Tag: LaDainian Tomlinson (Page 2 of 15)

Five Questions: Jets vs. Patriots

January 14, 2011 /
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) calls a play in the huddle in the first quarter against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on December 6, 2010. The Patriots defeated the Jets 45-3. UPI/Matthew Healey

Matchup: Jets (11-5) @ Patriots (14-2)
Kickoff: 4:30PM ET, Sunday

1. Can the combination of Sanchez and Schottenheimer top Belichick?
Earlier this week, Jets’ coach Rex Ryan essentially told the media that this game will come down to whether or not he can raise his level of coaching to match that of Bill Belichick. I understand what he was saying, but I disagree with him. This game won’t come down to Ryan – it’ll come down to whether or not Brian Schottenheimer can raise his game. While Ryan certainly has his hands full trying to figure out a way to slow the Patriots’ offense, Schottenheimer must design a game plan that will top Belichick’s defense. Outside of a couple of throws, Mark Sanchez did not play well last weekend in Indianapolis. It was the Jets’ running game and defense that propelled them to victory. So first off, can Sanchez play better? If he can, will his offensive coordinator put together an intelligent game plan so that he can exploit the very few weaknesses that the Patriots have?

2. Will the Pats overlook the Jets?
There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Patriots are the better football team in this matchup. They have a tremendous coaching staff, they’re always prepared and they have the best quarterback in the league in Tom Brady. But in Week 9, the Pats were beaten by the Browns because they started reading their own press clippings. They did it again in Week 15 after rattling off five in a row and were set to face an Aaron Rodgers-less Packers team at home. Matt Flynn nearly beat them that night, as New England’s defense looked flummoxed in a narrow 31-27 victory. With all the trash talk the Jets have been doing this week, it’s highly unlikely that the Patriots will overlook their most hated rivals. But they also beat this team 45-3 just over a month ago and it’s human nature to think that things will play out the same way. Belichick needs to remind his team that the Jets have already beaten them once this season and they’re not going to be caught unprepared like in the last meeting.

3. Can the Jets get their running game going again?
The Jets beat the Colts last week because they were able to run the football in the second half and leave Peyton Manning on the sidelines. They have to do that again if they’re going to pull off another upset. It’s a pipedream to think Sanchez will out-duel Brady, so the Jets need their defense and running game to be as good, if not better than they were against the Colts. A couple of costly turnovers by Sanchez hurt the Jets in their 45-3 loss to the Patriots in December. He must protect the football so the Jets don’t fall behind early and are forced to throw in order to get back into the game. New England has given up 108.0 yards per game this year and an average of 104.0 YPG over the past three weeks. LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene won’t be able to run all over the Pats this weekend, but they might be able to control the tempo again like last Saturday.

4. How will Woody’s injury affect the Jets?
Damien Woody was arguably the Jets’ best run-blocker, so losing him for the season could be catastrophic. New York needs to be able to run the ball on Sunday if it’s going to pull off an upset and without Woody that could be difficult. Plus, you have to figure that Belichick will figure out a way to exploit the injury and cause some havoc for Sanchez. There’s no other way to put it: Wayne Hunter (Woody’s replacement) must step up this weekend.

5. Can the Pats stop Keller again?
I the Jets’ 28-14 victory over the Patriots in Week 2, Dustin Keller caught seven passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. In the teams’ second meeting, he caught just three passes for 27 yards and was only targeted four times. You can probably bet that Sanchez will look his tight end’s way more this weekend in effort to spread the ball around and keep New England’s defense guessing. Keller has long been a hidden weapon in the Jets’ passing game and he’s killed teams over the middle this season. New England can’t fall asleep on this guy because he can hurt defenses.

External Sports, NFL

NFL Week 6 MVP, COY and ROY Power Rankings

October 24, 2010 /

Every week we have different candidates here, because the 2010 NFL season has been wacky. And that’s okay, as it makes ranking MVP, Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year candidates more fun. Anyway, here we go….

MVP Power Rankings

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Okay, so Philip Rivers and Kyle Orton have more yards per game, but they play for 2-4 teams. Manning’s Colts are 4-2, and check out these numbers through six games—1916 yards, 67.3 completion percentage, 319.3 yards per game, 13 touchdowns (leads NFL) and just 2 interceptions, for a QB rating of 103.4. As usual, Manning sort of defines what the term MVP is all about.

2. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—I heard someone on NFL Network the other day call Matthews the “best defensive player in the NFL.” Not bad for a linebacker in his second year, who was selected after 25 other players in the 2009 draft. Anyway, Matthews has 9 sacks to lead the NFL, and 21 tackles through five games…and the Packers sorely missed him last Sunday in a loss to Miami when Matthews sat out with a hamstring injury.

3. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers—We’re leaving Antonio on here this week because he left the game against the Rams last Sunday with an ankle injury, leaving Philip Rivers without his favorite target. And then the Chargers lost the game. To the Rams. Gates only had 2 catches for 12 yards in that one, but on the season he still has 31 receptions for 490 yards and 7 TDs (which leads all tight ends and receivers).

