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LaDainian Tomlinson is heading into a very important year. He has shown signs of slowing down and last year was affected by injuries that reduced his stats a great degree. Once a touchdown machine, it will be a trying year for both LT and the San Diego Chargers if LT cannot get into the end zone with regularity.

LaDainian Tomlinson needs to prove his youth this year

Phillip Rivers has matured as a quarterback and often the team would bypass the running for more passing. Some of that had to do with injuries and some of it has to do with age. The body at 30 is not the same as the body at 24.

LaDainian Tomlinson attended his first OTA after a couple days tending to a family issue. Tomlinson looked as healthy as ever. In one drill where he leaped over a series of bags, it appeared he might be as spry as he’s been in a few years.

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Photo source Newscom

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LaDainian Tomlinson used up?

LT?

How can the Chargers even think of trading LaDainian Tomlinson?

The San Diego Union-Tribune suggests that the Bolts might part ways with Tomlinson, 29, after the season. Tomlinson, hobbled by a toe injury for part of the season, has rushed for 794 yards through 12 games. That puts him on pace to barely crack the 1,000-yard rushing barrier. Tomlinson has rushed for more than 1,200 yards in each of his first seven seasons.

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Two years ago LT had an NFL record 31 touchdowns! Wow!

He is certainly headed for the Hall of Fame. So why trade him?

Sadly, NFL running backs do not last. LT will be 30 by next season, which makes him very old for a running back. This year he has been plagued by a toe injury and had only an average season. LT has only scored 7 touchdowns this year.

Now there are reports out that when his contract is up after the 2011 season, LT has claimed he is done. There will be no more football for Tomlinson after that.

Photo source Newscom

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Michael Turner is number 1

Oh man, today we spin off into one of my favorite worlds. Today we look at stats.

Well…say it. “Stats can be deceiving.”

Yeah, but they also can be revealing.

How about this one? (and it comes from StatBeast. They have all kinds of cool widgets and stuff and wild stats on all kinds of things.)

Who are the top 4 rushing leaders in the NFL in terms of yards per game? (that equals out the bye week thing)

Here are your choices:

Michael Turner (Hey, he is already in the title.)
Clinton Portis (Proud member of my Fantasy Football Team.)
Brandon Jacobs (From the Super Bowl New York Giants.)
Julius Jones (Former Cowboy, now a Seahawk.)

You can only choose 4 (wanted to make it easy on you.)

That is right…Turner 108.6, Portis 102.8, Jacobs 95, and Jones 93.3.

LaDainian Tomlinson is 20th with 66.2.

Adrian Peterson is 5th with 90.4 and might be leading, but when my Fantasy Team needed him last week, Adrian only had 32 yards in 21 carries. Ouch! Check the story on Adrian and get a great picture of Lena Heady in the movie 300. She is the mother in the new Terminator TV show.

Adrian Peterson may be traded

Now you see how Michael Turner is 20 times better than LT!

Photo source Newscom

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If Shawne Merriman wants to run in the NFL, he may have to sit

The Chargers have arguably had one of the best teams in the NFL for the last 2 years, but things happen and the Chargers have no Super Bowls to show for it.

The road to the Super Bowl seems blocked by the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts and that is just in their conference. So, you can see that everything has to be working. Last year an injured Philip Rivers, at QB, and an injured LaDainian Tomlinson, at running back, hurt their chances in the playoffs.

Now it looks like Shawne Merriman, the sack specialist could be out for the year.

Merriman said he has tears in both the posterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments. He said doctors agree that he needs surgery to repair the damage.

“It could be career-threatening if I did (play),” Merriman said. “It’s a possibility. That possibility is still open.”

A course of action has not been decided. Merriman, who will consult with a doctor in Miami early next week before making a decision, has been told reconstructive surgery would sideline him for the entire 2008 season. Another option is a less-invasive surgery that would allow him to play at some point in the season.

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Coach Norv Turner will have his work cut out for him if Shawne Merriman misses the whole season.

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The San Diego Chargers are the big surprise of the NFL for the past several years, because they did not win it all. No Super Bowl victories. This year is shaping up to be a huge year for the Chargers. Mostly due to the fact that the prime movers and shakers are all healthy or getting to the point of healthy.

LaDainian Tomlinson - medial collateral ligament
Philip Rivers - strained ACL
Antonio Gates - surgically repaired torn plantar plate of his left big toe
Nick Hardwick - surgery sprained right foot

The Chargers remember last year and are looking forward to this year.

“We go up to freezing-cold Foxborough with what I called ‘The walking wounded’ against what people were calling one of the greatest teams ever assembled,” general manager A.J. Smith says. “It’s 14-12 in the fourth quarter and we fall short.

