Is LaDainian Tomlinson washed up? (1 Viewer)

[wudaben]

San Diego's O line got manhandled last night and neither sproles or LT looked great although LT was making a few nice cuts to make people miss. The biggest difference was that during the two minute drill San Diego/Sproles took advantage of the prevent defense to make a very nice run. I think LT will be fine, not great.

 

[tommyGunZ]

guys the SD Oline stinks, and now with 2 starters injured will be even worse. I preached this all pre-season. So given LT's legs are tired (thanks marty). and the Oline stinks.Time to looks elsewhere. If he cant light up Oakland anymore he's in troubleand this all kills me to say

I think we have to give some credit to Oakland's DL here. Adding Ellis and Seymour is big.

 

[chocolate bomber]

2008 deja vu. Sad day, but LT2 is a high-upside RB2 in non-ppr leagues at this point. If you took him in the first round, you're in trouble and don't listen to the "week 1" dreamers. It's over, Johnny.

 

[Wadsworth]

LT was on the bench with the game on the line and you have to ask? I doubt he is totally done as a fantasy or real NFL force, but when he's watching from the sidelines as his team drives down the field for the win without him I think the answer to the OPs question is pretty obvious.

A: He wasn't in the game

B: The drives was successful without him in the game and Sproles was a key part of that drive including scoring the winning TD.

C: You connect the dots

 

[perry147]

guys the SD Oline stinks, and now with 2 starters injured will be even worse. I preached this all pre-season. So given LT's legs are tired (thanks marty). and the Oline stinks.Time to looks elsewhere. If he cant light up Oakland anymore he's in troubleand this all kills me to say

I think we have to give some credit to Oakland's DL here. Adding Ellis and Seymour is big.

Oakland DL played outstanding - but LT still did not look like the LT of old.

 

[Gargoylez]

guys the SD Oline stinks, and now with 2 starters injured will be even worse. I preached this all pre-season. So given LT's legs are tired (thanks marty). and the Oline stinks.Time to looks elsewhere. If he cant light up Oakland anymore he's in troubleand this all kills me to say

I like when I see fans of a team keep it real.One thing you have to acknowledge, teh Raiders have a good Dline, so yes maybe the oline stinks, but the Oaklands Dline is actually pretty good... so hopefully it will be a combination of both?

 

[sho nuff]

LT was on the bench with the game on the line and you have to ask? I doubt he is totally done as a fantasy or real NFL force, but when he's watching from the sidelines as his team drives down the field for the win without him I think the answer to the OPs question is pretty obvious. A: He wasn't in the gameB: The drives was successful without him in the game and Sproles was a key part of that drive including scoring the winning TD.C: You connect the dots

C. I did...Sproles is the better receiver right now...they were going to throw for the most part and not run...and LT's ankle was not good.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

I don't think Sproles is a better receiver. He may be a better open-field runner after the catch.

But Tomlinson runs better routes and has better hands.

 

[sho nuff]

I don't think Sproles is a better receiver. He may be a better open-field runner after the catch.But Tomlinson runs better routes and has better hands.

Good point.I was talking more about Sproles being more explosive as you said being a better open field runner. Pretty well needed late in a game like that.

 

[renesauz]

He is thirty, rushed for nearly 12,000 yards and had 9 very tough years....yes he is on the downswing, which was fairly apparent last year. Still a good back, but in no way an elite RB. He will be splitting time all season. He may still break 1000 yards and get 8-10 TD's.

This. His days as an elite back are over, but he has enough to be effective when healthy. Those who took him in the first are in trouble, but he is far from "useless" in fantasy terms. Oakland played inspired.

 

[Steady Mooobin]

Biggest Emmitt Smith fan there is, so this makes me happy.

Thought he would threaten Emmitt's TD record (For rushing TD's), hopefully he doesn't get a 2nd 3rd wind.

 

[Fat Nick]

I don't know whether to feel good or bad about the high ankle sprain theory.

1) At least I know he WOULD get carries if he was healthy

2) Now I don't know if his carries will be effective because he's hurt again.

Either way, he cost me my FF game last night. Gotta love finishing with the 2nd highest point total and losing by 5.

 

[craxie]

LT had 4.2 yards per rush, better than SP favorites Portis (3.9), Chris Johnson (3.8), Felix Jones (3.7), Turner (3.0), Brandon Jacobs (2.9), DeAngelo Williams (2.6), Forte (2.2), Slaton (1.9), and Gore (1.4)

Are they all washed up too?