Honorable mention: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles (thanks to Kevin Kolb’s performance last Sunday, Vick got bumped off the list); LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos; Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos; Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers; Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Arian Foster, Houston Texans

Coach of the Year Power Rankings

1. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers—If you start the season without your star quarterback for four games, and have the likes of Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, and Byron Leftwich at the helm, coming out of that 2-2 would be a huge moral victory. Well, Tomlin came out of that stretch 3-1 and it could have been 4-0 if not for that last-gasp drive by Joe Flacco and the Ravens a few weeks ago. Of course, the D led by a healthy Troy Polamalu and hard-hitting-to-a-fault James Harrison, has helped, but let’s give Tomlin some huge and well-deserved props here.

2. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Has anyone noticed that the Rams are 3-3, having already equaled their win total from 2008 and 2009 combined. And they’re giving up less than 19 points per game after allowing 27 per game last year—something that has much to do with the Rams’ defensive whiz of a coach.

3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—How do you go from the scorching hot hot seat to a coach of the year nomination? Ask Tom Coughlin, who the New York media had being replaced by Bill Cowher a few weeks ago when they lost badly to the Colts, and then beat themselves badly in a loss the Titans at home. The Giants rallied around Coughlin and squashed the previously unbeaten Bears, then crushed the upstart Texans in Houston 34-10, before not allowing the dreaded trap game against Detroit ruin his team’s winning streak. So from 1-2 to 4-2, and tied with the Eagles for the division lead. That’s why Tom Coughlin is on here.

Honorable mention: Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks; Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs; Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles

Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Suh leads all NFL defensive tackles with 5 sacks, and he also has 21 tackles through six games, plus an interception—a pretty rare feat for a DT. Is there any doubt that this young big man is the real deal?

2. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Injury may have slowed Best down, but how about the fact that to go along with 249 rushing yards, Best has 31 catches for a league-high 285 receiving yards among running backs. That’s 534 all-purpose yards through six games.

3. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—He’s way down the list of quarterbacks stat-wise, but Bradford is averaging 226 yards per game and has 7 TD passes. We’ll let the 8 picks slide for now, because let’s face it—the kid is helping to lead the Rams to respectability.

Honorable mention: Max Hall, Arizona Cardinals; Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders; Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys; Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

External Sports, NFL

NFL Week 5 MVP, COY and ROY power rankings

October 17, 2010 /

You think it’s hard to predict the games and standings from week to week? Try picking MVP candidates. There are five or six different candidates emerging every week. We’ll do this as one post again today and start separating them out next week. And I’m sure by this time Tuesday everything will be turned upside down again. Enjoy the games today everyone!

MVP Power Rankings

1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—He didn’t play last week and yet the Eagles still won, but barely, on the road in San Fran. Against a team that still hasn’t won a game yet. And hence my case is made again. And when Kolb and the Eagles lose at home to the Falcons today, fans in Philly will be chanting Vick’s name, which will have made my case again.

Continue reading »

External Sports, NFL

LaDainain Tomlinson running like it’s 2006 again

October 3, 2010 /
ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 03: LaDainian Tomlinson of the New York Jets runs against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium on October 3, 2010 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

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.

External Sports, NFL

Let’s keep Rivers and Gates’ comments about LT in context

August 3, 2010 /
SAN DIEGO - JANUARY 17: Quarterback Philip Rivers #17 and running back LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers celebrate a play against the New York Jets during the AFC Divisional Playoff Game at Qualcomm Stadium on January 17, 2010 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and tight end Antonio Gates made some interesting comments to the San Diego Union-Tribune yesterday about former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson.

If you read between the lines, it would appear as though the Chargers are relieved LT is making his home in the Big Apple now instead of San Diego.

“I don’t know how everyone feels or if they felt it,” said Rivers, who answers questions about Tomlinson the way someone walks through a minefield. “Maybe it was a little bit of a relief. Maybe it’s a feeling of, ‘I can do a little more without wondering what he thinks.’ ”

“Sometimes you would get the sense that people felt bigger than the team,” Gates said. “Not to say it was an issue, but we know it’s not an issue for sure now.”

“Me and LT had a wonderful relationship too. But sometimes you got the sense of stardom status and you can only take it so far. With Philip, I never feel that.”

Some may read Rivers and Gates’ comments and think that they’re glad to be rid of LT or are even unappreciative of what Tomlinson did for the San Diego organization. But it’s important to keep what they said in context and remember that players don’t often get together to sing Kumbaya in a circle in the middle of their locker rooms. A football team is comprised of 50-plus players from all walks of life. Race, age, personality and financial status separate each player, so not everyone is going to have a great relationship.

Tomlinson is among the best players to have ever wore a lightning bolt on the side of his helmet and will always be known for being an intense player. It appears as though he may have created some tension between he and his teammates with his intensity, but that’s to have been expected given the circumstances. It wouldn’t have been easy for any competitive athlete to have been the superstar for almost a decade and then be relegated to backup duties once the team didn’t think they had what it took anymore.

When asked to give his response to what Rivers and Gates said, this is what LT had to say:

“It doesn’t hurt me, but nothing surprises me because guys want to speak their opinion on things. Junior Seau went through the same thing with guys when he was the big star and he left the team and guys said how they felt about him. It’s the same situation. Good luck to those guys,” Tomlinson told the Post.

I wouldn’t have blamed LT if he vented his frustrations about what was said about him, but the fact that he took the high road showed his class.

It appears as though all parities have moved on.

External Sports, NFL

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