LaDainian Tomlinson used to be the best running back on the planet, and in 11 NFL seasons, he’s seen some chemistry issues in his team’s locker room. Nothing, though, compares to the problems the Jets had this past season.
“It is as bad as I’ve ever been around, honestly,” Tomlinson said on Inside The NFL, according to The Associated Press. “And I’ve been around some locker rooms and quarterback-receiver situations and what-not. But it was as bad as I’ve been around. … [Things got] out-of-hand toward the end of the season.”
The clash between quarterback Mark Sanchez and receiver Santonio Holmes was well-publicized after Holmes, a team captain, was benched during the Jets’ Week 17 loss. Tomlinson’s strongest words came when explaining why such a situation came about.
“This is the type of football team that they wanted. [General manager] Mike Tannenbaum, [head coach] Rex Ryan are both brash, in-your-face type of style — say whatever you want, just get it done on the field. And then it leads to other things, as guys are calling each other out and saying, ‘I’m not getting the ball’ or whatever it may be.”
Tomlinson also said “I love playing for Rex” but thinks the Super Bowl talk every year makes life more difficult for his team.
“I don’t mind every now and again saying we are going to win a championship,” Tomlinson told Showtime said. “Maybe at the beginning of the year just saying, ‘Hey, our goal is to win a championship.’ But at the same time every week if you are calling out a team on certain things, I think it puts a little extra on your team. Guys really want to go out there and say, ‘Let’s shut this guy up. Let’s shut these Jets up, just end their season.'”
Tomlinson is a free agent and he may retire. While Vegas doesn’t have the numbers on it, you can bet his odds to return to the Jets might be somewhere around 10 million-to-1.
Photo of the day
Do you respect Tomlinson more for speaking out against the loudmouth Jets, or is this just LaDainian being whiny?
Quote of the day
“I’m actually going to bring him some soup tomorrow. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he is at full strength.”
–Giants offensive lineman Chris Snee, on how he’ll help quarterback Eli Manning recover from a stomach bug
Tweet of the day
Something tells me the UGGS folks don’t want this face on their posters … unless they change the company name to UGG-LEE.