Sproles had 2.6

Then LT rolled his ankle. He was done for the game, but no reason to think it will linger till next week.

 

[billjohnson]

Well, as much as I hate the ankle sprain...at least there was an actual reason for Sproles getting so much game action. But the "high" in high ankle sprain really scares me. This injury can linger....and linger.....and linger....and linger....well, you get the picture.

Holla,

Bill

 

[caglassc]

High ankle sprain.

"It wasn't bad enough where I couldn't play," Tomlinson said. "Toward the end it really got tight on me. We were in two-minute (offense). Darren is very good at that, so it was a no brainer."

This quote from LT a few weeks back......Speaking to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times, Tomlinson flashed jealousy about a recent Sporting News article in which Jim Brown interviewed Adrian Peterson.

"I was sitting there reading it thinking, 'Wow,' " Tomlinson told Farmer. "The difference with me is you can put me out on that field and there will be nothing I can't do. I won't have to come off the field. Adrian has to come off sometimes on third down. Running routes, he's still not there yet. Great downhill runner, powerful, fast, all that stuff. . . .

 

[The Moz]

Fact is Sproles is a demon as a reciever out of the backfield. I would say i like Sproles to put up similar numbers to LT in PPR. LT hasn't lost a step he has lost 2 or 12. He really looks nothing like the back he used to be. If I was Norv I go to a pass first offense and use Sproles primarily and then go to LT when it's time for obvious runs. Sproles is a great passign game RB and draw back.

 

[smcindoe]

Watching this game as a long-time LT owner I wanted to see two things: 1.) How's LT look? 2.) How's the OL look?

For #1, he looked OK. Not great. Certianly not "LT 2006" great. But not bad. He looked like a 4.0 ypc back, which is worth having.

#2 scares the hell out of me. For all the talk last year about LT being banged up or losing a step or whatever it was, too many people missed the fact that the OL was awful. I don't care who you are, if you have three guys on you as soon as you take the handoff you're not going to put up numbers. The Chargers OL seemed to go from great to terrible in one year and I was hoping it was a fluke. Now I don't think it was.

I'm worried.

 

[TobiasFunke]

LT had 4.2 yards per rush, better than SP favorites Portis (3.9), Chris Johnson (3.8), Felix Jones (3.7), Turner (3.0), Brandon Jacobs (2.9), DeAngelo Williams (2.6), Forte (2.2), Slaton (1.9), and Gore (1.4)

Are they all washed up too?

Sproles had 2.6

Then LT rolled his ankle. He was done for the game, but no reason to think it will linger till next week.

Don't forget about a goal-line carry for a TD, and on first down at that. I can't believe there's 32 posts in here and not one discusses the fact that LT got the Chargers only goal-line touch, and that he converted it on his first chance. People in the shark pool obsess about who will get the goal line carries, and here's a guy that likely is gonna get almost all the goal-line carries for his team as long as they're not in hurry-up mode (Sproles is just too small) AND will get a ton of other touches besides.

He's not the awe-insipring talent he once was, and he's not a fantasy superstar, but if he stays healthy-big if, I know- I imagine he'll finish in the top ten or thereabouts in RB fantasy scoring.

 

[BaBastage]

17	25	1	 18	43	0	 22	62	0

Do you ever give detailed posts? Or do you just give vague statements in hopes people can read your mind?

188?Yeah, I have no idea what sequence that was either.

 

[davearm]

The ankle thing is a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, it explains why LT was out of the game in crunch time.

On the other, it's "here we go again," since being nicked up is what killed LTs numbers last year.

 

[hostile]

LT was on the bench with the game on the line and you have to ask? I doubt he is totally done as a fantasy or real NFL force, but when he's watching from the sidelines as his team drives down the field for the win without him I think the answer to the OPs question is pretty obvious.

A: He wasn't in the game

B: The drives was successful without him in the game and Sproles was a key part of that drive including scoring the winning TD.

C: You connect the dots

He rolled his ankle in Q1. Despite the fact that he said he could have played, he didnt, which says to me that we have another possible "lingering injury"...

 

[Clifton]

Michael Turner and Deangelo Williams are washed up as well.

