If that was it for LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego, it’s hard to imagine an uglier ending.
The home crowd booed the franchise icon on his final carry, frustrated with the playcalling and another one-yard plunge into the line of scrimmage.
“That’s frustration on the fans’ part,” Tomlinson said. “Not being able
to do much the whole game, and the first play we’re behind we try to
run it up in there, and we didn’t do anything.”
That carry came with more than 13 minutes left; Tomlinson watched the rest of the game from the bench. Tomlinson acknowledged what MDS wrote last night; he may not be back.
“I’ve heard all the speculation,” he said. “But I’ll tell you what:
I’ve had a heck of a time here and if it is [the end], I’ve enjoyed the
ride.”
Tomlinson was asked if he wanted to return. “I can’t tell you that right now,” he said.
Football is an unsentimental sport. Yet Dean Spanos and A.J. Smith’s decision to bring Tomlinson back one more time and keep feeding him the ball appeared based on sentiment, not football.
The Chargers needed a young workhorse to make plays on his own Sunday, like a Shonn Greene. Instead, they got 24 yards on 12 carries from Tomlinson.
After carrying the Chargers for so many years, it’s sad that that Tomlinson helped to drag this team down.
UPDATE: Here’s video of Tomlinson after the game.
drag the team down? That statement right there shows you should get out of this business….you are scary…..where is the bashing of Norv Turner (onside kick) and Phillip Rivers playing like a bitch?
Neil Rackers dragged the team down more than anyone.
I just had to point out that they fired Shotenhemer because he was one and done in the playoffs, Has that improved since he left?
As for Tomlinson, He was not the problem.
HANG ‘EM UP L.T., YOU SUCK!!!
he is a hall of famer at this point. he needs to retire after this season he shouldnt drag out his career like emmit
Time to draft a stud RB Chargers. You screwed up and should of let L.T. go instead of Turner.
whoaaa whooaaa drag his team down? EASY NOW CHIEF
After watching the final drive I can’t believe the Chargers played the way they did. Turner should be fired, the chargers played that game like it was a preseason game. There was no urgency, they were content to let the Jet Defense dictate the entire game.
@ Popeye,
I agree with your statement. Norv Turner and the rest of the playcalling staff were to blame for this mess. Hard to believe Norv has a head coaching job, should just stick with the coordinator job he did very well.
The Chargers were beaten by the better coached team. When you got 4 1st round picks on the OL, your going to run the ball. The chargers couldn’t stop them with 9 in the box. I honestly believe a team takes on the personality of the coach, Norv’s team didn’t look confident or disciplined.
The onside kick was the correct call.
Heres why:
The jets needed a first down to win, period. Doesn’t matter where on the field, they just need a first down. We can all agree on that.
Stopping the jets from achieving said first down is a chance to gt the ball back. That’s one chance. In order to get a second chance, the chargers tried an onside kick. That’s two chances to get possession.
Without the onside kick, the chargers have only one chance at gaining possession. An onside kick and defensive series has a higher chance of success than a defensive series alone.
I can’t wait for this bitch to retire.
Charger’s problem= A.J. Smith an Norv Turner not LT
Neil Rackers plays for Arizona. How did he drag them down?
How about that wonderful line blocking? Norv is not Marty.
Neil Rackers??????
Sounds like he needs a change of scenery…
Cheap shot on the last line, Rosenthal. You yourself stated Tomlinson didn’t play the last 13+ minutes – so how did he drag them down? If your website is all about taking potshots, perhaps my time’s better spent elsewhere.
at least he’s a classy guy, just ask, he’ll tell you
Wow…I’m not even a Chargers fan and I can say that last line is complete garbage.
As long as he wouldn’t mind the cold I’d love to bring him to the Bears to be a veteran mentor to Forte and a good change of pace back. Lord knows he’d teach Forte more than any of the Bears coaches could. I think he still has something left in the tank just not as a lead back.
I never blame a back unless he gets the load….. 12 carries is not the load….. Yes he on the downside but “his fault they lost”, not a chance. He could be just as valuable as McGahee on the ravens if he was used right in combo with a young stud and not my kid brother with a jetpack.
