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Neil, like you I don't want to believe it but I think this may be the end of LT being a premier back in this league. The injuries have caught up with him over the last few years (as they have the trusty O-Line).

LT could still be useful as a back-up but cant be the 20-30 carries a game running back he once was.

Which leads me to Sproules; the Chargers have put a lot of money into him and this year are not getting anything like the production they should be. Averaging 3.4 yards a carry and one rush of over 20 yards is not enough for supposedly one of the most explosive players in the NFL and LT's successor. Do you think the Chargers regret the decision to let Michael Turner go?

Vincent Jackson (can you believe he is 3rd on reception yards and averages 96 yards per game), Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers are clearly the stars of this offense.

If you knew more about how the game is played, you wouldn't be putting this all on LT's so called degrading body. The change in the coaching staff since Marty has left has taken a lot of focus away from the running game. LT can not make big plays if the coach isn't calling the right play for it, or if the O-Line isn't doing its job. The O-Line hasn't been practicing the running plays as much as before and it shows. They have been spending more time on passer protection, and it also shows. As far as this year goes, the O-Line has been in tatters since the 1st game agains oakland. Hardwick has been out since then and is a HUGE key in creating holes up the line for LT. After all Hardwick is a 5 time pro-baller. I do agree that LTs injurys are probably worse now that he is older, but as far as his ability to break linemans ankles and pull amazing plays, it is still there; The rest of the teams just needs to step up and do their part.

Dan you're right, the Chargers are in transition from being an assured running team, to letting Rivers throw it about. I'm not buying the fact that LT is done and finished yet, but he's not the explosive force he was. The answer is to mix it up, and yes that relies on a fit offense, in particular Hardwick. The QB coaches and Rivers have to switch the mindset of "throw it Phil" to a more balanced approach. Chicago have a similar issue - a quarterback with an arm that can kill you, but with an offense that's always, always, always going to want to run it first. At the end of the day, both the Bears and Chargers are going to struggle for a winning season, let alone clinch a post season berth. Guess it's not just a case of the rest of the team stepping up, more a case of playing to your strengths. If that's a case of Rivers throwing bombs that get caught, LT might have a long wait to get close to Emmitt Smith.

very good

I disagree with Dan to the extent that the wear and tear on LT's body does have something to do with his declining production. If he were the LT of 5 years ago, even with fewer hand-offs, he'd still be ripping out regular 100yd games and scoring his share of TDs.

However I think Dan is spot on regarding the shift in approach with the Chargers offense - that they were going to use the ground game less was rather confirmed when they let Turner go to Atlanta, he was the obvious candidate to take an increasing share of the carries if the same style offense was set to continue.

LT though, what a player, and for those of us who went to Wembley last year for the Saints-Chargers, there were some memorable flashes of vintage LT. But there was also signs that he had lost some of his explosive pace, such that he now looks like a solid veteran RB, not an elite carrier.

More ruthless organisations than the Chargers might well had traded LT this off-season, provided they could sign a solid downhill unit to pair with Sproles. Maybe they will bite the bullet this season... But either way, LT will never be forgotten as probably the most complete RB of this decade.

On this weekend's game, I like the look of the Chargers. Huge motivation to win and rachet up the pressure on Denver for the AFC West title.

Coughlin no doubt has reamed his players, but no amount of old-school coaching is going to fix that secondary. Jackson, Floyd and Gates are all tall receivers, Rivers has to like every potential match-up. And the Chargers still have a ground game to be respected, so I predict long afternoon for the Giants defense.

And to the extent Eli has to go out and win this game for his team, I wouldn't want to count on it. There's also the history of how he arrived at New York, traded from San Diego in exchange for Rivers and several draft picks, and that will have to weigh on his mind if he's on the side-line watching Rivers stomp all over his Giants.

Chargers to win 31-21, Rivers to lead the celebrations.

Hey Dan, what's your beef? If Neil played for 10 years I'm sure he knows a lot more about football than your average poster on here.

I thought Tomlinson was poor last year, regardless of run protection issues or coaching changes (and giving him some leeway for the ridiculously high standard he set in 2006). This was set in stark contrast to the emergence of Sproles, playing with the same o-line and coaching (5.4 yds per carry versus Tomlinson's 3.8).

This year LT's been a virtual non-entity. Not a great leap to conclude his form is declining.

Obviously Neil's experience of 10 years in the BAFL counts as much as 10 years of playing flag football in the park. It's a chicken and egg situation to me... but the probable cause is: What does a coach do when his star RB is out of form? Start throwing plays. Not the other way around.

What I don´t like about LT was his behaviour in the AFC Championship game against the Patriots 2 seasons ago. After a few minutes he had to leave the game injured. This was bad luck and a big disappointment but did he try in some way to help his team ? No, he sat sulking on the bench the whole game through and he didn´t even take his protection mask off let alone rally he colleagues. That was the moment I realised LT plays for LT. Oh and when running backs hit 30 their tanks are usually empty.
Brandon Jacobs to have a good game, Giants 24-21.

It is sad to see that LT is no longer among the top runnning backs in the league. It is safe to say that when the chargers invested alot of money in Darren sproles it is was the beginning of the end for LT. He should of been traded last year but the fear of fans backlash was the reason for keeping him one more year.

Sure, LT is not keeping up with Peterson, Chris Johnson and the other young running backs, but it's more instructive to compare him with the other 30+ year old backs. On the yards gained this year, LT is 36th, but only Jamal Lewis (30) and Thomas Jones (31) of those above him are older than him.

Interestingly, 3 weeks ago, everyone was saying Thomas Jones was on the decline, then he ran for 433 yards in 3 games and is 5th leading rusher in NFL this year.

Neil,

I can't agree with the phrase "He has been a tremendous athlete over the years, is a wonderful role model and is a down-to-earth, all-round nice guy."

Let's cast our minds back to the AFC Divisional Playoff in 2006, when New England came from down 8 late in the 4th quarter thanks to some shocking playcalling from Marty Schottenheimer. Among others, Tomlinson showed a real lack of class in the post-game press conference accusing the Patriots players of disrespecting San Diego and showing a real lack of class, which perhaps stemmed from the head coach.

Then again, his professionalism (or lack thereof) showed through in the week following Spygate, where he accused the Patriots of "not trying if they're not cheating". This was just after the Chargers had barely scraped a win in the opening game and Tomlinson had had his worst game for a good while. As a result, the Patriots fired themselves up and opened a can of whoop-ass on San Diego strolling to a 38-14 victory and holding Tomlinson to a career-low 43 yards rushing.

Then there's the AFC Championship game in 2007, played in frosty Foxborough where Tomlinson cried off the whole game with a stubbed toe while quarterback Philip Rivers played the entire game with an ACL injury he had suffered the previous week against Indianapolis, and despite losing, earnt the respect of virtually the entire league, including I suspect many Patriots. So while I concede he is indeed a great athlete, he is sadly not the professional you make him out to be.

Good point about lorenzo neal. The fullbacks deserve a lot of the credit, e.g. tony richardson always playing second fiddle to Thomas Jones and Leon Washington at the jets.