 

[JaxJokers]

The ankle thing is a double-edged sword.On the one hand, it explains why LT was out of the game in crunch time.On the other, it's "here we go again," since being nicked up is what killed LTs numbers last year.

Yeah, because everyone knows that once a RB reaches 30, the chances of rolling an ankle are much greater. Young RB's never roll an ankle.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

I think a lot of people have a fictionalized, idealized memory of LT from 2006. He wasn't superhuman that year. He got yards when there was a hole, and didn't get yards when there wasn't. Not so much different from last night (when he was on the field).

He's probably not the same back he was three years ago. (After all, who is the same at 30 as at 27?) But I wouldn't point to last night's game for evidence of that. Last night, to me, he looked about the same. (He definitely looked better than he did last year when he couldn't cut.)

He needs more carries before we can really evaluate him. Which means he needs to stay healthy. We'll see . . .

 

[chocolate bomber]

Do a search for this same thread from 2008. Rinse and repeat.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Do a search for this same thread from 2008. Rinse and repeat.

And 2007.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

17	25	1	18	43	0	22	62	0

For those who don't recognize them, those are Tomlinson's rushing numbers from the first three games in 2007, when nearly everybody was saying he'd clearly lost a step and was probably washed up.He finished the year as the #1 fantasy RB, averaging 4.7 yards per carry on the season.

 

[Kuz]

17	25	1	18	43	0	22	62	0

For those who don't recognize them, those are Tomlinson's rushing numbers from the first three games in 2007, when nearly everybody was saying he'd clearly lost a step and was probably washed up.He finished the year as the #1 fantasy RB, averaging 4.7 yards per carry on the season.

you really think that is relative. Not saying LT will be a bust but he sure looks like he's lost a step since 2007..

 

[davearm]

The ankle thing is a double-edged sword.On the one hand, it explains why LT was out of the game in crunch time.On the other, it's "here we go again," since being nicked up is what killed LTs numbers last year.

Yeah, because everyone knows that once a RB reaches 30, the chances of rolling an ankle are much greater. Young RB's never roll an ankle.

Huh? The odds of LT rolling an ankle is not the issue at all. It's already happened.

 

[fsufan]

i saw a bad run blocking O line.

 

[chocolate bomber]

Those numbers are great, but my regular season is only 13 weeks long and when the guy you've probably spent a first rounder on puts up single digits for the first few weeks, you're probably toast by week 4. Unless you were smart enough to "overreact and bench your stud" after one or two bad weeks. This turkey is done as an elite ff back. Nice solid rb2 with some upside, if you can figure out when to start him.

 

[Dexter Manley]

I'm an LT owner in one league (drafted him in the bottom half of the 2nd round, ppr league), and the only thing I'm concerned about is his ankle injury. There were reports he was limping around the locker room pretty badly after the game.

For the people who drafted LT in the first round, I think they have reason to be worried, because imo they overvalued him, and thus didn't draft optimally.

 

[thehornet]

I am not an LT owner and I shockingly have never owned him in any league ever. Wow, that's actually crazy looking back on it.

I loath LT, but even I am saddened by his downfall. There is no denying he was one of the best ever fantasy football assets. he will be missed, like him or hate him.

good day

 

[JaxJokers]

Question, let's say your draft was today, and you had the 5th pick, after seeing all the football from this past weekend, who would you take? Assuming Peterson, Jones-Drew, Forte and Turner were the first 4 picks. I think it's too early to "jump ship" that Tomlinson won't finish in the top 10 for RB's this year. All drafts had the next few RB's being either Tomlinson, S. Jackson, Deangelo, Chris Johnson, Slaton or Gore. Did any of these do considerably better? Did Fitz, Andre, Calvin or Moss do anything to show they warranted an early first round choice?

 

[Trap Play]

One game into the season and LT is a GTD (game-time decision).

Per Rotoworld:Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson (ankle), C Nick Hardwick (knee), G Louis Vasquez (leg), and NT Jamal Williams (undisclosed) are all expected to be game-time decisions on Sunday.Coach Norv Turner doesn't expect any of the injured players to practice on Wednesday, so we won't have a good idea on their status until Thursday at the earliest. Tomlinson rolled his ankle in the first quarter Monday night, and he's already looking to lose work to Darren Sproles even if he does play. He could also be without two starting offensive linemen.