Thank you Packers29 for stating what should have been obvious about the onside kick, it was the right call because it gave the Chargers 2 chances to get the ball. Just more proof that Phil Simms is an idiot.
Drag the team down? You mean like a pair of missed field goals….
Scientific: It wasn’t as a potshot. Like I said, it was a sad way to go out.
I think anyone looking at the Chargers would conclude their rushing game led by LT held them back. The line wasn’t great but not terrible, and even if it was terrible they needed a player that could make a play on his own.
Team was dead last in league in yard per carry, worse in playoffs. LT2 was 49th out of 50 nfl runners. LJ was 50th.
Certainly wasn’t the only problem, but they could have really used some manageable third downs situations Sunday. His status as a franchise icon and what he’s done for Chargers doesn’t change that.
I don’t think a runningback created by mixing Adrian Peterson and Walter Payton’s DNA could have run behind that run-blocking against the Jets’ run D.
Has LT slowed down? Yup.
Can he still be a quality #2 back/third-down back? Yup.
That’s the difference between LT and a guy like Shaun Alexander. LT’s pass-catching still makes him a valuable part of a team.
Rather than blaming a back who got 12 carries against a great run D, where is the “Rivers can’t win the big one” talk?
You mean the same way bush-league writers like you drag down journalism?
LT in New England next year.
Every running back slows down and it sucks when it’s yours. Sproles is not a full-time RB. they overpaid for him and have to figure out what to do with him. If they draft a kid like Johnathan Dwyer that offense can get right back on track. They better hurry, though, windows close awfully fast.
L.T. does suck, but if any back had that O-line the results would have been the same. give it to the jets D they won the battle up front. also how come nobody’s talking about Kaedings missed field goals that would have won the GAME???
Yesterday wasn’t LT’s fault…it was the guys right in front of him!
signed,
Not a L.T. fan
The chargers are the new cowboys. A team that as is very easy to hate. Unless you were a born and bred charger fan how can you root for guys like rivers and merriman and shaun philips? I enjoy seeing those loudmouth jerks get their mouths shut as much as anything in the NFL right now. Good riddance until next year when once again we will have to hear about them being the most talented and favorite to win it all. Chokers! Losers!
The only LT was Lawrence Taylor.
Mr. Class should give it up. I don’t know where “Playing 2 years past your prime” falls on the Class Scale, but it sure can’t be that high. He’s the Dan Marino of RB’s…great regular season player, a total choke job in the playoffs.
Packers29
The onside kick was the correct call.
The jets needed a first down to win, period.
Stopping the jets from achieving said first down is a chance to gt the ball back.
Without the onside kick, the chargers have only one chance at gaining possession. An onside kick and defensive series has a higher chance of success than a defensive series alone.
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wrong completelyu wrong with the amount of time and timeouts still remaining.
firstly BECAUSE JETS had to prepare for the onside kickoff the brought up their players which meant by kicking off deep they have the ball most likely inside their own 20 yardline and even be scared to put the ball up in the air down there. so not only would it be easier to stop them there
but you then if successful would get the ball back roughly near midfield with still about 45 – 50 seconds left to move back up the field.
if you didnt recover the onside kick you tried against an aware team you only get the ball back on yor own 10 if you stopped them and from around midfield theyd have been emboldened in their playcalling like going on 4th and one- would ryan have done that on his 20? i think not.
besides turner should have used his 2nd timeout at 2:02 BWEFORE halftime. another bonehead mistake of his.
Let me spell it out for you that are so overly sensitive.
I’m a Ladanian fan. BELIEVE ME when I say I wanted this to be his come back year and to prove all the naysayers wrong.
He did help drag this team down because his skill set has deteriorated to the point that he would actually allow himself to sit on the bench for the final 13 minutes of the most important game in recent history for this team. That I believe was Rosenthal’s point. Sproles is nothing but a change of pace back and LT is done. We have no real running game. He dragged the team down because the team could no longer turn to him. 24 yds on 12 carries? Take a seat.
