom line here is that if LT can’t come in and give the Jets quality touches immediately and prove he can have a significant impact on their running game, the media will eat him alive. He’s the perfect specimen of someone the New York media would love to tear apart; a high-profile, aging superstar who has shown in the past that he’s easily rattled and has a bit of a temper. For the Jets’ sake, I hope he doesn’t let this type of coverage phase him too soon. If he does, their marriage will go south very quickly.
Sources:
Face facts, Jets, LaDainian is pretty much LaDone [NY Post]
New York Post welcomes LaDainian Tomlinson to town [Pro Football Talk]