“But fast forward to now. Our players felt what it was like to be in a wild-card, divisional and AFC championship game … I feel we’re a playoff-caliber team that has a chance to go to the Super Bowl. I think we have a chance to win it.”
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Luis Castillo thinks about being an NFL Superstar!

served by picapp.com

Luis Castillo received a new contract from the Chargers. So what kind of thoughts are going through his head?

“It really hasn’t sunk in,” said Castillo, who will make $18 million in guaranteed money and could realize $43 million in new money over the life of the deal.

“It’s something you know is coming, something you work for. When you think I’m committed to a town and a team for 10 years of my career, it’s an unbelievable feeling. It solidifies my place in this town and on the field. It’s also a huge sense of responsibility.”

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The Chargers are loaded on both sides of the ball with superstars LaDainian Tomlinson and Phillip Rivers leading the offense.

Castillo hopes to become one of those Superstars, and with 13 sacks in his 34 starts, he is well on the way.

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LaDainian Tomlinson leading the orchestra called the Chargers!

Image details: CA: San Diego Chargers Mini Camp served by picapp.com

If you are into Fantasy Football then pay close attention. Mike Harmon of Fox Sports is going to let you in a little secret of his. Go with LT. You know, LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers.

What? You already knew that? How about some of Mike’s wisdom on the subject?

1. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego
Tomlinson has ranked inside the top 10 in this category in each of his seven NFL seasons. He’s led the pack in three of the past four seasons (third in 2005), as he possesses an amazing ability to avoid lengthy injury issues despite a heavy weekly workload. The change in his blocking block might have some impact, but I believe it’s been a bit overblown. Now, I don’t expect Tomlinson to approach his ridiculous 2006 output (28 touchdowns), but he’s averaged 14.5 touchdowns per year in his six non-record breaking seasons. The No. 1 player on my board will light up the scoreboard frequently in 2008.
2007 Total: 15 touchdowns
Projected 2008 Total: 18 touchdowns

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So who does Mike rate after LT?

2. Marion Barber III, Dallas
3. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
4. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville
5. Joseph Addai, Indianapolis
5. Clinton Portis, Washington
5. Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants
Yes, that is 3 number 5’s.

Mike goes right on up to a number 13.

Controversy? No Stephen Jackson! Westbrook, a perennial favorite for fantasy owners, is way down the list. Ryan Grant in a tie at number 8?

Oh well, it is a start.

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LT runs the football for the San Diego Chargers.

He is the supreme back. LaDainian makes the Chargers the tough team to beat.

On June 23rd, LT will be 29 years old.

The NFL works almost in dog years and 29 for a running back is getting up there.

The question for the NFL and Fantasy Football team owners is at what age will production begin to tail off?

Hey, 29 does not seem too old to me. Your intrepid author would love to be 29 again, but then if you add in 7 seasons of 300 plus carries and it gets a little more problematic.

It’s true, Tomlinson will be 29 at the start of the 2008 season. While his age won’t keep him from being one of the first three backs taken in all fantasy drafts, it could be enough to make some owners take Adrian Peterson ahead of him. Tomlinson has recorded 300-plus carries in all seven seasons at the NFL level, and the injured knee he sustained late the postseason could be an indication that the wear and tear could set in soon. However, his value won’t fall until at least 2009 drafts. source

Fred Taylor

There are a lot of backs older than Tomlinson that had great seasons last year as well, like Fred Taylor. What Read more

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Tom Brady looking for the Top 10 reasons the Patriots are 18 - 0

Today the discussion will center on the Top 10 reasons the Patriots are 18 - 0 going into the Super Bowl.

Think about that, 18 - 0. Amazing!

It is still regrettable that they did not face Indianapolis and Peyton Manning, they did not face a healthy San Diego Chargers and a healthy Philip Rivers or even just a healthy LT, and they did not face 38 year old rejuvenated Brett Favre and his young aggressive Green Bay Packer defense, or even the battle tested Tony Romo with Jessica Simpson and the Dallas Cowboys.

None the less, they did play the schedule handed to them and they did go 18 - 0. Other teams have received similar breaks and did not go 18 - 0.

For our guidance in this expose, you will be turned over to Tom Pedulla, USA TODAY.

Tom brings us his Eighteen reasons why the Patriots are 18 - 0, but that is way too high a number for us to contemplate, we will just pick out 10 of them.

Your intrepid author’s comments will be in italics.

1. Ownership: Success always starts at the top. Robert Kraft rolled the dice when he hired Bill Belichick before the 2000 season after the former defensive coordinator went 36-44 with the Cleveland Browns from 1991-95 in his only previous head coaching stint. Kraft is a supportive owner who wants to win but doesn’t meddle.

As a Lions fan, it is easy to see that it all starts (or does not start) at the top.

