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LT talking about hanging 'em up while he's at the Top of his game.


Guest Chappy
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Guest Chappy

I was just watching ESPN (Sportscenter) and one of the broadcasters mentioned, as one of the Top stories, that LT has talked about walking away from the game while being on top. I haven't seen the piece yet and will certainly update this when I do. However, if it's true that LT is close to retiring, how does that change the mindset of FF owners who are debating on drafting him #1 thinking that maybe LT feels as though his body might be wearing down and is therefore thinking the end is near? How about those who own him in dynasty or keeper leagues?

 

I didn't put this in the advice forum because I'm not looking for advice rather just to use as a conversation starter.

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he knows better than anybody about what sort of condition his body is in right now...

 

And that's exactly what I'm afraid of as he's talking about coming to an end.

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A lot of guys like to say that. Few of them do. It's difficult to give up football and the competition. You can't go back to it either. You only have so long to be a pro player before you are too old. Plus, there is the money . . .

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A lot of guys like to say that. Few of them do. It's difficult to give up football and the competition. You can't go back to it either. You only have so long to be a pro player before you are too old. Plus, there is the money . . .

 

he's probably made more than enough money and his heart may not be in it...

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Exact quotes- After being told how many yards he is away from passing Emmitt Smith and needing a little over 7,000 yards and about 5 more years at his current pace, he immediately cut in a said, "I might not be around that long." He then followed that up by saying that he wants to go out on top and he doesn't want to be one of those guys that gets pushed out of the league because he isn't performing at a high enough level.

 

I mean you really can't blame the guy as he's been an absolute beast for a while now but it does make you think about what's going through his mind after he suffered probably his worst injury of his career with the knee injury last year and now in the off-season is talking about going out on top. Sometimes you just wonder when hearing statements made like these, if the fire in a player's heart (in this case LT) is beginning to burn out and the production will fall off.

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he's probably made more than enough money and his heart may not be in it...

just sayin' a lot of guys say they are going to do it, and then don't. Love for the game, the camaraderie, the competition, the money, etc. all factor in and keep players in the game . . .

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Guest Chappy
A lot of guys like to say that. Few of them do. It's difficult to give up football and the competition. You can't go back to it either. You only have so long to be a pro player before you are too old. Plus, there is the money . . .

 

Very true but then I think of guys like Barry Sanders. Could LT pull a Barry and leave the game at the Top of his game and certainly years before his production would've taken a major hit because his heart just isn't in it?

 

Is the "Love" for football beginning to dwindle for LT?

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just sayin' a lot of guys say they are going to do it, and then don't. Love for the game, the camaraderie, the competition, the money, etc. all factor in and keep players in the game . . .

 

oh definitely...but his personality doesn't exactly lend itself to those traits...

 

not that his heart isn't into it...but not many RB's last this long...especially being on top and healthy for this liong...

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If he wins a Super Bowl, I might see LT being able to walk away early. But if it continues to elude him and the Chargers . . . that is a powerful pull to keep playing. Trying to "validate" you career and all . . .

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This article appeared in the SD Union-Tribune today. He may not be around in five years but don't worry about his determination to do well THIS year.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

LT'S MENTAL WOUNDS NOT HEALED

 

UNION-TRIBUNE

May 4, 2008

 

LaDainian Tomlinson has a chip on his shoulder pads that runs roughly the width of Deion Sanders' mouth.

 

It has become his constant companion, the source of a fresh sense of purpose and a lingering thirst for vindication. Fifteen weeks since his dreams were dashed and his image was impugned in the AFC Championship Game, the Chargers' brilliant running back is aching for a chance at rebuttal.

 

“I just feel like I've got something to prove again,” Tomlinson said between mini-camp practices yesterday afternoon. “Some things that people may say just drives me. I like it that way. It keeps me on edge.”

 

The sprained knee ligament that left LT a helpless spectator in New England has healed. Tomlinson is again making his customary cuts without concern for physical complications. Yet the psychic pain he has borne from being depicted as a malingerer and a mope has not subsided.