The Jets have always scared me. They always play the Chargers tough . . . and this was no exception. Norv had two weeks to prepare for this and he couldn’t do a damn thing.
As for the remainder of the game . . . it just solidifies my feelings that Norv Turner sucks and will always suck. Marty Shottenheimer was deservedly fired for a deplorable performance by our defense after a 14 and 2 season. By that same standard Norv Turner should be gone TODAY.
The only up side is we now get to see the Colts take on the team they pulled there starters from so that the Jets could limp in and a few teams which the Colts found more threatening wouldn’t.
If the Jets can pull that off the Colts should fire Caldwell.
Rather than blaming a back who got 12 carries
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he averaged about a yard a carry and fell down. creating long yardage situations. only question is why give the ball AND 12 times to a guy slow as molasses going up a hill in january?
Just playing devils advocate here….
If they kick it deep instead, do the Jets go for it on 4th down, say around the 20?
Rivers can’t win the big one…has already started on more reputable sports websites
Great player, you fans in San Diego saw one of the best runners of all time.
DisplayName says:
Just more proof that Phil Simms is an idiot.
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PHIL SIMMS WAS RIGHT.
It was joe buck who they had to remoind several minutes after he made 3 comments about vikings declining the penalty called against the viking player who rn into the dallas punter. 3 times he said it that minnesota with some strange thinking declined the penalty of their own player.
but phill simms was right. with that much time and timeouts and that pathetic jets offense and with them up close for onside kick you kickoff deep band try to stop them there and get ball back in excellent field position and with enough time.
turner screwed up on that just as he did in not preparing his team and on USING THE TOTALLY USELESS TOMLINSON!
if anyone brought the team down it was Kaeding
How does Marty keep gettin fired? WTF? Snyder should have never fired him. He always has disciplined teams that fight.
Every superstar fizzles out and LT has reached that point where all do and should bow out and walk out of the spot light. Its over……….
Tony Rivers…. Phillip Romo….. what is the difference really?
Where is the talk about these two being coach killers?
Chargers just choke in the playoffs…period. Not one player or coachs fault. It’s just the way it is.
Smiley said: “How does Marty keep gettin fired? WTF? Snyder should have never fired him. He always has disciplined teams that fight.”
Sorry Smiley – I was at that Patriots loss in 2006. The most undisciplined defensive performance ever. I will never forget Mcrary head-butting the Patriots defender on 4th down . . or that dips**t getting the pick and then running around like a fool instead of just sitting down. If memory serves me this was the same year that Terence Kiel (RIP) got busted for importing cough syrup and the fake Nike Shoe debacle.
Shottenheimer got fired because he had no control over a bunch of young thugs. San Diego was embarrassed on a national stage. Now if I had known we would get that douchebag Turner instead? Things would have been different. But there was NOTHING disciplined about our defense under Marty.
NOTHING>
LetsGoPens
LT’s pass-catching still makes him a valuable part of a team.
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yup he caught 3 passs yesterday too for a total of ZERO YARDS
COMPLETELY USELESS
Only decent play he made all game was a block he threw ONCE.
Theyd have been better off using hester as halfback
he is finished he was finished years ago!
LT had how many TD’s this year 12. I’d take him on my team. He can find the endzone. Of course at a reduced salary.
as a charger fan, we need a new RB for sure. LT had a wonderful career but its over. We were fooling ourselves thinking we could win a superbowl with just passing. colts have addai, vikings with peterson, saints with bush and thomas… and all these teams are primarily passing.
if we get a real RB, plus some new DL, i think we could have a real shot at making the playoffs next year…and choking again
bullis says:
LT had how many TD’s this year 12. I’d take him on my team. He can find the endzone. Of course at a reduced salary.
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probably his average td run is under 2 yards
the most overated running back in league history
couldnt lick jim brown’s, gale sayers, barry sanders, walter payton, dickerson, etc., etc. a thousand other’s boots.
and i repeat has been TOTALLY USELESS FOR YEARS
and is dumber than a bag of hammers proven as he tells the world he is “classy”
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3338/3663605605_8dce8e483e.jpg
Group Hug.
