How so? The team just had a crushing playoff loss. The season is over. He's 31 and he knows it's tough to get back to this position. I can understand the frustration and the thought of retirement.
He is framing the crushingness in terms of his own ass- ohh I am in limbo and is sucks for me...maybe I should just retire. The implication being that the team had better move on him fast or he'll hang em up in a little hissy fit of limboness. You want to do that? Great- do it, a la Barry Sanders. Don't mope about the situation in public comments. Come on. His comments show a selfishness that those who used to LOVE that dude in San Diego finally came to acknowlege. If things don't go his way (on the field or off) he pouts.
His comments during the season in pressers were always self-absorbed, if you listened to them. I, me, I, me I. That's LT. You're not breaking news to anyone.
Definitely want him back - but he must have a reduced role. We saw what happened when he was over-used from the middle of the season. You just have to hope Schotty gets that through his skull.
You think his comments show the 'leadership' that others on here contend? Really? I bet you that many, possibly even including yourself, had noted Tomlinson's selfishness while he was a Charger- maybe even busted his nuts about it after some playoff losses to the Jets- but now have a different opinion merely because of the color of his uniform. Who is biased again?
Funny, when I read down this thread and I'd guess pretty much every other LT thread since the season started the vast majority of Jet fans have nothing but good things to say about him. In fact, it's really just you whining about him as all New England Bastards are wont to do when it comes to LT. Off you go now, Tom Bastard's fluffy little Uggs won't worship themselves.
Do you think his out of context comments in an article encapsulate his existence as a football player and teammate? LT is what he is, but by many accounts he has been an exceptional team leader for the Jets, regardless of anything that happened in San Diego. Your comments about him scream of ignorance and bias, and a sadder thing is that you are also ignorant of this simple fact.
he can come back but he is not allowed out of the locker room until the jets get the ball.this way schotty has to send s.g. in to start the game
I'll just add that I've been told by inside sources (go ahead and laugh it up) that the whiny LT routine in SD is grossly overblown and unmerited. A whole lot of that came from younger players trying to seize leadership roles and taking it out on the guy they felt just wasn't producing any more. There was no respect for his injuries from anyone but the training staff, and a few players blamed him for those injuries. Anyone who has ever seen him train in the offseason knows how seriously the man takes his body, so it's understandable to take offense to some of the shit that was going on in that locker room.
I'm not getting what you're asking- you want me to 'encapsulate' his career or just the part of it that makes him sound like an awesome New York Jet? He has a large body of work- a great player, but a poor, overly sensitive 'leader'. Look it up. I am by no means alone in my opinion of him. In the present instance, he is bemoaning the fact that he is thinking of retiring because he doesn't feel loved enough. If that works to show leadership in the locker room, then great- but, yeah, I have to admit ignorance about the effectiveness of that strategy.
If Tomlinson is willing to accept a reduced role, and knows that that's the role he will play all season long, then I want him back. Then again, I wanted him back before he made these comments.
Ooh, yeah, I'll look it up! Should I check the Pats boards, who have always hated him, or the San Diego boards, who have only hated him for the past 2 years? Face it, players can have a fresh start with another team. As a Pats fan, I would have thought you'd be able to comprehend that notion. Shame on me for giving you a chance to prove you're not a snivelling twit.
I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of Jet-centric sources referrencing his pre 2010 career. Yes, there are fresh starts and Tomlinson had a good year. The comments in question sound like a return to form to me, thats all. You disagree. Great.
Abyz, I have to disagree with your source and you on at least one point. Prior to this season there was an article quoting LT as saying that he had re-committed himself this past offseason to lifting weights and getting in better shape. In that article he was quoted as saying that he hadn't lifted weights in 2-3 seasons.
Would love LT back as long as he only gets 6-10 touches a game. Would be pretty crazy if LT and T-Rich retired this offseason. Both hall of famers who retire as Jets.
The biggest knock I have ever heard on LT, that didn't come from some Pats or San Diego person, was the injury factor. The guy was a beast for years in his prime, and it wasn't until he started to break down that people started giving him shit in San Diego - which we have seen was largely apologized for by several Charger teammates this year. Where the condescending, cheating Patriots are concerned it was because he called your organization out for what it is - classless. Sounds like sour grapes to me. We did what the Pats have done for years. Taken an end of the career vet and pumped extra mileage out of him for the good of the team.