This Sunday, the San Diego Chargers will travel to New Jersey to take on the Jets. Unlike San Diego's previous matchups with the Jets, LaDainian Tomlinson will be wearing green and white during the game instead of blue and gold. This will be the first time that Tomlinson, the man often referred to by Lawrence Taylor's nickname, faces his old team.
LaDainian played in 141 games for the Bolts, starting every one of them, after being drafted by the Chargers as part of the Michael Vick trade that also brought Tim Dwight and Drew Brees to San Diego. He carried the ball 2,880 times as a member of the Chargers, rushing for 12,490 yards and 138 touchdowns in just 9 seasons. Tomlinson is one of the greatest Chargers of all time, without a doubt, and will easily get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame based off of his accomplishments with the team.
Before the 2010 season, there was a falling out between Tomlinson and Chargers GM A.J. Smith. LaDainian was eventually released and signed with the Jets. The 5-time Pro Bowler was the starter in New Jersey for most of the season, averaging about 15 yards per carry and finishing with 914 rushing yards and 6 TDs.
This year he's taken a backseat to Shonn Greene, averaging less than a third of the carries of the Jets' younger RB and less than 5 carries per game. He's turned into more of a 3rd-down running back for the Jets, since Greene struggles with catching the ball and pass blocking.
Make no mistake, Tomlinson will be seen for a handful of plays on Sunday and will have revenge on his mind. He feels like he was given a raw deal by Head Coach Norv Turner and A.J. Smith, and would take great pleasure in being the key to a Jets victory. For the sake of him staying in the good graces of the Chargers' faithful fans, I hope that doesn't happen.