Ask any Chargers fan how LaDainian Tomlinson is doing this season and you're bound to see a frown. He's not in the MVP conversation, not on pace for 2,000 yards and generally hasn't looked like the star running back we've all come to expect. However, when you look at the stats I think you'll be surprised with how effective LT has been since returning from injury. Let's look at his games in the month of November.
- OAK - 18 carries, 56 yds, 2 TD
- @NYG - 12 carries, 22 yds
- PHI - 24 carries, 96 yds, 2 TD
- @DEN - 20 carries, 73 yds, 1 TD
- KC - 13 carries, 39 yds, 2 TD
Do you see what I see? 7 TDs in one month. 7 TDs in just 5 games. If you rate his games as pass/fail, you have to say that's 4 good games and only 1 bad one.
Tomlinson's return, and his rushing TDs, have coincided with the Chargers becoming a better team in the red zone. don't think it's a coincidence. LT still appears to have a nose for the end zone, scoring almost a touchdown and a half per game in the month of November.
Now....want to see a strange stat? In those 5 games, Tomlinson only had 3 catches. Actually, for the season (10 games), LT only has 11 catches. It's not his fault, but the weapons around him (the WRs, Mike Tolbert, Darren Sproles) are simply better receivers and usually do a better job at racking up YAC.
Plain and simple, the offense no longer revolves around LT and it no longer has to to survive. However, he's still an efficient RB in goal line situations.