Tomlinson became quick study....
Star back learned how to succeed by picking brains of NFL greats
UNION-TRIBUNE
December 15, 2006
K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune
LaDainian Tomlinson
Running back LaDainian Tomlinson was eager to impress in his first minicamp with the Chargers after being selected fifth overall in the 2001 NFL draft. His opportunity arrived during a passing drill, when he took a flare in the right flat and found himself alone in space with Pro Bowl linebacker Junior Seau.
In Tomlinson's mind, it was no contest. Seau had the experience, but he had the speed and the moves for a long gain. He stutter-stepped, then juked, but Seau never reacted. With nowhere to go, Tomlinson stepped out of bounds to kill the play.
After practice, Tomlinson approached Seau to ask why the linebacker didn't bite on his moves.
“He wanted to know why I didn't stop and break my momentum, because we both knew he had tremendous speed and moves,” Seau said this week. “I told him, 'There was no need to. I knew you were trapped and I was going to make sure you could only go one way, to my left, out of bounds.'
“By asking, he was trying to educate himself on what he wanted to do the next time he was in that situation. If there's anything that showed me the guy wanted more than what had been given to him, it was that day. At his first minicamp.”
A lot is being made about this being a season for the ages for Tomlinson, who last week broke Shaun Alexander's record for touchdowns in a season and Sunday could eclipse Paul Hornung's 46-year-old mark for points in a season. But the reality is, the road to immortality began with that first minicamp in 2001, not with his first game in 2006.
Unlike so many rookies who measure their stature by the size of their contracts, Tomlinson immediately showed respect for and deference to the game by acknowledging he didn't have all the answers. He knew the average player's career span was roughly three years, but he was uncertain about what enabled current and former stars such as Seau, Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, Walter Payton and Rodney Harrison to play at a high level for such a long time.
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So, he sought their guidance and peppered them with questions. If he couldn't speak to them directly – as was the case with Payton, who died of cancer in 1999 – he read their books. Sometimes he read their books and asked them questions.
“I looked at guys who had done it consistently, just year in and year out, and I wondered what it is that they do that allows them to be so great for so long,” Tomlinson said. “I think I learned a little bit from each guy. I don't think it's one particular thing that I took from them. I just tried to take something from each of them that could help me.”
On Seau: “I learned how to practice from Junior. That's probably the biggest thing, just practicing hard and really taking care of your body.”
On Smith: “Emmitt told me about the things that I needed to do for my body – the massages, the chiropractor, the cold tub. He told me about other things, too, but all the things that he said, I looked at Junior and saw him doing the massages; I saw him in the cold tub and all these different things. I was like, 'This is what Emmitt was saying, and Junior's doing it.'”
On Sanders: “Barry really taught me about my diet, my intake, that what I put into my body is what I'm going to get out of it. That was the biggest thing.”
On Harrison: “Rodney was more of helping me off the field, how to carry yourself in the community, different things like that. Not as far as, like, being respectable, but just really saying that you have to understand what the National Football League is all about. You have eyes on you. He was the one who really talked to me in that way, with me being a first-round draft choice.”
And Brown: “That the National Football League is a business and just approaching it from a business standpoint. That gives you an understanding that if anything ever does happen, like what happened with Drew (Brees), the whole mind-set is that it's a business first. I got many things from Jim, but that was one in particular.”
Tomlinson's eagerness to learn from those who helped clear the path on which he travels prompted Brown to beam with admiration. Brown remains an NFL icon and the standard by which many people measure running backs. He led the league in rushing eight of his nine seasons and retired at the top of his game in 1965, after winning his second league MVP.
He was preparing for a meeting with the governor of New Jersey yesterday when he received a call on his cell phone regarding Tomlinson. Brown couldn't have been more accommodating. He interrupted his business discussions to speak about one of his favorite young players.
“He is such a breath of fresh air and really has taken a wonderful position of leadership by showing the type of respect and dedication to the game that he has,” Brown said. “My feelings go way beyond what he's doing on the field, because we have so many young people today that are doing the opposite in terms of knowing the history and respecting the game.
“The way he conducts himself and what he's doing have value when you look at that aspect of a person's life. If I didn't feel it, I wouldn't say it. But how can you not love that this young man has done his homework?”
Seau and Tomlinson had a lot of conversations during their two seasons together before Seau was traded to Miami. Sometimes they spoke about football, other times about life. Seau even recommended the restaurant at which Tomlinson proposed to his wife, LaTorsha. Seau said one of the things that always struck him about the young star was that he was driven to be different.
“There are people that want to be great in this league, and there are people that need to be great,” Seau said. “There's a difference. LaDainian needs to be great. That's how he's wired.
“The greats take that proactive initiative of trying to seek more than what's on the table today. One thing about LT, he has a forecast of where he wants to be. He's not going to tell anybody, he's just going to work. And he knows that, eventually, after working every day you're going to get to a point where things are even bigger than you ever imagined.
“He's following the model of working today builds your tomorrow. And right now he's only scratched the surface. I'm just going to sit back and watch, then when he's done I'm going to give him a hug and say thank you.”
Jim Trotter: (619) 293-1859; jim.trotter@uniontrib.com
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