LaDainian Tomlinson News

"Not only do Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson expect to be 100 percent by the start of the season, fans might actually get to see Tomlinson in action before the Sept. 7 opener."

"LaDainian Tomlinson had an additional MRI on his left knee Tuesday that revealed his playing even just four snaps in the AFC Championship Game further damaged it. He will require additional time for his sprained medial collateral ligament to heal, though he said surgery is still not required."

" Please, spare us the nonsense. Unless you can show me your medical degree and tell me when you examined Tomlinson, or you've got a tape with the running back secretly confessing that he just didn't feel like playing Sunday, then your assertion that he should have 'gutted it out' is based solely on the enormity of your overactive imagination."

"In the wake of their season's end, the Chargers' big three offensive players face a challenging offseason of rehabilitation, with one certain to have surgery, one not needing it, and one a definite maybe. And it's the one not needing surgery, LaDainian Tomlinson, who departed on Monday feeling the most frustrated. "

"No L. T. No TD. If that seemed like a logical place to start the postmortem, after the Chargers failed to score a touchdown in a game that LaDainian Tomlinson, their offensive motor and scoring machine, sputtered to the sidelines, well, the team insisted it was just a coincidence."

"LaDainian Tomlinson went down after two plays, while Philip Rivers went down in history at least in the minds of his teammates."

"In the end, Tomlinson lasted only two series while Rivers went the distance, completing 19 of 37 passes for 211 yards as the Chargers lost, 21-12, at Gillette Stadium."

"They tried to play down his absence, the fact LaDainian Tomlinson was standing on the sideline injured instead of carrying the ball in this AFC championship game. "

"Just over a year ago, an emotionally devastated LaDainian Tomlinson was reduced to tears when the Patriots upset the San Diego Chargers in the AFC playoffs and celebrated by dancing on what apparently was a sacred, midfield lightning bolt at Qualcomm Stadium."

"The outlook seemed promising for tailback LaDainian Tomlinson. The NFL's regular season rushing leader underwent an MRI exam and said during a news conference at the Chargers' training facility that the injury he suffered during Sunday's 28-24 triumph over the Indianapolis Colts was nothing more serious than a hyperextended left knee and that he expects to play against the Patriots."

"The severity of LaDainian Tomlinson's and Philip Rivers' knee injuries is still uncertain, but both stars expressed confidence they would be able to play in next week's AFC title game at New England."

"They watched yesterday's comeback from the sideline, but San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers and running back LaDainian Tomlinson figure they'll be back in action against the Patriots Sunday in the AFC Championship game."

"After the Titans dared Philip Rivers to beat them last week, the Chargers quarterback said every team had and would try the same strategy for as long as LaDainian Tomlinson was behind him. The Indianapolis Colts will be no different. "

"Philip Rivers didn't take it personally. Just because Tennessee dared the San Diego quarterback to win the game with his arm. Just because the Titans threw everything in their book at Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, forcing Rivers to make the big plays. "

"Normally, LaDainian Tomlinson lets his game do his talking, and it can be quite eloquent. But Tomlinson felt obliged to speak up when the Chargers were floundering earlier this season. Maybe it helped turn things around."

"It was just another milestone rushing performance from San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson on Sunday."

"There's nothing wrong with L.T., though. His offensive numbers have fallen significantly from last year, when the Chargers went 14-2 before losing to New England in their first playoff game. Tomlinson set a league record with 28 rushing touchdowns last year."

"If you take into account such things as consistency, longevity, production and jaw-dropping ability, LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers is the most dangerous running back in the NFL. But that is not what worries Detroit Lions linebacker Boss Bailey the most."

"Battered but ecstatic, they both smiled wide. This one felt good, even as the Chargers limped from LP Field after a 23-17 overtime victory against the Tennessee Titans. "

"It's probably too late to prevent a furor among Chargers fans, but LaDainian Tomlinson says there's nothing between him and Philip Rivers."

"Yesterday was different. With two touchdowns in the Chargers' 24-10 victory over the Chiefs, Tomlinson tied and then passed Walter Payton on the list of those with the most all-time rushing touchdowns. Tomlinson is now third, with 111. "

"A week ago, San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson joked that joining the 10,000-yard signaled only that he was getting old. Sunday, when he reached another milestone in a 24-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, however, it was no joking matter."

