I already acknowledged that and agree, but those are secondary RB duties, running the ball being first. Hopefully he can be our 3rd down guy, but lawd help us if Greene goes down. LT hasn't been LT for the last 2 years. In RB time, that's significant. Two years of his lowest YPC since his rookie year coupled with an improved O-line doesn't bode well for his future.
For the love of God, he's a backup, he doesn't need to be what he was in his prime. Right now, he's a better option than Jones on most levels. -He is better at pass pro than Jones -He is a better receiver than Jones -He is not asking for starter money to play as a backup -He is willing to be a backup Did everyone forget that his biggest gripe against the team was that they took his starting job away? He can't deal with being a backup so he shouldn't be on the team.
I don't understand why you think San Diego's offensive line was improved. Is it because Football Outsiders said so? They were 31st ranked rushing team in the league last season, mainly because the offensive line got little to no push on most rushing plays. You failed to see the two most important stats that they gave you - power running (32nd) and second level yardage (31st). I think a lot of their problems started when they got rid of Lorenzo Neal, and replaced him with two anti-blocking fullbacks: Mike Tolbert and Jacob Hester. Nick Hardwick, the Chargers' starting center, only started 3 games in 2009 - that was also a huge loss. Jeromey Clary has no business starting in this league. The same goes for the washed up Kris Dielman. Rookie guard Louis Vasquez was over-drafted because of combine numbers and is a poor run blocker. Marcus McNeil and a healthy Nick Hardwick are the only players that have the ability to start in this league. I'll get to the point: the Chargers' offensive line is terrible.
Odds are LT is toast. If we're lucky he'll be worth something as a third down back but the facts are that he has enough tread burned off his tires that he may not even be able to do that. He has to be quick enough to get open, sure-handed enough to hang on to the throws that come his direction, and then fast enough to make some positive yards after the catch. At 31 he may well have none of those attributes still in place based on the last couple of seasons, let alone all 3.
He only caught 20 balls last year in 14 starts, about a third of his total in any prior season. The Chargers chose to use Sproles on 3rd down over him for most of the season. To me those are glaring indicators that Tomlinson is likely to be an ineffective 3rd down back for the Jets. His old team, the one he went to a bunch of Pro Bowls with chose to phase him out on 3rd down last year and his performance declined dramatically. I think the LT signing was a huge gaffe in an offseason that had several other pretty good moves in it.
Yes, his line was horrible last year. Neal could be a big reason for his decline from '07 to '08. But to gain almost an entire ypc less when his line went from average or worse in 2007 to ranked #2 in power and #6 in opponent stuff percentage still says he is on a serious decline.
no shit he's declining, but does that mean he cant get 550 yards rushing, 200 yards receiving, and 10 total td's???????????? HE'S OUR BACKUP RB!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT OUR STARTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here ya go buddy: You have apparently failed to read any of my posts over two lines long, so that would be a good place to start a discussion if you wish.
I completely understand that. I'm just not convinced Green can carry most the weight of the rushing offense either. And with LT on the team, I dont think you have much of a spell running game. If you had TJ, you could split the load between the 2... giving a little more to Greene... but not the bulk... using him in a Ricky Williams type roll.
LT will be great. If you listen to the Jets players the guy they all are most impressed with is LT. His work ethic, his strength and conditioning. LT is working with the guy who helped resurrect Brandon Jacob's career - developing his power attack. I think you're going to be surprised and if I were Miami I certainly wouldn't ignore him in a game plan.
Now this is a good fucking analysis. Why aren't you writing for the New York Post instead of that douche bag?
As long as our offensive line remains in tact and nobody gets injured, I think our running game will be more than fine. I think Thomas Jones was actually extremely average last year. His best quality was his ability to handle a lot of carries. But he didn't have much explosiveness, rarely broke tackles, and was useless as a receiver. So I don't see why LT can't be useful in a role where he gets 10 carries or so per game in addition to some receptions.
No, unfortunately he didn't. His absence in the second half of the AFC Championship was a major contributing factor to the loss. Not the reason we lost, but the reason we could not come back to make a game of it.
Bart Hubbach is worse than Cimini and is getting up there with Francessa on the Jets bashing. I mean, how can you determine how a RB will be based on no contact drills. RB is the hardest position to gage when there is no contact.
