The best thing about LaDainian Tomlinson is he appreciates history while he’s making it. This is unusual for any modern athlete, but San Diego’s running back is unusual in many ways. His coach, Marty Schottenheimer, calls him the best football player he ever has seen and Schottenheimer knows history too.
“The more I was around him, the more I became convinced he is the best I’ve ever seen,” Schottenheimer said. “My timeline goes back to probably Jim Brown. I imagine that there were some terrific backs before that, but Jim Brown was the guy I always viewed as being the best all time. Certainly, you can make an argument for it either way. LaDainian brings just versatility to everything that we do because he can run, catch and throw it. He is a good pass protector. He is really the complete running back.”
In that respect, Tomlinson would be more like Walter Payton than Brown, because Payton did more things better than Brown, who was the better runner but never was asked to block like Payton. And Tomlinson credits Payton as being a big influence.
“He was the reason I wanted to play running back, and so seeing him at an early age, I think I was 5 years old or something, there was something about him that I was drawn to,” Tomlinson said.
“Walter was able to do anything you asked him to do on the field. He played the game so unselfishly. When he ran the football, you obviously knew how special he was, but even when he blocked, when he caught the football, even seeing him throwing the football, that’s what made him such a special player.”
Tomlinson was only 6 when the Bears played in Super Bowl XX. Tomlinson says he remembers when Payton didn’t score in the 46-10 rout over New England because coach Mike Ditka allowed defensive tackle William Perry to score instead, an oversight Ditka himself later regretted.
“Of course,” Tomlinson said when asked if he was upset about the snub. “As a kid, as your idol, you want him to score a touchdown. It’s the Super Bowl. Everybody is watching the game, and I definitely wanted him to score a touchdown.
“I tried to pattern my game the same way, saying, `That’s the way you play football.’ I’m a running back, but yet still I can do anything that a coach asks me to do out on the football field.”
Brown retired 13 years before Tomlinson was born, but L.T. knows about him too.
“I admire runners because that’s what I do and I think there’s an art to it,” Tomlinson said. “There are no two runners that are alike, pretty much. Every guy has his own style. Some stick out more than others. Jim Brown was obviously a guy who really stuck out, not only because of his size and strength, but the way he was able to move just because he is a big guy. He was able to move in and out of the hole, cutting, and it was just awesome to see him run.”
Tomlinson just broke Brown’s five-game record of 14 touchdowns by scoring 15. Even if he doesn’t score Sunday night in Denver, he would share the six-game record with Brown (1958) and Jerry Rice (1987).
“It’s kind of an unreal situation because when you talk about Jim Brown and what he has meant to not only me but a lot of other guys, it’s kind of like a heroic figure that you have in a guy like Jim Brown,” Tomlinson said. “Just to be mentioned and to break his record, I mean, it’s just a great accomplishment. It’s one of the biggest things that later on in your life you can brag to your kids about.”
Tomlinson ran into Brown in the tunnel before the Browns played the Chargers two weeks ago.
“I will never forget the moment of meeting him,” Tomlinson said. “He said I had a great career so far and [said] to stay healthy. The guy inspired me a lot. To me he was the best combination of power and speed. He was phenomenal. But walking around the corner and seeing him. . . . I’m there thinking to myself, `My goodness, that is Jim Brown.’ The first thing I do is go and shake his hand and say, `Hey, I appreciate you inspiring me to be a running back.'”
The playoffs
Here’s how the playoffs would set up if they began now and higher seeds, all playing at home, won each game:
NFC wild-card games–Seattle beats Atlanta, Giants beat Philadelphia.
Division games–New Orleans beats Seattle, Bears beat Giants.
Title game–Bears beat New Orleans.
AFC wild-card games–Baltimore beats Jacksonville, New England beats San Diego.
Division games–Denver beats Baltimore, Indianapolis beats New England.
Title game–Indianapolis beats Denver.
Big shoulders
Rule of thumb for this season: If your quarterback has shoulder surgery, never fear. New Orleans’ Drew Brees and the Jets’ Chad Pennington both are playing well following off-season shoulder surgery.
Pennington is the picture of health despite undergoing his second shoulder surgery last year, a procedure many believed would end his Jets career.
Against the Bears, Pennington will be starting his 10th consecutive game for the first time since the 2002 season, his first year as a starter.
“I don’t take it for granted anymore,” he said. “I don’t worry about Week 14 or Week 15. I know how finite this game can be.”
Pennington missed all but three games last season after the shoulder injury put his career in jeopardy. He missed three games in 2004 with another problem in the right shoulder. He missed the first six games in 2003 after fracturing his left wrist in the preseason.
In Brees’ last two games, he has thrown for 712 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Strange match
The quarterback duel between the Colts’ Peyton Manning and the Cowboys’ Tony Romo on Sunday sounds like a mismatch. But Manning is ranked No. 1 in the NFL in passer rating at 104.5 and Romo is ranked No. 2 at 101.2.
Since Romo was made a starter three weeks ago, he has thrown only one interception.
“It’s a learning deal,” Romo said. “I’m not going to make all the right decisions all the time. I’m trying to cut down the bad decisions. I’m trying to make it so there are very few of them.”
Said Colts coach Tony Dungy of the Romo effect: “They are making plays outside the design of the offense.”
Leinart down
In Matt Leinart’s first two starts with Arizona, beginning with the Bears’ game, his passer rating was a stellar 90.0 and his completion percentage was 59.7.
In his three starts since then, Leinart’s passer rating is a dismal 41.8 and his completion percentage is only 41.
“I’m not going to be Peyton Manning in two weeks, tearing apart defenses,” Leinart said. “That’s not how the game is.
“I feel I’m struggling, but it’s a learning experience. A lot of young quarterbacks have gone through it in the past. I’m hoping to go through this [and] a year from now be laughing at this whole thing.”
QB changes
There are 11 teams that have started a backup quarterback this season–six because of injuries (Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Oakland, Tampa Bay, Seattle, Jacksonville) and five because of poor play (Tennessee, Miami, Arizona, Dallas, Washington).
After the Redskins benched Mark Brunell for Jason Campbell, Brunell said: “We’re 3-6 and when the offense isn’t producing, the person who naturally gets the blame is the quarterback. Fair or not, that’s the way it is. Football is a great game, but it’s a horrible business.”
———-
dpierson@tribune.com
