LaDainian Tomlinson was deemed washed up well before the Chargers finally dumped him in late February of this year. Despite his claims that he still had a lot to offer on the field, the Bolts wanted to move on – get younger.
The Jets are glad they did.
In New York’s 38-14 rout of the Bills on Sunday, Tomlinson rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. He also had three catches for 22 yards and is now on pace to rack up 1,692 total yards this season.
There’s a good chance that he’ll wear down at some point and never reach that yardage number, but then again he’s already made the Jets’ brass look wise for taking a flier on him this spring. There were reports that he looked “old” and “slow” in training camp, but nobody is saying that now.
But while Tomlinson displayed outstanding vision, balance and quickness today in Buffalo, his rejuvenation is due in large part to the play of the Jets’ offensive line. One thing many of L.T.’s critics tend to overlook is the fact that San Diego’s offensive line was a poor run blocking unit. That’s not a problem for Tomlinson now, as the Jets’ O-line absolutely dominated an overmatched, undermanned Buffalo front seven on Sunday.
It’s a long season and at some point, the Jets will need second-year back Shonn Greene to do exactly what he did today (22 carries, 117 yards) on a regular basis. But as of right now, they can continue to reap the rewards of their offseason investment and Tomlinson can continue repaying them for believing that he hadn’t lost a step.