 

He still feels the sting of Sanders' reproach: “Big-time players must play big-time games.” Ever-conscious of energy conservation, Tomlinson is trying to convert some of his frustration into fuel. For me, it's just like a newfound fire and determination that I have,” he said. “It's pretty much the spillover from what happened in New England, but it's also knowing that this is the best team I've been around, the closest I've felt we've come to having a chance to winning a championship.

 

“I don't want to fall short. I don't want to sell myself short. I don't want to sell this team short. I can't afford to not say to myself: “I want to step up my game.' ”

 

Having won successive NFL rushing titles and the league's Most Valuable Player award (2006), Tomlinson would be hard-pressed to step up his game without first sprouting wings. Yet despite the toll taken by 2,365 NFL carries and 10,650 rushing yards, he would like to think that there's still more to be gained.

 

“Early, when I was on my way to the top, I ran a little bit more determined,” he said. “Back then, it was all game, and then in the fourth quarter, I'd be tired. When I knew I had Michael Turner (in reserve), I adjusted. I would still do it (run at maximum exertion) on the goal line, but I needed to make sure I saved a little bit, so I would be strong in the fourth quarter.”

 

The determination differences Tomlinson perceives are almost imperceptible on a spreadsheet. Over his first seven NFL seasons, LT has averaged 4.45 yards per carry in the first quarters of his games, against a 4.43-yard average in the fourth quarter. Yet his workload has never been as front-loaded as it was last season under Norv Turner, which could suggest a coaching concern about diminishing returns.

 

LT's 111 first-quarter carries last year were a career high; his 44 fourth-quarter carries a career low.

 

“There are two things that dictate that,” Norv Turner said. “One is that early in the season we were in some games where we were behind early. Later in the season, we were in a bunch of games where we were way ahead. I've usually been the other way, where your (starting) running back gets more carries in the fourth. But Michael Turner contributes a little bit to that, too.”

 

With Michael Turner no longer available as a grind-it-out gear shift – the Burner has found paydirt in Atlanta – Tomlinson's goal is to achieve a level of conditioning that will allow him to carry the load from the opening kickoff through the final gun.

 

“In the offseason, I usually gain weight,” he said. “This offseason, I didn't. I made sure I stayed in shape, watching what I ate all the way through.

 

“I used to say, 'You know what, I'm going to take a break. If I want to eat something, I'll eat it and I'll gain some weight.' I'd put on five or 10 pounds in the offseason. Then I'd have to lose it.”

 

Tomlinson says his competitive fire was undiminished last season, but that he sometimes sensed he had shifted to “cruise control.”

 

“In my mind, I was kind of (thinking), 'It's been easy up to this point,' ” he said. “But last year, for me, was kind of hard, especially the way we started and my numbers, playing against tough defenses and everybody focusing on trying to stop this running game. For the first time, I felt like, 'Man this is pretty tough.' Then, finally it got going and we got on a roll.”

 

Tomlinson's lasting regret about last season does not pertain to leaving the AFC Championship after four snaps, or his sideline body language that was widely interpreted as pouting. Rather, it involved an ill-fated spin move the previous week in Indianapolis, the play that imperiled his left knee in the first place.

 

“I did something stupid,” he said. “I (spun) in traffic, and as a running back you've always got to be smart out there. It would have never happened if I hadn't done that. It was stupid and it cost me.”

 

Tomlinson readily admits to a mental lapse, but he flatly rejects the premise that he could have played effectively against the Patriots. The notion that any player, much less a player of LT's stature, would prefer to sit rather than compete for a trip to the Super Bowl is so silly that it's shameful to even suggest it.

 

“I guess I had to come to the realization that sometimes things happen, sometimes it's somebody else's turn,” Tomlinson said. “It wasn't our time. It wasn't our moment. I still believe that time is going to come.”

