Posts Tagged ‘LaDainian Tomlinson’

April 12th, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

Send us your wounded. Send us your insane. Don't mind us. We'll just go contend for another Super Bowl.

That's what the New York Jets are thinking right now. A year ago, they traded for the embattled Cleveland Browns WR Braylon Edwards. All he did from Week 5 through the end of the season in green and white was bring in 35 receptions for 541 yards and four scores. Though those numbers are relatively pedestrian, he was certainly a big play threat for rookie QB Mark Sanchez, who needed all the help that he could get to go along with WR Jerricho Cotchery, who only caught three touchdown passes in 2010.

For lack of a better term, was this franchise out of its mind? After all, acquiring Edwards on offense seemed to do nothing but compliment a defense that was already considered a bit off its rocker. That 'D', headed up by Captain Crazy himself, HC Rex Ryan, was insistent on sending six, seven, or maybe even eight blitzers on the same play.

That "crazy" club not only made the playoffs, but after they got there, Ryan proclaimed that the Jets should be the favorites, not just to win their first round game against the Bengals, but to "win the whole darn thing."

Pardon my French, but damn was he almost right!

GM Mike Tannenbaum continued the offseason shenanigans by signing RB LaDainian Tomlinson, a man that was basically cast out of San Diego for his declining stats. Is there any doubt that LT is going to go off for a dozen touchdowns again just to spite the Chargers?

The pillaging of the Bolts continued when the Jets traded a conditional mid-round draft pick for CB Antonio Cromartie. The former first round draft pick fell out of favor in San Diego, but he is still one of the most talented defensive backs in the league. Pair him with the rising star, DB Darrelle Revis, and New York could have the most talented secondary that the NFL has seen in decades.

Now on Monday, the Jets finalized a deal that sent Pittsburgh Steelers WR Santonio Holmes to the Big Apple for a fifth round draft pick.

Holmes had a real bust out year in 2009 for the Steelers, catching 79 balls for 1,248 yards. Now, he packs his bags to New York, even though he'll have to sit out the first four games of the year after getting nailed for substance abuse.

The schedule is going to be significantly hard this year for New York than it was a year ago when it swiped the final playoff spot in the AFC. However, if you can find the right price on the Jets, they may be worth taking.

Don't let the fact that Holmes and Edwards will be suspended for the first four games of the season scare you. This is still a team that plays ridiculous defense, and DT Kris Jenkins should be back to even further nail down that defense that really became prominent in the postseason.

On top of that, it's pretty clear that Ryan isn't afraid of taking on anyone. Bring on Brady. Bring on Manning. Let's get it on with Rivers.

One thing is for certain. If Ryan can figure out how to keep his Jets just as insane as they were in 2009, with or without all of the distractions and off the field issues, there isn't going to be a team in the NFL that wants to match up with them in the 2010 NFL betting campaign.

The Jets can be found at +1500 to win the Super Bowl at Sportsbook.com.

 
February 23rd, 2010 By Andrew "Mr. Multi-Task" Ryan - Cappersinfo Contributor

 It's not often that you see a sure-fire, first ballot Hall of Famer unceremoniously released from his team at the age of 30. Yet, that's what happened on Monday when the San Diego Chargers cut RB LaDainian Tomlinson after nine years of tearing up opposing defenses.

The release was clearly something that was going to happen after the way LT's career just decayed in his last few seasons. In his first seven seasons, Tomlinson rushed for at least 1,200 yards, carried the ball at least 313 times, and touched it a minimum of 23.4 times per game. In 2008, he "only" rushed for 1,110 yards on 292 carries, and he averaged almost two fewer touches per game from his career-low at that point.

That year was a trip in comparison to 2009. San Diego only ran Tomlinson 223 times and threw him 20 passes in 14 games. His 3.3 yards per carry was easily a career-low, and his 12 total touchdowns was his fewest since his rookie campaign.

Still, when you look at LT's body of work, it's hard to see why the Chargers would cut him loose. Tomlinson has rushed for 12,490 yards and 138 touchdowns, and he also caught 530 passes for 3,955 yards and 15 more scores. You know how many players have scored 150+ touchdowns in their careers? Two: Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith.

Pretty good company, eh?

Are you paying attention, Houston Texans?

The Texans have only really had one legitimate running back in their team's history, and the signing of RB Ahman Green never really panned out. The Houston franchise has been around just one fewer year than Tomlinson, and the team's all-time leading rusher is Domanick Williams (aka Domanick Davis).

When you're talking about fans in the Lone Star State, they never forget about their college football. No, Tomlinson wasn't a Longhorn, but he was a TCU Horned Frog and is still an icon in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Remember, we're talking about fan base that booed its own team and cheered when Tennessee's QB Vince Young marched into Reliant Stadium and beat the Texans in his rookie season.

HC Gary Kubiak made no bones about the fact that he hates the running back situation for his team. RB Steve Slaton was benched for his fumbling problem before getting injured at the end of the season. Aside from that, does anyone have confidence in Chris Brown or Arian Foster or any of the other boards with angry faces that Houston is trotting out there behind QB Matt Schaub?

There's a reason that Schaub threw the ball 583 times last season. Houston ranked 30th in the NFL in rush offense.

GM Rick Smith was one of the many that came over from the Denver Broncos when Kubiak was hired in Houston. Everyone on this team is familiar with what LT can do.

This is a match made in heaven. Houston, this is your man.

Don't be surprised if that dark visor and the infamous #21 are playing in Houston when the NFL kicks off in 2010.