2. Coaching: Belichick can tie former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll by winning his fourth Super Bowl. His .833 postseason winning percentage (15-3) trails only Green Bay Packers legend Vince Lombardi (.900, 9-1). Belichick might not win any popularity contests in the NFL, but he gets results.

So why did he have to cheat? Oops, did that slip out? Really, the man seems to make all the right calls and somehow keeps everyone on an even keel.

3. Quarterbacking: More than a GQ cover boy and the boyfriend of supermodels, Tom Brady is putting up Hall of Fame numbers. He set an NFL single-season record with 50 touchdown passes and franchise marks for passing yards (4,806), completion percentage (68.9) and passer rating (117.2).

If you told me coming out of UM that this guy would go into the Hall of Fame, then you would have had to be committed, as in straight jacket. True, you could see the consistency and the short pass accuracy that was phenomenal, but… Come on? Tom Brady has become nothing short of amazing.

Put it another way. Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, and Tom Brady all come to your football camp before starting their careers. Who do you draft?

4. Leadership: New England is loaded with veterans Read more

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LaDainian Tomlinson - who was that masked man?

What was going on here?

Sure the Patriots won the game against the Chargers and now will face the Giants in the Super Bowl in Arizona, but what exactly was going on?

The Chargers were not telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. In fact, far from it.

It seems that Rivers was hurt more than we thought and so was LaDainian Tomlinson.

Let’s talk Chargers and then we will finish up by talking Patriots.

Ready? Here goes.

In a shameful act of reporting, Deion Sanders questioned LT’s manhood.

Deion? Wasn’t this the guy known as a cover defensive back, because he could not really hit guys? Wimp. Who is he to question a running back of LT’s stature?

Anyway, the Chargers were pulling some fast ones on the Patriots and the public.

First, Rivers.

While confirming that he needs surgery on his torn right anterior cruciate ligament, the quarterback revealed for the first time that he had arthroscopic surgery to clean out the joint a week earlier in order to play in the AFC championship game source

While leading all of us to believe Billy Volek would play quarterback and that Philip Rivers would have to limp on to the field, Rivers was secretly having surgery to get him on the field.

Rivers, lauded by his teammates for his gutsy play, said he’d like to have surgery as soon as possible on the torn ACL. “I’ll be ready by training camp,” he said.

Now how about LT?

Tomlinson missed Wednesday’s practice but worked out the rest of the week and wasn’t mentioned on Friday’s injury report. He hurt his left knee against the Colts, with the team saying then it was hyperextended, Tomlinson said after Sunday’s game that he has a sprained medial collateral ligament.

Tomlinson said he re-injured the knee when he was hit on the first play from scrimmage against the Patriots. He carried only twice, both in the opening drive. He caught a short screen pass the following series before retiring to the sideline for good, with more than 9:45 left in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, it was announced in the press box that Tomlinson had a “sore knee” and that he “can return.”

LT may describe it as a sore knee, but no one is going to play running back with a torn MCL. No one.

Deion, who had an out, the same one that we do, thinking LT was able to play, could not leave it at that and keep flapping his big mouth.

Sanders said he was under the impression that Tomlinson was close to 100 percent. “I have expectations, and when you don’t meet my expectations, you open yourself for us to try to guess,” Sanders said. “Now what’s the problem? You’re a big-time player. And big-time players must play big-time games.”

Sanders also said he thought Tomlinson’s injury would need to warrant a surgery “for him to get a pass on this one.”

To say the least, LT was not happy about those statements.

Tomlinson said he understands that teams don’t like to let opponents know what’s going on, and that it might lead to players’ toughness being questioned.

“I think the funny thing to me is, all the things I’ve played with through my career and haven’t missed a game, now all of a sudden I’m not tough?” he said. “You think I just wanted to sit on the sideline and not go, in the championship game? You think, me? Come on, man, that’s ridiculous.”

Team’s hiding injuries? No big deal really. All part of the cat and mouse game of the NFL pregame preparations.

The Big Story is the Patriots

Maybe the bigger story here is that the Patriots, Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and the gang, did not face the Colts and Peyton Manning, Packers and Brett Favre, or the Chargers and a healthy LT. If they beat the Giants and go undefeated then years later you will only see their record and remember them as a great team.

It is not the Patriots fault, but it sure would have been nice to see them play the next 3 strongest teams. Actually, since the Colts and Chargers played each other, that could never happen, so let’s make it the next 2 strongest teams going into the playoffs.

In all fairness the Giants have to be labeled the next strongest team at this time, with a chance to be the strongest.

Will the Patriots be a team of destiny and end the season undefeated?

The Giants and Eli Manning may have some say in that!

NFL Football Fan Question Are you picking the Patriots?

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