Dude is a class act, just ask him.
you know the funny thing is the san diego fans aren’t even really that upset. they are terrible fans. except bob s. who is correct about LT. He sucks, he’s not classy, he’s a selfish baby, he is very very dumb and probably spend some time at the Derrick Zoolander center for kids that can’t read good. Please let the Pats get this washed up loser, he would fit right in with that washed up loser Tom Brady.
As a raider fan, it was a great day yesterday. It’s like Don Shula breathing a sigh of relief that nobody has gone perfect other than his dolphins. That’s how we feel about the chargers not winning a superbowl. Until either of these things happen, we’ll have another off-season to celebrate.
The Chargers will always be hexed by Alex Spanos and his support of our most moronic President in US history. It’s called karma baby.
Bob S says: the most overated running back in league history/
your crazy, remember when he had 28 TDS a few seasons ago. LT has 138 TDS also, WTF game do you watch, POLO?
LT acts like a spoiled kid when he is not a factor in games. Go away LT, you are done.
Man, imagine if LT and Rivers wore Cowboys jerseys? And Norv coached Dallas? Wow the bias of this website is terrible..
Maybe they should’ve tried harder to keep Michael Turner. I think Sproles is good, but with a Turner/Sproles combo, the Chargers would’ve lead the NFL and beaten the JEts for shizzle
The Chargers may be the ultimate example of unfulfilled potential. (I say that as a Cowboys fan, hoping to distract people from applying the label to them.)
Im a chiefs fan and i can say that LT is prolly the greatestRB i ever seen. Ive seen “great” RBs come and go.. like t davis, p holmes, s alexander and many other 1-2 year wonders… but LT is a decade long HOF icon..
but at the same time.. he hit that slow bug… the same one LJ was infected with… somehow these guys cant get past the line of scrimmage…
LT was a great RB.. but its time for him to go…
Drag his team down? It wasn’t his decision to go into a pass first offense. It wasn’t his decision to let starters from what once was the best offensive line in football walk via free agency. It wasn’t his decision to fire Marty Schottenheimer. Runningbacks usually need to get into this thing they call a rhythm. That means more than twelve carries over the course of a game. How many times do running backs average 5 yards/carry because they actually carry the ball for 5 yards everytime they get it. NONE. Not even Barry Sanders or Jim Brown. Gregg Rosenthall, get your head out of your @ss.
“Neil Rackers dragged the team down more than anyone.”
You mean Nate Kaeding.
That last statement is CORRECT!
12 carry 24 yds … ouch … that’s 4 3 and outs.
Seriously has LT ever done anything in the playoffs.
Yes he had great stats during the season but when it comes down to it … it’s the playoffs that really shows what you are made of.
One more thing Rosenthall. When the Colts lose in these playoffs, whether it be to the Jets or the NFC Champions, are you going to blame Joseph Addai? Are you going to blame Adrian Peterson when the Vikings lose? Is it Tim Hightower’s fault that Arizona couldn’t convert on third down against the Saints. Is it Brian Westbrook or Shady McCoy’s fault that the Eagles haven’t been able to convert on third and short for three years? Whether it is or isn’t, one player doesn’t drag down a franchise. The Chargers not being able to stop the run had more to do with that loss than the Chargers inability to effectively run the football.
Norv Turner for sale…
The bigger part of the rushing problem was the OL was down 2 starters for most of the year and 3 at times. The C just came back and is not 100% and we have and UDFA at RT. Adrian Peterson couldn’t run behind this line.
The NYJ have the best run defense as well. LT has declined somewhat is the 3rd reason but he didn’t drag the team down.
Bob S. says:
“but phill simms was right. with that much time and timeouts and that pathetic jets offense and with them up close for onside kick you kickoff deep band try to stop them there and get ball back in excellent field position and with enough time.”
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Excellent field position doesn’t mean anything if you cant stop them, and you are giving yourself only one chance to get the ball back. You need the ball way more than you need good field position and you have to do everything you can to get it back including the onside kick.
I will agree that the timeout should have been taken before the 2 minute warning.