LaDainian Tomlinson And The Chargers Are Finding Their Groove
November 25, 2009 – 12:45 am by Bunk
It’s been a nice couple of weeks for San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson. After struggling to start the year, the future Hall of Famer has looked more like the LT of old than the battered and bruised runner that he’s looked like for much of the past calendar year. First, his wife left him a note in his locker prior to the Chargers victory over Philadelphia that she was pregnant with their second child. He went out and had 96 hard fought yards and 2 touchdowns. This past week, LT carried the ball 20 times for 73 yards. Not gawdy numbers, but if you watched him run this past two weeks, you probably noticed that there’s more bounce in his step and he’s been able to get some extra yardage after contact. That’s not been the case for quite some time now. Anyway you look at it, life is good for LT and the San Diego Chargers. They’ve won five in a row and now have Denver in their rear view mirror in the AFC West.
Tomlinson joined XTRA Sports 1360 in San Diego to talk about the resurgence in his play, how the Chargers offense is just now finding its rhythm in the running game, being named to the Chargers 50th anniversary team, keeping his streak of 1,000 yard rushing seasons alive, and the entertaining touchdown dances by two of his teammates during last Sunday’s victory over Denver.
On the better balance San Diego’s offense has displayed of late:
“I think we’re showing that we can be balanced. If you think about it, we’re just now really starting to get in to a rhythm with the run game. You know, I talk about a rhythm sometimes, I mean getting the runs, being able to run it 20+ times, being able to come out and hit people in the mouth, being able to lay on guys in the 4th quarter and still be to run that football. You know, that’s they rhythm that we talk about and we just now are starting to be able to do that the past few weeks.
On keeping his streak alive of having a 1,000+ yard rushing season in each of his NFL seasons and on whether that’s important to him:
“You know, the biggest thing is just winning. I really don’t care about the numbers, you know, the 1,000 yards and touchdowns and all that stuff. The biggest number is winning. But you know, at the end of the day, you want that to be something where it’s an accomplishment, something you can say that you did. So obviously it’s something you say you want to accomplish it, but if it doesn’t come with winning then it doesn’t matter. But having it come with winning, that’s what’s special.”
Of what team or teams concern him the most in the AFC:
“You know, I think it’s just the same guys that show up every year in the playoffs. It’s the Colts, it’s the Patriots, it’s the Steelers, it’s the Ravens. These are the teams every year that show up in the playoffs that you got to go through. So that’s how I look at it.”
On being named to the Chargers 50th Anniversary Team and on getting to spend some time around the legends who came before him:
“Obviously I was excited and honored to be on the team. You know, when you talk about 50 years, that’s half a century. So it’s special. You know, all these guys that have come through - thousands of guys that have come through the San Diego Chargers organization – to be named to the 50 Greatest is definitely an honor and you’re humbled by it. And the second part of that is being around them guys; the guys that have been named or came before you. The guys that you see as you walk down the hallway; their pictures are on the wall, you see their names in the stadium. It’s a special thing to be a part of. And I love to hear their stories of when they played, and what it was like when they played, because you learn about how the game has evolved. And as a guy who loves the history of the game, that’s more special to me, you know how the game has evolved, than anything.”
On the touchdown celebrations of his teammates Legedu Naanee and Mike Tolbert:
“Well, the Mile High Salute was classic. That’s a classic celebration and you know, it was right for the situation. You know with Mike Tolbert, the guy’s from Atlanta, so if you know anything about hip hop these days, they doing all kinds of dancing, stinky leg, stanky leg and all that kind of stuff that they do. You know, it originated mostly from Atlanta. So Mike’s just showing his roots, he’s showing where he’s from. I like it though because he’s a good dancer. If he was terrible then we’d let him know, but he’s probably the best dancer on our team.”
Listen here to LT with Josh and Jeff on XTRA Sports 1360 in San Diego
Tags: AFC playoff picture, Chargers in 1st place in AFC West, Denver Broncos, LaDanian Tomlinson, Philip Rivers