LT

 

[thehornet]

One game into the season and LT is a GTD (game-time decision).

Per Rotoworld:Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson (ankle), C Nick Hardwick (knee), G Louis Vasquez (leg), and NT Jamal Williams (undisclosed) are all expected to be game-time decisions on Sunday.Coach Norv Turner doesn't expect any of the injured players to practice on Wednesday, so we won't have a good idea on their status until Thursday at the earliest. Tomlinson rolled his ankle in the first quarter Monday night, and he's already looking to lose work to Darren Sproles even if he does play. He could also be without two starting offensive linemen.

LT

OUCH

 

[Multiple Scores]

LT = Bust

 

[fsufan]

One game into the season and LT is a GTD (game-time decision).

Per Rotoworld:Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson (ankle), C Nick Hardwick (knee), G Louis Vasquez (leg), and NT Jamal Williams (undisclosed) are all expected to be game-time decisions on Sunday.Coach Norv Turner doesn't expect any of the injured players to practice on Wednesday, so we won't have a good idea on their status until Thursday at the earliest. Tomlinson rolled his ankle in the first quarter Monday night, and he's already looking to lose work to Darren Sproles even if he does play. He could also be without two starting offensive linemen.

LT

if he is hurt this bad he is done. as an LT owner I hope they sit him for a while. I have sporles and will not have to worry who to start

 

[ttea]

Question, let's say your draft was today, and you had the 5th pick, after seeing all the football from this past weekend, who would you take? Assuming Peterson, Jones-Drew, Forte and Turner were the first 4 picks. I think it's too early to "jump ship" that Tomlinson won't finish in the top 10 for RB's this year. All drafts had the next few RB's being either Tomlinson, S. Jackson, Deangelo, Chris Johnson, Slaton or Gore. Did any of these do considerably better? Did Fitz, Andre, Calvin or Moss do anything to show they warranted an early first round choice?

Certainly I don't see who else you would take over him. Especially in PPR, I'm quite surprised he only had 1 target all game. I was considering Moss over him in the first round. But it didn't feel right with the my league scoring. 1 point per 5 yards rushing.

 

[Klimtology]

I missed the game last night, but now I'm starting to worry.

I drafted Tomlinson with my first round pick in FF!

Time to trade him?

TIA

 

[ttea]

I missed the game last night, but now I'm starting to worry.I drafted Tomlinson with my first round pick in FF! Time to trade him?TIA

Sports talk radio over-reacts worse than this board. And clearly less knowledgeable, especially fat Mike.Whether he's right or wrong, who knows.But clearly an over-reaction, it's wait and see.

 

[MCguidance]

Not the first time I heard it today. Multiple stations said that in some sort of form: He is a good back, but no longer elite; he doesnt have the burst like he did before, etc.

I think it's dangerous to write off a guy this good this fast. But is he in the tail of his prime, yes.

 

[az_prof]

No offense to the OP, but who is Mike Francessa and why should I revere his opinion? I don't have LT and I don't know if he will be a "big time back" again or not, but this guy is just stating his opinion.

 

[jackdubl]

If you couldn't figure out he was just "good" by now you haven't been watching football.

 

[bostonfred]

He's Mike. No, not that Mike, the other one. Well, not the one on the same show, the other one. The one who used to be on that show but then left it. You know, Mike.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

If you did want to trade him, I would wait until he has a good game and/or not an ankle injury. You might get better value in exchange.

 

[thehornet]

He's Mike. No, not that Mike, the other one. Well, not the one on the same show, the other one. The one who used to be on that show but then left it. You know, Mike.

 

[Doug B]

Doesn't it seem pretty much impossible for LT to return to his prime, though? When was the last time a long-time elite back started getting hurt and started losing a step ... and then reversed it all and re-achieved elite status? I can't recall it ever having been done.

 

[EBF]

The writing has been on the wall for the last 1-2 seasons. LT is no longer an elite NFL back. He can still be a valuable player for the Chargers, but he's not going to make the jaw-dropping runs of his youth. Sproles is clearly quicker and more explosive at this point.

 

[EdwardCat]

I am not an LT owner and I shockingly have never owned him in any league ever. Wow, that's actually crazy looking back on it.

I loath LT, but even I am saddened by his downfall. There is no denying he was one of the best ever fantasy football assets. he will be missed, like him or hate him.

good day

For what reason do you loathE LT?