 

During the week preceding the Patriots' game, Tomlinson had a dream about a victory celebration. The dream, he says, did not include a specific timetable.

 

“It was like the middle part of the week,” he remembered. “I was thinking to myself, 'It's going to happen.' But I was like, 'Man, Philip (Rivers) is hurt, I'm hurt, (Antonio) Gates is hurt. How can it be?' And so, maybe it wasn't this year. It could be this year coming up. I believe that.”

 

His goal is to provide proof.

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Guest Chappy

Thanks for the post Chargerz. This is the exact type of news item I wanted to see to contradict the negative feelings I got from hearing LT's responses during the "Sunday Conversation" bit on ESPN. All is right in the FF world again.

 

Let's hope LT can stay healthy and continue to perform at the highest of levels for at the very least the next couple years.

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Very true but then I think of guys like Barry Sanders. Could LT pull a Barry and leave the game at the Top of his game and certainly years before his production would've taken a major hit because his heart just isn't in it?

 

Is the "Love" for football beginning to dwindle for LT?

 

 

I think more Robert or Jimmy Smith. When he retires he wants to be able to walk and have a life. I'd say a few more years.

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Come on... it's the offseason. Nothing to see here folks...

He's just blowing smoke.

 

+1

 

The question asked related to whether he could pass Emmitt....which would take another FIVE years. All he did was say he might not be around that long, and that he wants to go out at the top (and not linger like Emmitt did). He could play for 3-5 more years, and still be at or near the top....and alos be, theoretically, past his prime.

 

nothing here that is unusual for any athlete to say...

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For Pete's sake, does "going green" even have to invade freakin' sports stories?

 

Enough already! :wacko:

 

 

Going green? Isn't that alternatives?

 

He could be talking about utilizing gas more effectively. I know I'm driving my 4 cyl more than my 350 4 barrel pickup. I also ride my bike more to local stores.

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Going green? Isn't that alternatives?

 

He could be talking about utilizing gas more effectively. I know I'm driving my 4 cyl more than my 350 4 barrel pickup. I also ride my bike more to local stores.

 

What do you do with all the bags?

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Going green? Isn't that alternatives?

 

He could be talking about utilizing gas more effectively. I know I'm driving my 4 cyl more than my 350 4 barrel pickup. I also ride my bike more to local stores.

 

Don't f'n start. Not in a football forum.

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Don't f'n start. Not in a football forum.

 

 

Conserving energy isn't about oil or natural resources. It's about being smart where you channel your energy. Running around on a football field tiring yourself out doesn't make sense.

 

It was a joke after all. :wacko:

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Conserving energy isn't about oil or natural resources. It's about being smart where you channel your energy. Running around on a football field tiring yourself out doesn't make sense.

 

It was a joke after all. :wacko:

 

I channel my energy when I watch the NFL on tv.

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Saw the interview. BOTTOM LINE FOLKS.

 

The NFL isn't the same as it was when Emmit, and IMO the greatest "never", Barry were playing the game. Defenses are faster and a lot more fierce. You have defensive lineman that are quick, strong AND 300 lbs. The hits are harder IMO. And this is the reason that injuries to running backs happen a lot more often.

 

Barry left the game when he realized he no chance of winning a Super Bowl. It just happened to be when he was at the top of his game. With free agency the way it is these days, LT may be on a 7-9 team in 2 years, only getting worse, just like the Bunguls. I give it to LT. He brings it no matter what, just like Barry. And just like Barry, He is not gonna be someones horse if there is no finish line.

 

:wacko:

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Very true but then I think of guys like Barry Sanders. Could LT pull a Barry and leave the game at the Top of his game and certainly years before his production would've taken a major hit because his heart just isn't in it?

 

Is the "Love" for football beginning to dwindle for LT?

 

Of all the RB's in the league right now. He is the one that could do it. Also the miles he have on him as well. Look at his carries and yards. They are amazing he is still doing it at this level. Its just a matter of this yr or next when you see it cut in half.

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