"Before LaDainian Tomlinson won the NFL rushing title last season, doing so was among his biggest goals. He wanted to be known as a running back more than an all-around back. He appears now to have developed a deeper appreciation for his overall job. "

" The first 10,000 yards must be the easy part because no running back has ever reached 20,000. If LaDainian Tomlinson is to be the first man to get there, he's probably going to need to pick up his pace. "

"Hey, it's a milestone, not a millstone. Cheer up. LaDainian Tomlinson seemed absolutely sobered by the idea that he has been around the NFL long enough — seven years — to gain 10,000 rushing yards."

"The boos that accompanied him off the field on the game's first three drives had given way to cheers. It was one pass. And yesterday's 32-14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens was one game. But the weight of 1,000 unfulfilled expectations had been lifted from the Chargers quarterback. "

"LaDainian Tomlinson has almost never been used (or not used) like this. Tomlinson carried the ball just 16 times for 62 yards yesterday and now has 192 rushes for 795 yards this season, his second-lowest rush and yardage total through 10 games in his seven-year career. "

"Just in case the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense needed a little extra incentive to prepare for the man widely considered the NFL's top running back, here's a number to focus on this week. San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson is 91 yards shy of becoming the 22nd running back to rush for 10,000 yards."

" The object of the admiration was running back LaDainian Tomlinson, the San Diego Chargers player most likely to be on the mind of the Indianapolis Colts this evening at Qualcomm Stadium."

"One player has been to four Pro Bowls, won an NFL rushing title and Most Valuable Player Award and set single-season league records for touchdowns and rushing TDs. The other has played in seven NFL games. "

"LaDainian Tomlinson was the third running back born in Texas to be named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. In another decade or so he's likely to become the sixth running back from Texas to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame."

"Dunta Robinson was focused on film of San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson when he sensed jaws dropping around him."

"LaDainian Tomlinson ran with the greatest of ease for 198 yards and four touchdowns. The Chargers' 3-4 defense pass-rushed to their six-sack fill and San Diego coach Norv Turner stuck it to his former team. Chargers 28, Raiders 14, just like old times."

"San Diego Chargers coach Norv Turner admitted that he had no idea why LaDainian Tomlinson saves his best games for the Raiders. 'If I knew that I would have done something about it a couple of years ago,' Turner said after the Chargers beat the Raiders 28-14 on Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium."

"The Raiders went back to Art Shell days of 2006, complete with turnovers (three), bad pass protection (six sacks allowed) and shoddy run defense (206 yards allowed) in a 28-14 loss to the Chargers."

"All the reigning NFL MVP did Sunday in the Chargers' 28-14 victory was score a career high-tying four touchdowns, rush for 198 yards on 24 carries -- including the game-clinching 41-yard gallop with 2:48 remaining -- catch three passes for 16 yards and tear the heart out of Raider Nation and chuck San Diego's ubiquitous lightning bolt through it. Again."

"LaDainian Tomlinson may be the first person since Jack London happy to see Oakland. Gertrude Stein couldn't find any there there, but LT has, 'there' being tremendous opportunities. And the Raiders have been very accommodating to the great Chargers tailback over the years."

"In a 28-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders that tied the Chargers for first place in the AFC West just three weeks after they were struggling to find a pulse, Tomlinson gained 198 yards, every last one of them crucial."

"It was the first quarter, barely five minutes into the game, with Halloween still more than two weeks away. LaDainian Tomlinson, staring at third-and-goal from the 3-yard line and a mound of testosterone chest high, launched himself over the pile."

"San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson is seven years into a career that assuredly will culminate with his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Upon delivering his acceptance speech, Tomlinson should include a special thanks to the Raiders for doing more than their share in making that possible."

"They've got to get this right. And quick. The football god that is LaDainian Tomlinson apparently isn't pleased with the food offerings that mere mortals are leaving him at a shrine in the High Dive Grill in Bay Park. Before the season's first game, a cheeseburger was placed in front of flickering candles and a color photograph of L.T. – put up in honor of the Chargers running back. And L.T. did not do very well."

"But LaDainian Tomlinson, the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player and one of football's most respectable people, shook off his disappointment. He put on a smile like he would pull on his helmet and visor before a game, and he walked back out through the tunnel to the home field that showed his team no mercy on this day."